Professional Development & Training

This four-week asynchronous online course explores the different opportunities students have to demonstrate their knowledge and learning as well as the impact PLA/CPL has on organizational practices and student success.

Participants will learn how to build an action plan for executing a prior learning assessment program on their own campuses. (Member discount available.)

Successful completion of this course will count as 8 hours of professional development in competencies 1,2,3 when applying for NAWDP's CWDP recertification.

This twelve-week online, instructor-led course is designed specifically for those who need to provide career and education advice to adults. Participants learn how to apply career development theory and advise students from diverse social, cultural, and economic contexts. Invest in helping adult learners succeed. (Member discount available.)

Successful completion of this course will count as 24 hours of professional development towards CWDP Competencies 2,4 when applying for NAWDP's CWDP recertification.

This three-week online workshop prepares faculty to draw on introductory information and concepts about prior learning assessment (PLA)/credit for prior learning (CPL) and then serve as portfolio assessors. It provides case studies and use scenarios to explore the experience of portfolio assessment. Participants complete practice exercises using student-developed portfolios.

Participants who complete the course requirements will obtain a CAEL Assessing Prior Learning Certificate upon workshop completion. (Member discount available.)

Successful completion of this course will count as 6 hours of professional development toward CWDP Competencies 2,4 when applying for NAWDP's CWDP recertification.

This four-week asynchronous online course explores how employers, postsecondary education and workforce development entities must act in partnership to provide high-quality job training as the country experiences a significant increase in short-term occupational skills training programs tied to in-demand employment, particularly for historically underrepresented communities. 

Course Objectives:

• Explore the roles of workforce development and postsecondary education to support increasing equity,  career and skill development resources and services, etc.
• Examine key concepts related to workforce and economic development, including the Principles of a Healthy Workforce Ecosystem.
• Explore higher education's role in the workforce ecosystem.
• Develop/strengthen ecosystem partnerships.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for employers, postsecondary education and workforce development entities to learn from each other and work together to grow communities.

You see yourself as an advocate and maybe even a champion for CPL on your campus, but you worry others don’t see it the same way.  You feel like you lack the resources, buy-in, and importantly leadership support to create real CPL change.  You may feel isolated and overwhelmed, but you are not alone.

This course is designed to turn your foundational CPL knowledge, awareness of your institution’s priorities and challenges, and passion for adult learners into a leadership advocacy plan.  Knowing that leadership buy-in is the first critical step in a well-developed CPL program, you will share common concerns, challenges, resources, and strategies for overcoming these barriers.  Using change management principles, you will identify ways to clearly align CPL’s benefits with institutional priorities, and outline the appropriate scale and scope of your CPL program.  Finally, utilizing these elements, you will craft a pitch to your campus leadership, building a pitch deck full of best practices and your own ideas that you will be ready to deliver to your C-suite, with specific tasks of your leadership.

This session is designed for campus staff who already have a foundational understanding of CPL and its benefits and are struggling with the task of promoting and growing their CPL programs locally.  Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of CPL, this workshop will give staff the tools they need to advocate for an institutionally aligned CPL program and the resources they need to realize it.

• Roadmaps to Success: Understanding and serving your adult learners
• Improving Programs with Labor Market Data
• Engaging Adult Learners as Consumers
• Attracting Adults to Your Institution
• Building Blocks for Effective CPL Programs
• Strengthening Employer Partnerships
• Designing Stackable Credentials
• Embedding Experiential Learning in Your Programs

• Roadmaps to Success: Understanding and Serving Your Adult Learners