Building upon prior learning assessment (PLA) priorities identified in SUNY Empire’s Academic Affairs Action Plan, this project promotes cross-functional institutional collaborations for creating systems, tools, and faculty, staff, and student professional development resources for the early identification of students’ potential PLA credits to increase student cost-savings, retention, and degree completion.

Since 1971, SUNY Empire has been a leader in valuing, assessing, and awarding credit for college-level learning gained through life and work experiences. Research shows that students save significant time and money when they use prior learning assessment (PLA) as part of their degrees, and PLA is a significant factor in the retention and recruitment of adult learners. To sustain and broaden our innovative practices, we will build upon PLA priorities outlined in SUNY Empire’s Academic Affairs’ Action Plan. Collaborating amongst college offices, staff, and faculty, our focus is to expand students’ opportunities to use PLA by making processes more transparent by creating front-end systems, developing student-driven resources, and providing faculty development. This project will create (a) relatable student personas illustrating the potential for using PLA in degree planning; (b) a prior learning intake form; and (c) professional development and DLE learning resources for faculty, staff, and students.