There isn’t a “magic bullet” for outreach and marketing that guarantees you will enroll adult learners. Adults are a large and diverse population and their reasons for pursuing education - and issues that may be standing in their way - are broad and complex. How do campuses find a population of prospective students who are disconnected from educational systems? What strategies are providing effective to reach adults? Does marketing always need to be costly to work well? This interactive session is designed to arm participants with an outreach action plan based on their target market and resources. 

Learning Outcomes include:

• Understand adult learner personas and how to tailor messaging
• Use storytelling to connect to adult learners
• Develop an enrollment approach that addresses potential audiences, partners, and communication channels

Successful Completion of this workshop will count as 8 hours of professional development in competencies 2,4 when applying for NAWDP's CWDP recertification.  

In this pre-conference session, participants will work in teams to connect their regional workforce ecosystem to serve all residents, particularly the unemployed, working poor, and disconnected members of their community. This will involve developing a step-by-step plan in coordination with community-based organizations, employers and employer groups, higher education institutions of all types, short-term training providers, and workforce development boards and organizations. You can bring a team from your region to work on a plan you can utilize right after the session! Or you can come as an individual participant and be assigned a role and region to work with to develop a mock plan.

In this session, you should expect to learn:

• How to center the adult learner in your plan
• How to create or identify a workforce intermediary to sustain the work
• How to create an industry partnership and/or explore other employer coalitions that meet the needs of your region
• How to build extended career pathways that benefit adult learners
• How to identify the challenges and opportunities available through technology platforms that enable career navigation, credit for prior learning, learning and employment records, and data collection and impact reporting
• Understand the roles of community-based organizations, employers and employer groups, higher education institutions of all types, short-term training providers, and workforce development boards and organizations in building a truly connected workforce ecosystem

Participants will leave the session with a draft or mock plan and a toolkit to use in work in their own region.

This workshop is designed to cover all the questions you have about credit for prior learning but were afraid to ask! Designed as an introduction to credit for prior learning, the workshop will begin by laying a foundation by exploring the different opportunities students have to demonstrate their knowledge and learning, and the impact CPL has on organizational practices and student success. This will be followed with an interactive discussion about best practices in implementing an effective CPL program within your institution. Participants will engage in case studies that examine principles of organizational change and how a CPL program becomes integral to student learning and success. Using sample documents, scenarios, and institutional examples, participants will work collaboratively to create an action plan and design processes for introducing or expanding CPL options to gain support from key campus constituencies. As a result, participants will be able to build an action plan for executing a credit for prior learning program on their own campuses. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the various forms of CPL and utilize the steps, tools and procedures in the CPL process;
• Illustrate and apply the CAEL principles of best practice in CPL;
• Articulate the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the CPL process;
• Determine decision points for effective CPL implementation;
• Identify strategies for gaining buy-in from faculty, administrators, & students;
• Distinguish options for CPL-related organizational structures and action plans.

Target Audience: CPL owners (Coordinators/ Administrators/degree planners), University Administration, Registrars, Faculty Members who advise course scheduling/ degree plans

This four-hour pre-conference workshop is designed to equip academic leaders (Department Chairs, Deans, Provosts, etc.) with the tools they need to effectively, efficiently, and collaboratively lead Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) initiatives at their institutions. 

Led by CAEL experts from our Partnerships and Initiatives teams, attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Learn the fundamentals of PLA and CPL
• Learn the individual, institutional, and societal benefits of PLA and CPL
• Share experiences and best practices with peers
• Learn effective and collaborative change management strategies
• Outline a plan for leading PLA and CPL on their campus

Successful Completion of this workshop will count as 4 hours of professional development in competencies 4,5 when applying for NAWDP's CWDP recertification. 

Military Credit for Prior Learning (M-CPL) plays a critical role in supporting military-connected students by recognizing their training and experience as college-equivalent learning. A key aspect of this process is understanding the Department of Defense's credit recommendations, which provide institutions with guidance on evaluating military coursework and occupational experience for academic credit. This workshop is designed to help faculty and staff involved in M-CPL gain a deeper understanding of the evaluation process, military transcript analysis, and best practices for awarding credit. Participants will leave with the tools and confidence to apply credit recommendations effectively, ensuring military learners receive appropriate academic credit.

Workshop Overview:

This interactive session will provide faculty with a detailed overview of the ACE review process, including how military training and workplace learning are assessed for credit equivalency. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises, including reviewing Joint Services Transcripts (JSTs), applying military credit recommendations, and mapping military training to academic courses. By the end of this workshop, participants will be better equipped to evaluate military credit efficiently and confidently, ensuring military-connected students receive the academic recognition they deserve.

Key Learning Outcomes

- Understand the ACE Evaluation Process – Learn how ACE determines whether military training and workplace learning equate to college-level credit.

- Interpret Military Transcripts – Gain hands-on experience analyzing Joint Services Transcripts (JSTs) and Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) transcripts.

- Apply ACE Credit Recommendations – Learn how to navigate the ACE Military Guide to determine appropriate credit awards.

- Evaluate Military Learning for Credit – Understand the depth, breadth, and rigor of ACE evaluations and how they align with college curricula.

- Develop Institutional Credit Policies – Explore best practices for integrating military credit into degree programs and creating crosswalks between military learning and academic requirements.

Target Audience

Faculty, M-CPL staff, registrars, academic advisors, faculty assessors, Chief Academic Officers (CAOs)

This session aims to explore the transformative potential of higher education’s involvement in apprenticeship programs. As apprenticeship models evolve, colleges and universities play a critical role in shaping the future of work-based learning, especially timely in light of studies showing lower enrollment growth in both two- and four-year academic programs. With fewer students pursuing traditional degree paths, integrating apprenticeship models into higher education can provide an attractive, alternative route that combines academic learning with hands-on experience. Participants will gain insights into how higher education can collaborate with, as well as instigate, apprenticeship programs to provide comprehensive credentialling  that benefit both apprentices, employers, and higher education institutions. This session will cover practical strategies for developing apprenticeship programs, integrating apprenticeships into academic curricula, supporting learners, and ensuring that apprenticeship training is both recognized and credited within academic institutions. The session will also review policy barriers and opportunities and provide tools for institutions to consider next steps on apprenticeship.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understanding the Apprenticeship Framework
2. Higher Education Collaboration with Apprenticeship Programs
   1. Integrating Apprenticeships into Academic Programs
   2. Providing support and resources to Apprentices
   3. Crosswalking Related Supplemental Instruction learning to Academic Credit
   4. The role of higher education institutions as apprenticeship intermediaries.
3. Policy Barriers and Opportunities
4. Case Studies and Next Steps for Maximizing Partners in your Ecosystem

Target Audience:

This session is ideal for educators, administrators, career services professionals, workforce development experts, and employers looking to establish or enhance partnerships between higher education and apprenticeship programs.

Session Format:

The session will include a combination of focused presentation, case studies, group discussions, and actionable takeaways, providing participants with both strategic insights and practical tools for building successful apprenticeship collaborations.

CAEL is co-presenting with: