CAEL Debuts National Credit for Prior Learning Database

CPL Provider Network offers adult learners and workers a gateway to institutions recognizing and validating learning outside of the classroom

INDIANAPOLIS – CAEL, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adult learners navigate the pathways between education and employment, today announced the launch of the CPL Provider Network. The network, available at cael.org, includes a listing of U.S. education and training providers that offer credit for prior learning (CPL). CAEL also is sharing the network with high schools, local and regional workforce boards, economic development boards, chambers of commerce, and military-affiliated institutions nationwide. The Network is accessible to the general public free of charge. 

CPL is a term for various methods that colleges, universities, and other education or training providers use to evaluate learning that has occurred outside of the traditional academic environment. CAEL research has demonstrated CPL’s powerful impact on student and institutional success factors, including recruiting, retention, and completion.

“The CPL Provider Network offers a seamless, user-friendly resource that adult learners and workers can use as they make critical decisions about beginning a degree program or returning to one,” said Angela DeVere, director of membership marketing and events at CAEL. “At the same time, the CPL Provider Network helps participating institutions increase awareness about a critical catalyst of recruiting, retention, and completion.”

The network links directly to CPL informational resources in place at the institution. To help participating institutions optimize CPL outreach strategies, the network’s onboarding process also offers best practices developed from CAEL’s decades of CPL research and practice. CAEL also has a newly published adult learner resource page offering guidance on the most important issues adult learners face.

Inclusion on the CPL Provider Network is free for all CAEL institutional members. CAEL institutional members can submit their complimentary CPL Provider Network listings at cael.org. Non-members can be listed in the CPL Provider Network for $1,000 annually. 

Receiving CPL boosts completion rates among adult learners by 17%. CPL also saves students significant time and money. Because CPL students persist and complete at greater rates, they also complete more traditional credit hours. 

CPL can also offer recruiting impact. CAEL research has also found that the vast majority (84%) of likely enrollees said that the ability to receive CPL would significantly influence their choice of institution. More than 40 million Americans have completed some college but no credential. Another 84 million have never enrolled.

As an inherently inclusive practice, CPL also offers a way to better support traditionally underserved students. The CPL completion boost is 13% for Black adults, 25% for adults at community colleges, 24% for Hispanic adults, and 19% for Pell Grant recipients.

CAEL is presenting additional details about the CPL Provider Network during its annual conference this week. Registration for virtual attendance remains open. Members of the media can register at no cost by contacting Elizabeth Warner at ewarner@cael.org.

About CAEL
Recognizing that adult learners are the backbone of the U.S. economy, CAEL helps forge a clear, viable connection between education and career success, providing solutions that promote sustainable and equitable economic growth. CAEL opens doors to opportunity in collaboration with workforce and economic developers, postsecondary educators, employers and industry groups, and foundations and other mission-aligned organizations. By engaging with these stakeholders, CAEL fosters a culture of innovative, lifelong learning that helps individuals, and their communities thrive. A national membership organization established in 1974, CAEL is a part of Strada Collaborative, a mission-driven nonprofit. Learn more at cael.org and stradacollaborative.org.

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