BILL REQ. #:  H-4532.1 

Read first time 01/18/08.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to assessment of prior learning at institutions of higher education; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that adult learners entering workforce and academic programs will comprise a growing percentage of higher education enrollments in coming years. It is strategically important, for a vital economy and global competitiveness, to ensure that adult learners move through postsecondary education in the most efficient manner possible and enter the workforce well-prepared.
     (2) The legislature also finds that Washington must make an effort to more effectively use resources at the state's public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to facilitate wider and deeper adult participation in postsecondary education.
     (3) The legislature also finds that adult learners encounter barriers in pursuit of their postsecondary education. Institutional policies and procedures regarding the acceptance of prior learning credits are not aligned with accreditation rules and national best practices.
     (4) Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to create pathways for adult learners to gain credit for learning from a variety of sources so that college level learning acquired before enrollment can be applied toward academic and workforce degrees.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The higher education coordinating board shall convene a work group that includes representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the council of presidents, and the two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to examine policies related to the acceptance of prior learning credits at institutions of higher education. The work group shall make policy recommendations in the following two areas related to prior learning assessment, giving special consideration to recommendations made by the council for adult and experiential learning and accreditation rules adopted by the northwest commission on colleges and universities:
     (a) The proportion of two-year and four-year academic and workforce degrees that can be comprised of credits granted through the assessment of prior learning; and
     (b) The applicability of prior learning credits toward general education requirements and major-specific requirements.
     (2) The study shall also include recommendations on implementation of the work group's recommendations at public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education.
     (3) The work group shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2008.