Tom Kantner, 56, has long wanted to pursue a bachelor’s degree, and he found the opportunity he was looking for at Indiana State University.
Through a combination of credit transfer and credit for prior learning, the Pennsylvania resident will achieve his goal in 2-1/2 years and graduate next May. He is director of insurance operations for a company that provides outsourcing support for insurance companies.
Kantner’s bachelor’s will be in leadership and professional development with a minor in insurance and risk management.
“It’s a goal I’ve always had,” he said of the bachelor’s degree; he achieved an associate’s degree from a community college many years ago. He primarily wanted the bachelor’s “for my own personal growth and satisfaction.”
Two things drew him to ISU — its program in insurance and risk management, as well as credit transfer and credit for experiences/credentials he’s already earned through the military and an insurance course certification. Those factors are enabling him to save both time and money in obtaining his bachelor’s degree.
Credit for prior learning
In Indiana and across the country, higher education is placing increasing emphasis on awarding credit for college-level learning gained outside the traditional classroom, whether in the workplace, on a military base or through industry certifications.
It’s called Credit for Prior Learning, and it can help students — particularly non-traditional adult learners — save time and money in earning a degree or certificate.
Among those who could benefit are Hoosier adults with some college but no credential.
According to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Indiana has around 250,000 working-age adults with some college but no credential (meaning certificates through associate’s or bachelor’s degrees), based on data from the Lumina Foundation.
Other data sources indicate that number could be much higher.
CPL provides an opportunity for adult learners to obtain credentials or degrees they need to advance in a career or change careers, said Lindsey Eberman, Indiana State University professor and faculty fellow who co-chairs a university CPL council.
It also serves the state of Indiana in addressing workforce needs.
CPL can also help boost college enrollments at a time when the so-called “enrollment cliff” is now part of the higher education narrative, she said.
The “enrollment cliff” is the sharp decline in the number of traditional college-aged students attributed to falling birth rates.
“We have to think creatively about how we can make higher education work within today’s society,” Eberman said.
A priority in Indiana
In March 2024, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education announced Indiana’s first statewide policy guidance for credit for prior learning. It supports use of CPL across Indiana’s higher education institutions.
The Commission’s HOPE agenda (Hoosier Opportunities & Possibilities through Education) calls for Indiana to be a top 10 state in seven areas by 2030, and one of those areas is credit for prior learning.
According to the commission, credit for prior learning is when a college or university awards students academic credit for college-level knowledge and skills they’ve already gained outside of the classroom from things such as work experience, military service, community service and training programs.
Students are awarded CPL in several ways, depending on the institution’s policies. Some examples include standardized exams, portfolio assessments, military training, industry certifications and high school AP (Advanced Placement) exams.
The commission will track CPL credits from state institutions starting this year to provide a baseline and monitor progress. Also, with the passage of Senate Enrolled Act 448, CPL is factored into new academic program proposals and program reviews.
Colleges are not required to incorporate CPL, according to Allison Kuehr, CHE spokeswoman. The opportunity for CPL in a program is just one of the many areas an institution must address when submitting new programs or going through a review process.
CPL can ‘totally change your life’
In developing its policy guidelines, the state commission has worked with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), a nonprofit that focuses on adults who need further education to advance their careers.
That could include people who have worked for many years and decide to go back to school.
“If you worked in human resources for 10 years and are going back to get a degree in HR, it seems like you’re going to be sitting through a lot of classes about stuff you already know,” said Beth Doyle, CAEL’s chief of strategy. “We don’t think that’s a good way to treat people with experience and expertise.”
Research shows that people who earn CPL are more likely to graduate, complete a degree and stay in school. “They don’t get discouraged and they feel like they are making progress a little faster and saving money,” Doyle said.
CPL is becoming a focus not only in Indiana, but across the country, for a few reasons, including workforce needs and the enrollment cliff, she said.
Workforce needs are changing rapidly, Doyle said. “We have technology advancement going on, lots of shifts in the economy, generative artificial intelligence. People need to keep learning skills.”
Also, the demographic cliff translates into fewer 18-year-olds who will enter college. Higher education recognizes the need to focus on admitting more adult learners, and CPL can be a recruitment tool, she said.
Doyle has benefited from CPL. She initially obtained a certificate from a community college, worked for 10 years, and when she wanted to go back to school, was told the certificate wouldn’t count toward a bachelor’s degree.
She worked full-time and would have had to attend college part-time, which translated into eight to 10 years to finish her degree.
She put college off for several years, but Doyle eventually found a program that offered CPL, and she completed her bachelor’s degree in 2-1/2 years. She eventually obtained a doctorate.
CPL can help provide opportunities “that totally change your life,” she said.
CPL at Indiana State
Through Indiana State University’s CPL opportunities, students can earn up to 63 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree and 25% of an undergraduate certificate.
At ISU, credit for prior learning awarded for exam scores (AP, CLEP, etc.) or industry certificates do not carry a fee.
Faculty evaluation of prior learning through department exams or portfolios does include a fee of 25% of the tuition cost of the course for which credit may be earned.
“There are a huge range of opportunities for people to get credit for prior learning,” Eberman said.
ISU has been working on CPL for several years, first through a task force and now a formal council and one of the priorities is to create greater awareness.
“I think the reality is a lot of folks don’t know this is available to them, and not just at ISU but across the country,” she said.
She’s excited to be part of the effort to provide opportunities for adults who want to return to college.
“I think it’s about creatively imagining how college could look different than it did 20 years ago,” Eberman said. “For some folks, that might feel scary, but I think it’s what we have to do to adapt to what people need.”