In a society characterized by change, people are faced with many opportunities to acquire practical knowledge outside the traditional environment of academic institutions using the same basic evaluation criteria and guarantee the validity and reliability of assessment. A prior learning assessment (PLA) program has the following economic benefits: it attracts a newly motivated adult clientele to return to school; it builds on what they already know; and it fills the enrollment gap left by a decreasing younger population. The ideological principles of justice and equity, ethics and morals, and responsibility are putting serious pressure on academic institutions to assess prior learning using the same basic evaluation criteria and to guarantee the validity and reliability of assessment. To apply these principles, four steps are required in a sound and valid PLA program: (1) program planning by administrators; (2) identification of student learning by a counselor; (3) assessment of learning by professors; and (4) accreditation by administrators. Faced with constant change, colleges and universities must modify their mandate and assess what has been learned outside their supervision. (10 references) (YLB)