UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
Why universities need to reinforce their recognition of prior learning

In a recent discussion about the intended uses of The Manual on Quality Assurance for the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in Canada, published last year by the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment, a colleague asked if I thought the manual would lead to more RPL activity at Canadian universities. I quickly flashed back over the past 20 years that I've been involved with prior learning assessment and recognition, and answered that the time will never be better.

So much has changed in postsecondary education in the last decade. Even those most convinced that the decline in direct-entry high school grads would never affect them are now eating their words as, with few exceptions, the demographic shift is well under way across the country. But it is more than the demographics that have shifted, so have the learners.

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