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Adult learner reentry to college and pathways to credentials may be less visible in enrollment management plans that are dependent on conventional, linear, and continuous college pathways. Drawing from learning and findings of six institutions within a large public university system as well as the academic literature, this article will consider post-traditional pipeline opportunities and strategies for faculty and staff engagement in SEM planning for this population.

Diane Treis, Ed.D., has more than three decades of public service in education, local government,
and economic and community development. She currently serves as the Director of Academic Programs and Student
Learning Assessment for the University of Wisconsin System Administration. In this role she provides consultation to
UW System faculty and staff in the development of academic degree programs to meet current workforce and student
demand. She serves as the principal system resource on matters relating to the assessment and credit award for prior
learning and she has led major initiatives relative to the recognition of prior learning, credit transfer, degree
completion, and other high impact educational practices at the system, state, and national level. Treis Rusk holds a
Doctor of Education in higher education leadership, policy and organization from Vanderbilt University. She also has
a Master of Science in human ecology and Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.

For more information regarding the tools created to expand CPL opportunities as part of one university systems’
participation in the All Learning Count project, please contact the author at dtreisrusk@uwsa.edu.

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Crounse, S., L. Hinkle, and C. Shatzer. 2018. Differentiating commitment to welfare: Adult student perceptions of institutional practices. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 6(1): 5–15.

Davis, L., J. Pocai, J. Taylor, S. Kauppila, and P. Rubin. 2022. Lighting the Path to Remove Systemic Barriers in Higher Education and Award Earned Post-Secondary Credential through IHEP’s Degrees When Due Initiative. Washington, D.C.: Institute for Higher Education Policy.

Delleville, V. 2017. Texas A&M Texarkana illustrates best practices in PLA. Journal of Continuing Higher Education. 65(2): 132–143.

Hayward, M., and M. Williams. 2015. Adult learner graduation rates at four U.S. community colleges by prior learning status and method. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. 39(1): 44–54.

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Klein-Collins, R., and S. Hudson. 2017 What Happens When Learning Counts? Measuring the Benefits of Prior Learning Assessment for the Adult Learner. Indianapolis, IN: Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Klein-Collins, R., and S. Hudson. 2019. Do Methods Matter? PLA, Portfolio Assessment, and the Road to Completion and Persistence. Indianapolis, IN: Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Klein-Collins, R., P. Bransberger, and P. Lane. 2021. Equity Paradoxes in the PLA Boost. Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

Klein-Collins, R., J. Taylor, C. Bishop, P. Bransberger, P. Lane, and S. Leibrandt. 2020. The PLA Boost: Results from a 72-Institution Targeted Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes. Indianapolis, IN: Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

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MacDonald, K. 2018. A review of the literature: The needs of nontraditional students in postsecondary education. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 5(4):159–164.

Marienau, C. 2014. Why the adult brain likes PLA. Forum and News. 2014: 20–22.

O’Beirne, R., and D. Treis Rusk. 2011. Increasing Enrollment Yield at a Regional Comprehensive Public University (doctoral dissertation). Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

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Trainer, J. 2018. Top down or bottom up: Consider a dual-level approach to enrollment management. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 6(3): 23–33.

Treis Rusk, D., and L. Smith. 2014. The Prior Learning Assessment expansion initiative of the University of Wisconsin System: A System approach to delivering a culture in which PLA can thrive. Prior Learning Assessment Inside Out. 2(2).

Treis Rusk, D., and L. Smith. 2022 Utilizing prior learning portfolios to rebundle formal and informal learning. In New Models of Higher Education: Unbundled, Rebundled, Customized, and DIY, edited by E. Brower, A. M. and R. J. Specht-Boardman. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

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WICHE. See Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. 2020. Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates through 2037. Boulder, CO: Author

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