Integrating Informal Learning With Programs at the College/University Level

For years, institutions of higher learning (IHLs) have adopted a variety of methods for acknowledging and granting credit for prior learning that prospective students bring to their studies. This prior learning is often in the form of informal learning activities through work, informal training, or pursuit of personal interest. Students are asked to demonstrate their prior learning through compilation of a learning portfolio or by other methods such as exams. Current terms for this practice include prior learning assessment (PLA), prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR), and recognition of prior learning (RPL). The latter term is used in this entry to refer to all of these processes of recognizing and evaluating prior learning gained outside of traditional school programs.

As suggested, RPL refers to a college ...