The purpose of this book is to assist post-traditional students to achieve success in the Occupational, Workforce, and Leadership Studies (OWLS) Department and develop their individualized pathway to earn the interdisciplinary Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree at Texas State University. Applied baccalaureate degrees incorporate…

A survey of 23 faculty active in the Adult Liberal Studies program examined faculty attitudes about older students in higher education. Faculty generally felt that adults have better skills and more cognitive skills than traditional students. Faculty also were pleased with the structure of the adult program. (CH)

The School of Education at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee has refined its method of granting college credit for community experience. Prior Professional Educational Experience (PPEE) credits are granted for knowledge in competency areas offered by the department. The program has given students a sense of accomplishment about learning…

Following a literature review, this article analyzes the financial impact of credits for experiential learning on a major midwestern university. Both students and the institution appear to have benefited economically. Questions are raised concerning who should benefit from publicly supported education--students, society, or all three. Includes 28…

Millsaps College inaugurated an Adult Degree Program to compensate for the predicted diminishing number of traditional age students and to establish a degree program incorporating a number of innovations of value to working adults. Issues considered before implementing the program included the impact of such a degree offering on existing programs,…

Results of a 13-item questionnaire mailed to Iona College graduates who had received "life experience" credits as part of their undergraduate degree are presented. The purpose of the study was to determine the acceptability of life-experience credits by graduate schools to improve advising and advocacy activities. (Author/LBH)

Colleges and universities have responded to the need of adults to possess academic credentials by designing programs flexible enough to fit any situation. Portfolio assessment, independent study, credit-by-exam, and credit for prior learning are among the ways people earn degrees. Some women's experiences and sources for study cited. (MLW)

This report contains suggestions on how adults can secure college credit for past education and life experience. According to the report, there are eight categories of life experience that can be worth credit: work; homemaking; volunteer work; noncredit learning; travel; recreational activities and hobbies; reading, viewing, and listening; and…

In 1998, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools established a fifteen-member Task Force to study the practices and procedures employed in adult degree completion programs. An adult degree completion program is identified as one that is designed especially to meet the needs of the working adult who, having acquired sixty or more…

A study sought to determine the rate of retention of adult students in the University of Minnesota College Program for Individualized Learning (PIL) for the 1983-84 academic year, as well as factors that might relate to this retention rate. A review was made of the 67 applications submitted by students admitted to PIL during that year to determine…

Evaluation of prior learning for college credit towards a general studies degree is discussed in this handbook for faculty evaluators. It is suggested that the major responsibility of the evaluator is to determine if prior learning is college level and how many credits should be awarded. Credit toward the general studies degree is awarded only for…

Nontraditional methods of qualifying for a college degree are described in this student guide to off-campus study and examination. The three external degree institutions in the United States that offer these programs are discussed. They include: Regents External Degree Program of the University of the State of New York; Thomas A. Edison College of…