Complete College America and CLEP:

Land of 10,000Opportunities

Sharon Long, Clayton State UniversityMary Ellen Dallman, University System of Georgia

Cindy Sproehnle, Gateway Community & Technical CollegeSuzanne McGurk, The College Board

To compete in the global economy, the US must address the critical need to

have a population where 60% of the population will have degrees/diplomasby 2020—currently we average 40%

Bachelor’s DegreeAssociate’s Degree

1-Year Certificate

Complete College America:

1. #15 in the World in % Population with College Degrees #1 in 1970—about the same number of graduates

2. Large Student Debt without Finishing College

http://www.completecollege.org/

*Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Carnegie Corporation of NYFord FoundationLumina Foundation for EducationW.K. Kellogg Foundation

Complete College AmericaNational Nonprofit Organization Est. 2009*

Work with States to Improve Education/Graduation

The Alliance of States Pledges to: -Increase significantly the number of students completing college, who -Achieve degrees and credentials with value in the labor market, and -Close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations

Members of the Alliance of States: Arkansas Louisiana Oklahoma Colorado Maine Oregon Connecticut Maryland Pennsylvania Florida Massachusetts Rhode Island Georgia Minnesota South Dakota Hawaii Mississippi Tennessee Idaho Missouri Texas Illinois NevadaUtah Indiana New Mexico Vermont Kentucky Ohio West Virginia

Time is Money

Alliance of States—30 Participants

Of 100 Students Who Enroll in a Public College or University

2-Year Public College

4-Year Public College

Full-Time Part-Time

Full-Time Part-Time

Enroll in College

37 17 44 2

Sophomores 20 6 36 1

Grad on Time 4 0 11 0

Grad 150% time

3 1 14 0

Grad 200% time

2 1 3 0

Total Grads 9 2 28 0

Graduate by 4 years: 11

Graduate by 8 years: 28

GA Students Who Make it Through College—The Time Issue

Lead Measure Act Innovate

What can we do?

Achieving Success

Assigning college credit for learning gained outside the classroom while maintaining a

commitment to quality

Meet the Challenge:Accept More PLA’s—

Prior Learning Assessments

CLEP AP & IB DSST Departmental Exams ACE CREDIT Portfolio Assessments Other Innovations

Prior Learning Assessments

Credit for languages not covered by CLEP

Brigham Young University

http://flats.byu.edu

David Johnston, Gainesville State College

FLATSForeign Language Achievement Testing

Services

Materials for about 60 languages awarding up to 12 credit hours per subject area

Listening & reading comprehension and grammatical accuracy

Achievement tests, not global proficiency—measure student’s performance against 3-4 beginning courses

Up to 2½ hours to complete a test Not nationally normed, but used by many

colleges and universities

FLATS Information

Promote CLEP to all students who may benefit to ensure retention, progression, and graduation (RPG)

Promote CLEP first before other PLA’s—emails & videos

Expand CLEP acceptance to match course offerings

Remove artificial barriers (rules)

Embrace CLEP transfer credit within your state—other states have done it!

CLEP Opportunities

Georgia’s Adult Learning Consortium

Began as a “Pilot” in 2008 Expanded through an RFP process each year• Grown to 13 institutions

Ranging in size from 2,700 to 27,000 students Operates from Working Principles &

Agreements

Funded by the US Dept. of Education: College Access Challenge Grant

ALC Working Principles & Agreements

#2. Adheres to Council for Adult and Experiential Learning’s Ten Standards for Assessing LearningI. Credit awarded for learningII. Based on public standards for the level of

learningIV. Determinations made by experts

http://www.cael.org/home

ALC Working Principles & Agreements

# 3. Use nationally recognized, standardized PLA options

# 4. Accept assessed and transcripted courses within the ALC

# 5. Join the Servicemembers Opportunities Colleges (SOC) Consortium

ALC Working Principles & Agreements

# 8. CLEP policy Accept all available CLEP tests Use ACE-recommended passing scores Accept transcripted CLEP credit without

requiring original score reports

Georgia’s Higher Education Completion Plan Completion by Performance

◦ Shortening the Time to Degree Transfer and Articulation Agreements Student-centered transfer portal Prior Learning Assessment

