by Dr. N. Jane McCandless
Like many in higher education, I have been listening closely to the talk about reaching out to our adult learners. In the beginning of these conversations I wondered if we were not already doing all that we could. After all, in the College of Social Sciences alone we have online programs and evening programs, and we accept transfer credits, military credits and even CLEP exams. However, over the course of these last few months I have had the opportunity to learn much more about the ways that we can, and should, reach to the adult learner.
In June I attended two conferences that focused upon the adult learner. The first conference was the statewide conference, sponsored by the Adult Learning Consortium. While attending this meeting I spent most of my time just trying to figure out what it was that we could do that we were not already doing. There I learned (again) about the importance of CLEP exams, military credit and transfer credits. I learned (again) about the importance of providing day classes and evening classes and weekend classes. I learned about uses for the ‘short’ semesters and the importance of having both advisors and mentors. Yet, there was one area being discussed that I knew little about: prior learning assessment. Because I needed to learn what was meant by prior learning assessment I attended a second conference, The National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning – a conference sponsored by Thomas Edison State College. I also attended the pre-conference workshop, Prior Learning Assessment Theory and Practice: An Overview of Program Essentials for New Practitioners.
It was at this conference that I met Dr. Alan Mandell, professor of adult learning at Empire State College, SUNY, and leader in the field of adult learning. I was so impressed by his approach to the sociology of learning, I knew we needed to bring him to campus. In August I invited Dr. Mandell to UWG to lead a workshop on the Adult Learner. The goal of this workshop was to provide our colleagues - deans, department chairs, directors, faculty, and staff who have an interest in the adult learner - with an overview of prior learning assessment, including standards and procedures for assessing learning. Dr. Mandell led our colleagues through discussions focused upon best practices and on gaining new understandings and insights that can equip us to better serve the adult population of learners, indeed all learners.
The College of Social Sciences is taking a leading role at UWG in reaching out to the adult learner because it is the right thing to do. Also, it is projected that by the year 2020 more than 60 percent of all jobs in the state of Georgia will require a certificate or a degree. Currently, only 42 percent of all jobs in the state of Georgia require a certificate or degree, creating a need for an additional 250,000 graduates. In addition, Governor Nathan Deal and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby recently announced the statewide "Go Back- Move Ahead" campaign - a plan to make it easier for state residents who have not completed their degrees to return to Georgia's public colleges and earn their credentials by offering a simplified enrollment process, personal academic advisers and flexible course schedules, both on campus and online.
I look forward to this journey and the many ways it will make UWG an even better place to work, learn and succeed--for ALL students.
Dr. N. Jane McCandless is the dean of the College of Social Sciences.
