PLA from the Student’s Perspective: Lessons Learned from Survey and Interview Data

Authored by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, this brief is part of WICHE’s Recognition of Learning initiative. This brief draws on data from a survey administered to 1,184 current college students and from interviews with six college students to better understand how students access (or not) opportunities to earn credit for prior learning. Lack of information about PLA was cited as a top barrier to accessing PLA. For those students that did access PLA, students cited conversations about PLA with individuals (such as academic advisors on the college campus, other students, or family members) as being most influential. The brief concludes with recommendations from students themselves on how institutions can improve their PLA programs and policies.