In 2019, the Lumina Foundation awarded $3.5 million in grants to nine organizations nationwide in its All Learning Counts initiative, which sought to ensure that knowledge, skills and abilities gained outside of formal higher education can be applied to credential programs. A four-year evaluation of this program was conducted by the Rutgers Education & Employment Research Center and Brandon Roberts + Associates, a public policy consulting firm. The nine projects involved postsecondary education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and worker training programs, and focused on a range of adult equity populations. The goal was to create or build upon existing frameworks to recognize work-based learning in adult equity populations and move them into postsecondary education where they would earn credits for their prior skills and knowledge. The nine organizations created innovative models for awarding credit for prior learning and highlighted the benefit of partnerships in solving complicated problems, such as removing barriers for adult equity populations to enter postsecondary education. The short timeframe of this initiative also highlights the need for more time, focus, and expertise in this challenging area. The All Learning Counts initiative also illuminates the need for purposeful and deliberate attention to adult equity workers who wish to enter postsecondary education. 

Read our report on Facilitating entry into postsecodary education for adult equity populations here

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