Many post-high school students have set themselves a goal: to graduate from a top university with a bachelor’s degree in four year. What can you do to make it easier?
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that less than 60% of first-time students who pursued a bachelor’s or equivalent degree while enrolled full-time at a four year institution completed their degree within six years.
Degree completionExperts predict that more than 60% of new jobs will require college educations within the next 10 years. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, (CAEL), is making more efforts to increase graduation rates by offering alternative methods to quickly earn a degree.
“Time was the biggest obstacle to getting my degree,” says 54-year-old Briana Taravella.
The likelihood of completing a degree becomes less likely as time passes. However, students can still complete credits using alternative methods such as Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) offered by certain colleges and universities, and services like LearningCounts.org. This is especially true for adult learners.
“I had to work hard every day, but I was able to earn credit that would have taken longer going through classes,”Taravella, a LearningCounts.org student, says that she is referring to her efforts to convert work experiences into college credit via PLA.
PLA, as demonstrated by Taravella and other students, saves a lot time in completing degrees. This system has been used by hundreds of universities and colleges to give credit for learning that was not in the classroom, such as through work experience, civic engagement, and independent study. This list includes PLA as well as other methods students can earn college credit and save time.
* Portfolio-based Assessments
* CLEP Exams
* American Council on Education (ACE) Guides
* Evaluation of Local Training
* Challenge Exams
For more information, visit www. www.learningcounts.org.
