University of Akron to give adult learners college credit for comparable life experiences

When 24-year-old Jeremiah Freshly was applying to the University of Akron for a degree in business, he received a seemingly odd request from the university.

They asked him to detail his responsibilities, expertise and certifications he received in his four years in the Air Force and the year he spent working in railroad operations.

"Be as specific as possible," Freshly remembered them telling him.

Upon admission, a team at the university reviewed his previous work and awarded him almost half the credits he would need toward a degree.

"They applied a lot of my technical learning, things I've done like giving speeches," Freshly said. "I would give briefings every morning."

His four-year degree just became a two-year degree.

"I was like, 'Oh shoot, sign me up, I'll knock it out,'" Freshly said. "Four years, that's a long time. But two years? OK, we can hustle it out. I know once I get it done, it will help me a lot."

UA has recently started awarding college credit for students who have life experience in the field in which they plan to earn a degree or certificate, a practice known as "credit for prior learning."

The university and its faculty have developed ways to evaluate a student's previous learning or work experience that may not fit a traditional credit transfer process to award equivalent college course credit toward a degree. It's an effort to recruit more adult students and to help those who may have started a degree but never finished.

Students who would qualify for review of their prior learning include those with strong work experience and those who have or are still serving in the military, as well as students who have received professional training or certifications and have some college credits already.

"Our message to students is whether you're 18 or 55, you belong here," Director of Regional Campuses Heather Howley said at the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday.

Gwyneth Price, senior vice provost for academic and faculty affairs, said a team of faculty within each college have the final say on how much credit a student can earn based on whether they can show mastery of a subject that matches what they would learn in a particular course.

If so, they would be awarded those credits toward a degree, although those credits cannot be used to transfer elsewhere. They would count toward the total number of credits a student must earn within a major and overall in order to graduate from UA.

"It's a very individualized process," Price said.

About 60 students have gone through the process. Most who have been awarded credits, Price said, have been awarded 12 credits or fewer. Any student can also try to test out of certain classes, a process that already exists.

"There have always been some ]credit for prior learning] options," Price said. "There's never been this comprehensive review."

Price said the process, which exists at some other universities across the state, took about a year to create for UA, and the faculty embraced it quickly.

"Our faculty are very understanding of the variety of backgrounds that our students are coming with," she said. "It's been truly exciting to see the response of the faculty in that area."

Businesses have also been excited, she said, as many already have workers with certificates, associate's degrees or other college credit they could leverage toward a full degree. Workers could also leverage their experience as an employee toward a certificate or associate's degree.

Price said the initiative is an acknowledgment that demographics are changing, and universities have to find ways to broaden their enrollment to more types of students. It also aligns with the university's mission, she said.

"We need to reach a new audience, but it's just a reinvigoration of living into our vision of serving our mission, serving our region," she said.

By awarding credit, in some cases dozens of credits, for students' prior learning, the university is in essence giving up the income it would have if students took all four years of college. But Price said the trade-off is worth it to get them enrolled.

"It's definitely worth it because these are all students who are all sitting out there not taking any college courses, for whatever reason," she said. "They feel there is an obstacle in their way and we are trying to remove at least one obstacle."

Freshly said his biggest obstacles were cost — an administrative issue has put G.I. Bill benefits out of reach for him for the moment — and time. Now both will be cut in half.

A native of Dallas and Dayton, Freshly said he's new to Akron. In his search for college programs, Akron honoring his years of life experience as college credit sealed the deal.

He will be starting the courses he needs toward his bachelor's in May. In the meantime, he's taking an online IT course — "I'm like a sponge right now, I'm trying to learn as much as I can" — and enjoying being a dad to his 3-year-old son. He knows by going to college, he's setting an example for his son.

"When he gets older, he’ll be able to make a choice, and he'll be able to see Dad did this, Mom did this," Freshly said. He is working to secure G.I. Bill benefits to transfer them to his son.

He said he wants to open his own business some day, likely in logistics and transportation, or become an operations manager.

He probably could have started a business right away, he said, but he was ready for the chance to go back to school.

"Having a degree won't hurt, and learning won't hurt either," he said.

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: University of Akron to reward life experiences as college credit