FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Learning Evaluation and Recognition for the Next Generation (LEARN) Commission Calls on Higher Education Leaders to Act on Learning Evaluation Reform
New LEARN Commission report outlines a path forward and invites institutions, systems, policymakers, and partners to move together
Washington, DC, February 11, 2026 —
The Learning Evaluation and Recognition for the Next Generation (LEARN) Commission today released the Learning Evaluation for the 21st Century: Recommendations to Transform Policy and Practice to Meet Changing Needs, a report of the Learning Evaluation and Recognition for the Next Generation (LEARN) Commission. More than a set of findings, the report is a call for coordinated action across higher education to modernize how learning is evaluated, recognized, and applied toward credentials.
Convened by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and SOVA under the Beyond Transfer initiative, with funding from Ascendium Education Philanthropy, the LEARN Commission brought together institutional leaders, accreditors, researchers, and policy experts to confront a system that was never designed to support today’s scale and complexity of learning mobility. The Commission identified fourteen foundational recommendations to enhance transparency, consistency, timeliness, and learner outcomes in the learning evaluation process, encompassing traditional transfer, dual enrollment, credit for prior learning, and the utilization of technology and data.
“Learners are increasingly mobile, and learning increasingly happens in many forms—but our systems for evaluating that learning have not kept pace,” said Melanie Gottlieb, Executive Director, AACRAO. “This report reflects a shared recognition that incremental fixes are not enough. The field must move together to redesign learning evaluation for the realities of the 21st century.” The recommendations make clear that improving learning evaluation is not solely an institutional responsibility. State agencies, accreditors, associations, philanthropy, and solution providers all have critical roles to play in enabling reform at scale.
In the coming months, AACRAO and Sova will release a Call to Action that outlines how partners across the ecosystem can engage–through pilots, technical assistance, convenings, policy alignment, and shared learning–to translate the Commission’s recommendations into practice.
“The evidence is clear. When learning evaluation works well, learners progress faster, institutions operate more efficiently, and states and regions retain skilled talent. This is a moment to act…together,” said Lara Couturier, Partner, Sova.
The full LEARN Commission report is available at:
www.aacrao.org/our-work/learning-mobility/learn-commission.
AACRAO
AACRAO is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 18,000 higher education professionals at over 2,300 institutions worldwide, advancing best practices in admissions, records, enrollment management, and learning mobility.
About SOVA
Sova is a strategy and policy organization focused on advancing equity-centered, evidence-based reforms in postsecondary education and workforce systems.
AACRAO Media Contact: communications@aacrao.org
Sova Media Contact: lara.couturier@sova.org