It’s no secret that fewer 18-year-olds are enrolling in college than in past years.
In 2022, college enrollment was 14.8% below peak enrollment in 2010, according to research by BestColleges.
Reasons range from expense and fear of debt to a preference for vocational paths. Perhaps the most visible explanation is the “enrollment cliff,” the sharp decline, attributed to falling birth rates, in the number of traditional college-age students.
However, there is a glimmer of hope: Older learners and nontraditional students are enrolling at higher levels, thanks in part to the option of online courses but also because of programs like Credit for Prior Learning.
CPL can help students — particularly non-traditional adult learners — save the time and money it takes to earn a degree or credential.
IN INDIANA and across the country, higher education is placing increased emphasis on awarding credit for college-level learning gained outside the traditional classroom.
“We have to think creatively about how we can make higher education work within today’s society,” Lindsey Eberman, Indiana State University professor and faculty fellow, told the Tribune-Star’s Sue Loughlin.
In March 2024, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education released guidance on CPL, supporting its use across the state.
Credit for Prior Learning is earned for college-level knowledge and skills gained outside the classroom through work experience, military service, community service, industry certifications and training programs.
Colleges aren’t required to incorporate CPL, but with the passage of this year’s Senate Enrolled Act 448, CPL is factored into new academic program proposals and program reviews.
Hopefully, this will encourage institutions to offer CPL, bumping up college attendance rates.
ON AVERAGE, individuals who hold college degrees earn substantially more per week and have lower unemployment rates than those who don’t.
According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with a bachelor’s degree have median weekly earnings of $1,543, compared to $930 for those who hold only a high school diploma.
College-educated adults contribute significantly to the economy. Over the course of a lifetime, Hoosiers with education beyond high school are likely to earn $1 million more than those with only a high school degree, according to a 2020 Indiana College Value Report. Additionally, each class of Indiana public college graduates contributes $13 billion or more in spending and tax revenue to the state’s economy.
Higher education provides other personal benefits as well. A 2020 Gallup-Indiana Graduate Satisfaction Survey assessed five elements of well-being: purpose, social, financial, community and physical. Thriving in all five elements is the “pinnacle of well-being,” according to Gallup.
Hoosier college graduates who responded to the survey were more likely than other U.S. college graduates to thrive in four or five of the well-being elements, the report said.
Credit for Prior Learning programs will, without a doubt, draw more students to higher education.
RESEARCH SHOWS that people who earn CPL are more likely to stay in school, complete a degree and graduate. “They don’t get discouraged and they feel like they are making progress a little faster and saving money,” Beth Doyle, chief of strategy for the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, said in a Tribune-Star article.
“I think it’s very exciting,” ISU’s Eberman said. “I think it’s about creatively imagining how college could look different than it did 20 years ago. For some folks, that might feel scary, but I think it’s what we have to do to adapt to what people need.”
Families, higher education and, ultimately, the economy and communities need far-reaching programs like CPL. The programs should be advertised and administered freely.
All institutions of higher learning should offer CPL opportunities.
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