Prior Learning Assessment Center for Early Care, Education & Family Support

What is Prior Learning Assessment?

Prior Learning Assessment (P LA) is the systematic method of finding out what college level skills, knowledge, and dispositions adult students have gained through their experience. P LA addresses learning not the number of years of experience. P LA for early care, education, and family support personnel will entail the successful completion of five Assessment Activities for each of the three courses that can be challenged (Child Growth, Development, and Learning, Health, Safety, and Nutrition, and Family and Community Collaboration.)

Why do we want Prior Learning Assessment?

PLA recognizes that learning can take place outside of a classroom and that adults may already possess learning similar to that taught in the college classroom.
The benefits of PLA are:

• The award of credit for demonstration of learning
• Allowing students to move to more advanced courses to support their learning needs

Who can participate in Prior Learning Assessment?

Students who are pursuing an AA degree, who have at least a 2.5 GP A, who have taken an English course and at least one early childhood course, can request to challenge up to three AA core courses through P LA.

When will the Prior Learning Assessment process be available?

The PLA system will be pilot tested Summer and Fall 2005.
Where will the Prior Learning Assessment process be available?

The PLACE (Prior Learning Assessment Center for Early Care and Education) will be housed at the Children's Village, NMSU campus.

Project P.L.A.C.E is a cooperative effort of the New Mexico Early Childhood Higher Education Task Force and New Mexico State University. Project P.L.A.C.E is by a grant from CYFD Region Head Start (Teacher Quality, Teacher Care and UNM/CYFD PLA)