As his 30th birthday approached last fall, Benjamin Wagner began to feel stagnant.
He was working in assembly at Schaeffler Transmission Systems in Wooster, a job he still holds. But after leaving college without a degree in 2016, Wagner began to wonder if he would benefit from graduating. It might give him more opportunities, he thought.
So he sent an email to a University of Akron administrator asking if there was anything he could do to complete the last two semesters of coursework he needed for his bachelor’s degree. He heard back the same week — he might be eligible for a program that would give him credit for the time he spent in the workforce, helping him finish his bachelor’s of organizational supervision even sooner than he thought possible.
With the credit-for-prior-learning program, Wagner would only need one more class to get his degree — not the 27 credits, or between seven and nine classes, he thought would be necessary. He started his capstone in communication class in January and will graduate in May.
“I was kind of shocked at how quickly it went,” Wagner said of the university’s process. “I didn’t think work experience would translate.”
Ohio a leading state in credit-for-prior-learning programs
The concept of getting school credit for outside work experience isn’t a new one: Michele Spires, the assistant vice president of learning evaluations for the American Council on Education, said alternative credit or experiential learning programs have been around for 30 years.
But the idea has been modernized in recent years, with more colleges getting on board with the idea that what people learn in their work lives can translate into what they would have gotten out of the classroom.
Ohio, she said, is one of the leading states, letting people use the credits they earn to help move toward degrees.
“Our academic institutions want to see degree completions,” Spires said. “It opens up doors to under-served populations.”
At Akron, Gwyneth Price, the university’s senior vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, said the credit-for-prior-learning program is a “ramp up of things we’ve already been doing.”
While students could receive credit for out-of-college experiences before, in part by testing out of classes, this is the first time the university has dedicated people to look at students’ work histories, offering a sort of concierge review of resumes to see what credits they might be eligible for. There are currently four people working on the program.
‘We can remove one obstacle’
Since the fall, at least 63 students have gotten credit for on-the-job or military learning. The university offers a pre-review for those who aren’t Akron students but might want to enroll, Price said.
Spires said those students who come in through prior-learning programs tend to be more focused and committed than other students. And they often take more credits than necessary to graduate, since they’re freed of some requirements and able to explore their interests, which brings additional money to the universities.
The program is one way to help Akron reach potential students who may not have considered college previously, Price said, as student populations shrink across the country and demographics change.
“It’s definitely worth it because these are all students out there not taking any college classes,” Price said. “They feel there’s an obstacle in their way. We can remove one obstacle.”
She said helping working adults get a degree can allow them to advance in pay or within their companies, in addition to allowing many to complete a lifetime goal. Price said a marketing and phone campaign, beginning with University of Akron students who have some college but didn’t complete their degrees, is intended.
While students can earn up to two-thirds of their required 120 credits through the prior-learning program, Price said it’s more common for students to collect fewer than 12 credits. The university has a requirement that 30 credits of a bachelor’s degree be earned from University of Akron classes, she said. While the university is in discussions about what a graduate-school version of the program might look like, it’s currently only an option for undergraduate degrees.
Wagner, who will finish his degree next month, said he’s already looking for other jobs at his company to apply for. He sees the opportunity to go from a job to a career path, in addition to making more money.
“I’m glad I took the jump,” he said. “I’ll feel accomplished, like I’ve actually kind of done something with my life.”
Saving time and money
All of Ohio’s 14 public universities and their 24 branch campuses have some kind of prior-learning program, said Tom Sudkamp, vice chancellor of academic affairs at the Ohio Department of Higher Education. He said they aim to help students save money by allowing them to get degrees faster, with fewer courses. Many started by recognizing military training and coursework and later expanded to offer credit for other work experiences.
Akron has done “a pretty good job for a while” helping students with military experience get course credit, said Jared Shank, senior director of military and apprenticeship initiatives and special projects for the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about saving time and money and getting that person closer to a degree,” Shank said. “It’s significant time and money that they’re saving.”
Jeremiah Freshly, who spent his childhood in and out of foster care, said he knew when he graduated high school in Dayton he didn’t want to go to college. He applied to the University of Akron to take business classes after his discharge from the U.S. Air Force, where he was an aviation resource manager. Freshly said he changed his mind about getting a degree when his post-Air Force job as a manager for a railroad was taking up 60 hours a week, leaving him little time with his young son.
“I don’t want to work like this the rest of my life,” the 25-year-old Freshly recalled thinking.
He got phys ed credits for his basic training experience and credit for public speaking he’d done. All told, Freshly said, he got enough credits to be halfway through an associate’s degree before he even started school. With the addition of summer classes, he’ll be able to finish his bachelor’s degree in two years, he said, instead of four.
“It’s a huge deal for me because time is money,” he said. “I was like, ‘Shoot! Sign me up!’”
Shank said motivated students are also likely to graduate and get jobs, improving the university’s employment statistics. He called them a good return on investment, saying every school wants good alumni.
‘I’m spreading the word’
With higher academic attainment, job opportunities improve, and so does Ohio residents’ quality of life, said Paula Compton, associate vice chancellor and executive director of articulation and transfer for the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Compton said knowing that students have earned college credit before they even begin classes helps build their confidence and keep them engaged, since they don’t spend the first part of college repeating things they already know. She also said such programs are good for Ohio’s workforce, helping people get the degrees they need to fill available jobs.
“We really try to have those on-ramps,” she said of credit-for-prior-learning programs. “It’s all about showing people the pathways. … It’s really getting the word out.”
Freshly said he’s already told old teachers and friends about the credit-for-prior-learning program, hoping others can benefit. He said he’s now more confident that he’ll finish his degree and achieve his goal of starting a logistics company.
“I told a bunch of people; I’m still telling people,” he said. “It’s a crazy great program. I’m spreading the word.”
Wagner said he’s also urged people to look into getting their own credit for work experience.
“It’s totally worth it,” he said. “School might be daunting, but this program cuts it down.”
