Beyond Transfer
For decades, postsecondary institutions have worked to streamline transfer credit in support of student mobility. Articulation agreements, common course-numbering systems and statewide transfer pathways have made transfer a visible and expected part of higher education policy and practice.
But is transfer truly comprehensive?
While institutions have improved traditional course-to-course transfer, many still overlook a critical dimension of student mobility: credit earned through prior learning assessment. PLA recognizes learning acquired outside the classroom through work experience, military service, industry certifications and third-party providers. Despite its role in expanding access and equity, PLA credit is still inconsistently applied in transfer policies.
This creates a persistent disconnect for students. Even when students have demonstrated college-level learning through PLA, their credits may not be fully recognized upon transfer, leading to duplicated coursework, increased costs and longer time to degree completion. As a result, learning validated at one institution may lose value at another. This runs counter to a core principle of articulation: Students should not be required to repeat competencies they have already demonstrated and earned.
If transfer is to become truly student-centered, institutions must move beyond traditional frameworks and intentionally integrate PLA into transfer policy and practice. Doing so recognizes the full range of student learning and strengthens pathways for new majority learners, stop-outs, post-traditional students and the growing number of career and technical education high school students earning industry-recognized credentials.
What Is PLA?
PLA is the evaluation of knowledge and skills gained outside the traditional classroom and assessed as equivalent to college-level learning. It is based on the principle that competency, not location or delivery method, defines learning.
Common forms include standardized exams such as AP, CLEP and DSST; evaluation of military training; industry certifications; and portfolio-based assessments. When properly applied, PLA converts real-world experience into academic credit, reducing both cost and time to degree.
Why It Matters
Today’s learners bring varied backgrounds and educational experiences, reflecting a shift toward flexible, competency-based models aligned with workforce demands. Industry-recognized credentials earned in the workplace, employer-sponsored training, online learning platforms and short-term programs demonstrate that learning extends beyond the traditional classroom. Their pathways are rarely linear; they stop, return and stack credentials over time, seeking efficient, relevant options that translate learning into opportunity.
An example of this trend emerged during the pandemic, as millions of learners turned to platforms such as Coursera for flexible online education. Coursera’s registered learner base grew from approximately 45 million in 2019 to more than 76 million in 2020, with enrollments surging in the early months of the pandemic. Institutions partnering with online learning platforms likewise experienced significant increases in participation, particularly through initiatives supporting remote learning and workforce development.
Looking ahead, advances in artificial intelligence and the potential expansion of Workforce Pell are likely to further increase demand for short-term, skills-focused credentials. As job roles continue to evolve, learners are increasingly pursuing education that is flexible, workforce-aligned and directly connected to career advancement. In this environment, PLA can play a critical role by helping learners translate prior learning and experience into academic credit, creating more efficient pathways into high-value credentials and degree programs.
The result is clear: Learning is occurring everywhere and in a wide range of formats. Institutions that intentionally recognize and validate this learning will be best positioned to advance student success and remain competitive in an increasingly skills-driven economy.
What Now?
Despite its value, PLA remains underutilized. Many colleges reference it in catalogs but lack the infrastructure, consistency and policy alignment needed for scalable implementation.
Rather than treating PLA as peripheral, institutions can embed it into advising, articulation agreements, curriculum design and transfer policy. This strengthens alignment across the student experience and supports goals related to access, completion, workforce alignment and credit mobility.
High-performing systems share several common practices: PLA is embedded in systemwide policy, integrated into transfer frameworks, incorporated into outreach strategies, supported by transparent evaluation processes and intentionally connected to advising and degree planning so students recognize its value from the outset.
Some systems are already advancing this work. For example, the Maricopa County Community Colleges District in Arizona have integrated PLA into formal transfer partnerships by promoting the recognition of previously awarded PLA credit within articulation agreements. This forward-thinking approach strengthens credit mobility, proactively reduces transfer barriers and enhances learner confidence and satisfaction throughout the transfer experience.
They are also scaling a systemwide approach to awarding credit for high school–earned industry credentials through PLA. While guided pathways have improved clarity, early college participation still relies heavily on dual enrollment and AP models that do not fully recognize industry-based competencies. At the same time, high school CTE programs produce growing numbers of credentialed students whose learning is not consistently translated into college credit.
Building on guided pathways, this initiative aligns secondary CTE programs with postsecondary workforce pathways to accelerate progress toward certificates and degrees. It embeds PLA into early college planning, leverages Arizona Department of Education credential data and MCCCD alignment data to prioritize high-impact pathways, and applies a credit-first model that awards credit up front while supporting completion of stackable credentials tied to long-term educational and economic mobility. It is offered at no cost to students, as it is structured as both an articulation and matriculation strategy.
These efforts demonstrate how PLA becomes actionable when embedded into partnership design, transfer policy and student success systems.
Make It Happen
PLA should be a central component of the transfer agenda. Students bring rich learning experiences beyond traditional coursework, and institutions committed to student-centered practice must recognize and value that learning. If transfer is about recognizing valid learning across systems, PLA is a natural extension of that mission.
As higher education continues to shift toward nonlinear, skills-based pathways, systems must evolve in step. Embedding PLA into transfer and credit-mobility strategies is no longer optional, it is imperative. The question is not whether this change is needed, but whether institutions are prepared to operationalize it at scale. For higher education leaders and practitioners, the time for discussion has passed. The path forward demands bold decisions, structural alignment and immediate action to create more equitable, efficient and learner-centered pathways to credential attainment.
