PLAR for Everyone: A New Way to Recognize Skills and Learning

Abstract

New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) is an institution on Canada's east coast that is focused on providing educational offerings that serve our province’s population. "PLAR For Everyone" (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition for Everyone) is an initiative that reduces barriers for learners seeking validation of their prior learning and work experience. This initiative reviewed how NBCC’s internal processes and policies might affect learners’ access to Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) services, and proposed recommendations across all areas of the college to create more inclusive services that every New Brunswicker can access. The initiative team recommended adjustments to standards, assessment, quality assurance, validation for microcredentials, and to our qualification framework. Areas of focus include systems work, implementation of new roles, transcription, assessment methodologies, fees and financing, and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA). The result is a “credential hub” that introduces flexible, on-demand assessment and skills-based transcripts. This design places the focus on learners’ needs to promote resiliency, confidence, and independent personal growth. In this article, we share our experience of why we chose to transform PLAR offerings, what we identified as our better practices, and how we prepared for these changes.