CAEL Releases First in Series of AARP-Backed Briefs on Improving Education and Workforce Policy for Adult Learners

Over the past 50 years, CAEL and its community of practice have made great progress in transforming perspectives about adult learners. Most educators now recognize adult learners as a distinct and valued student identity rather than bucketing them within the “nontraditional student” aggregation. However, even within otherwise inclusive adult learning frameworks, older adult learners are often deprioritized or overlooked entirely. When this occurs, educators, trainers, and workforce developers are also overlooking profound opportunities to improve individual economic mobility as well as regional prosperity. With the support of AARP, CAEL is publishing a series of three briefs that will help policymakers identify strategies for better serving older adult learners and workers and realize the many benefits of doing so. 

We begin the series with Leveraging a Lifetime of Knowledge: How Credit for Prior Learning Can Help Older Adults and Veterans. With more people working past traditional retirement ages, upskilling and reskilling opportunities for older adults are more relevant than ever. Similarly, veterans often benefit from additional education and training for successful transitions into civilian careers. The brief delves into the transformative potential of credit for prior learning (CPL) for older adults and veterans, shedding light on how recognizing prior learning can accelerate the educational and career goals that deliver the greatest impact for this key adult learner subpopulation. Its detailed analysis includes a review of best practices for institutions looking to implement CPL policies effectively.

The next in the series of briefs will examine education benefits and the positive impact they provide for businesses and their workers. It will be published later this month. The final in the series, which will be released later this quarter, will review state policies for improving access to postsecondary education and training.

In the meantime, we invite educators, workforce developers, policymakers, and any stakeholders interested in using CPL to improve education-employment pathways for older adults and veterans to download Leveraging a Lifetime of Knowledge: How Credit for Prior Learning Can Help Older Adults and Veterans.