Q&A With CAEL: Amy Morys

Perspectives on 50 Years of Impact

As CAEL marks its semicentennial, a big part of the celebrations is around its 5,000-strong membership. It is the daily work of this thriving community of practice that has made so much of the past five decades possible. To highlight some of the diverse individuals who create our collective success, CAEL invited CAEL Ambassadors to answer questions about the past, present, and future of CAEL’s mission and its impact on education-employment pathways.

What is your name, title, and organization?

Dr. Amy Morys, client delivery portfolio director, Solutions for Information Design (SOLID)

In its 50-year history, what would you say is CAEL's biggest accomplishment?

Over the past 50 years, CAEL has established itself as THE trusted source for quality standards, best practices, and effective processes for the assessment and articulation of learning for academic credit.

During that history, what would you consider to be the biggest shift in higher education?

As the notion of what constitutes a "traditional learner" evolves and recognition of the contributions adult learners bring to higher education grows, the commitment of institutions of all shapes and sizes to offer a variety of delivery formats, as well as recognition of prior learning to shorten time to degree and reduce cost, has increased access to higher education for learners who would have otherwise not been able to earn a degree or credential.

What would you consider to be the biggest shift in workforce development?

Over the last 50 years, globalization and technological advancements have caused the American workforce to shift from a manufacturing-based economy to more of a knowledge-based economy. Most recently, automation in the form of AI has caused a major shift in industry as well as higher education, automating manual tasks for workers but also driving major discussions around its use in education and how we adequately prepare students for the workforce. 

As CAEL begins its next half century, where do you see the greatest opportunity?

I believe CAEL has positioned itself uniquely across education and workforce sectors to continue to make an impact for workers and adult learners, assisting institutions, credentialing agencies, workforce boards and consortiums, as well as state and federal systems to advance higher education and the workforce in the recognition of ALL learning. Continuous upskilling and reskilling have become crucial as technology evolves, so CAEL has an opportunity, as it has for the last 50 years, to continue to come alongside all of the aforementioned entities in creating and sustaining flexible and accessible pathways for workers and learners, as well as leveraging its gold-standard CPL work to support the assessment and recognition of microcredentials that are valid and widely recognized.

As a higher education consultant and military prior learning assessment subject matter expert, Amy has spent the last decade traversing the veterans higher education space, passionate about assisting colleges, universities, and state higher education systems as they increase capacity to support military-affiliated communities and assess military learning for academic credit. Her work in higher education began by supporting adult learners as director of academic student services and director of the evening division at Fontbonne University, as well as serving as adjunct business faculty at several schools across Saint Louis and Chicago. Amy is proud to have managed veterans education and career initiatives at CAEL and currently serves as client delivery portfolio director at Solutions for Information Design (SOLID). After 22 years of service, she recently retired as a master sergeant from the U.S. Air Force / Illinois Air National  Guard, where she deployed twice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.