Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is a new field, but it has a long history, since children have always learned from adults and demonstrated their competence by observation of their work or by the quality of their products or services. Later, formal learning became more valuable and recognized school credentials paved the way to good jobs. Only when adults began returning to school in large numbers has the idea of recognizing learning outside the campus evolved. In Canada, for lack of procedures recognizing adult learning, academic institutions admitted adults as "mature students" who could provide proof of what they had learned. Today, procedures are being developed to test and document adult learning from a variety of sources. Portfolios are encouraged, but it is often wrongly assumed that adults must develop a portfolio for each field of study instead of an integrated one. It is also thought that many new tests must be developed, whereas the standard tests that traditional undergraduates take may suffice to allow adults to demonstrate mastery of a subject. Developing a PLAR program requires creating new partnerships among business, schools, and organizations in order to design and implement knowledge demonstrations. (KC)