50% increase: policies and practices20% increase: credits earned through PLA

University System of Georgia’s

Adult Learning Consortium

CLEP Overview Nationally recognized credit by exam

More than seven million exams taken since 1967

2,900 colleges and universities award credit for CLEP

181,500 exams administered in 2010–11

54,000 exams administered to military service members in 2010-11

CLEP Exam fee = $80 for civilians

CLEP Exam fee = free for active duty personnel

◦ DANTES funds full cost for military service members and spouses, study materials provided

◦ GI Bill allows for vets to seek reimbursement for CLEP test fees

About the CLEP Exams

Structure 33 computer-based exams Mostly multiple-choice, essays, and listening sections for foreign languages Most are approximately 90 minutes in length

Scoring Immediate score reports (except exams with essays). Exams are scored on a scale of 20–80. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a credit-granting

score of 50 for CLEP exams. A score of 50 is equivalent to a grade of C

Development More than 600 faculty contribute to the development of and standard-setting for

CLEP examinations Standing faculty committees oversee ongoing test development, shape content,

review data, set exam policies

CLEP State Policies

Florida Long-standing policy, integrated into advising If a student achieves the score listed on an AP, IB or

CLEP exam, state universities and community colleges must award the minimum recommended credit for the course or course numbers listed, even if they do not offer the course. Up to 45 total credit-by-exam credits may be awarded.

Institutions must use the course number listed, unless it would be advantageous for the student to award a specific course number with equal credit

30 of 33 exams accepted; scores of 50 for credit awards

Over $16 Million in tuition saved last year

California

The California State University system of 23 universities enrolling 417,112 students passed a policy of System-wide Credit for External Examinations in 2010.

The goal of the policy is two-fold:◦ To ensure fair treatment to students seeking

validation of prior learning◦ To relieve enrollment capacity pressures

Kentucky Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education passed a Dual Credit Policy for all Kentucky Public Postsecondary institutions on April 20, 2012 that ensures uniformity and transparency for all students seeking proper acceptance of their prior learning.

32 of 33 CLEP exams are included - Credit awarded must fulfill program requirements or general education

requirements (not elective credit)

Primarily ACE recommended scores

Credit is articulated and guaranteed to transfer

Institutions may alter how credit transfers only if it benefits the student

Tennessee Under development – to include CLEP and AP

Development of standards started with two-year institutions

Four-year institutions currently reviewing and providing feedback

All 33 exams included with ACE recommendations used for scores and credit awards

Institutions can “opt out” of awarding for any CLEP exam but they must honor all CLEP credit awarded by other

institutions and transferred in as part of the Tennessee Transfer Pathways

Massachusetts In May 2012, Gov. Patrick signed the Valor Bill

which calls for a state-wide credit by examination policy with a special emphasis on veterans and military personnel.

“Active-duty members would be able to complete the requirements for approximately 33 different entry-level course areas, paving the way for more advanced coursework upon their return home. Again, by recognizing the training they’ve received and the skills they’ve obtained, we can save them both time and money in furthering their college career. “

The policy development has not yet formally started.

Texas

In 2011, College Credit for Heroes Legislation calls for a policy to “maximize academic

and workforce education credits to veterans and military service members for military

experience, education, and training obtained during military service.”

No development in process at this time.

Recommended Policy Points Follow ACE recommendations for CLEP awards.

Credit awarded must fulfill program requirements or general education requirements (not elective credit).

Ensure transferability.

Allow some language that gives the institution grounds to make adjustments to the credit awards when it is in the best interest of the student.

Avoid artificial barriers in policy like Credit limits, large fees to post credit, restrictions on testing, arbitrary

deadlines.

Thank you…

Q & A