Credit for Prior Learning
Many Oregon institutions offer Credit for Prior Learning as a way to obtain credit for evidence-based assessment of learning that occurs outside of traditional college-level coursework. ORS 350.110 defines “prior learning" as "the knowledge and skills gained through work and life experience, through military training and experience and through formal and informal education and training from institutions of higher education in the United States and in other nations."
The Higher Education Coordinating Commission convenes an Advisory Committee to address and report to the Oregon Legislative Assembly annually on its progress toward:
- Increasing the number of students who receive academic credit for prior learning
- Increasing the number and type of academic credits accepted for prior learning
- Developing transparent policies and practices
- Improving prior learning assessment practices
- Creating tools to develop faculty and staff knowledge
- Developing articulation agreements
- Developing outcome measures
Oregon’s unique
statute requires the Commission to work not only with public universities and
community colleges, but also independent for-profit and not-for-profit
institutions of higher education.
Credit for Prior Learning Standards
In 2017 the
Advisory Committee and Commission formally adopted the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Standards to be implemented by any Oregon institution offering CPL. The Standards, first adopted in 2014 and updated in 2017, require Oregon institutions to submit data to the Commission annually on the types and number of CPL offered. A summary of changes made in 2017 is available here.
Future Ready Oregon
Senate Bill 1545 (2022), Future Ready Oregon is a comprehensive $200M package of investments that support education and training that leads to employment and family-wage careers, prioritizing Oregon's historically underserved and vulnerable communities. One program included in the Future Ready Oregon investments allocated $10 million in one-time funding to increase opportunities for students from priority populations to receive academic credit for prior experience or skills gained outside of traditional higher education institutions. Such academic credits will count toward a credential that provides a pathway to employment or career advancement. In the summer of 2022, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) accepted applications from Oregon community colleges and public universities for funds to expand Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) in Oregon's public higher education institutions.
Of the 25 public institutions that were eligible to apply for CPL funding, 14 community colleges and 5 public universities applied. All those institutions were awarded funds, allocating the entire $10 million. Most grantees are focused on expanding CPL, creating transparent systems, increasing staff capacity to support CPL students, and the creation/distribution of marketing materials to engage priority populations.
In the long term, activities implemented under this grant program are expected to improve prior learning assessment practices in Oregon's public higher education institutions and increase the number of students receiving CPL. CPL works with other Future Ready Oregon programs that build on existing successes while advancing transformational change, connecting Oregonians to the postsecondary credentials needed to prepare for a future of increasingly complex work.
Annual Legislative Reports
Since 2012, the HECC has reported annually to the Oregon Legislature as required on Credit for Prior Learning, and the annual reports are available on our website here.