Crediting experiential learning: An examination of perceptions and practices in postsecondary hospitality management and general management programs

This descriptive research study attempted to identify practices currently used by postsecondary educational institutions to accommodate adult learners and to identify the factors that determine whether or not institutions offer a means by which adults my earn college credit through individual assessment of their experiential learning. Data were collected from postsecondary institutions with clearly defined general management (GM) and hospitality management (HM) programs. The study gathered demographic information concerning responding institutions (size, area, degrees awarded, accreditations, and type of institution) as well as activity variables: (a) practices in place to accommodate adult learner needs, (b) methods used to acknowledge and, when warranted, credit experiential learning, (c) policies and procedures concerning prior learning assessment programs, and (d) beliefs blocking and supporting the concept of evaluating and awarding credit for experiential learning based A majority of respondents indicated interest in accommodating adult learners by (a) providing small classes and individual attention; (b) eliminating institutional barriers relating to inconvenient time and place scheduling of classes; and (c) conducting some type of prior learning assessment. However, respondents indicated strong preference for traditional testing methods and a low level of acceptance for individual assessment certificates of achievement, or American Council on Education Guidelines. Portfolio-based, assessment had greater acceptance among private institutions than among public institutions. One focus of the study was to determine why institutions do or do not offer portfolio-based assessment opportunities. The most highly rated reasons supporting PLA programs were: (a) the possibility of finding favor with potential adult students and thereby increasing enrollments, (b) the pointlessness of expecting adult students to re-learn what they already know, and (c) the opportunity to meet educational missions. Other responses relating to the support of portfolio-based PLA concerned valuing the portfolio preparation process, building favorable reputation through innovation, and a comparison of costs between the assessment of prior learning and the conduct of internships.The most highly rated reasons blocking adoption of PLA programs were: (a) students' inability to document learning outcomes, (b) difficulty in assessment of learning outcomes, and (c) lack of faculty trained in assessment techniques. GM respondents placed greater emphasis on the value of formal classroom learning over experiential learning, the value of traditional teaching methods, and the preference for experience to follow the learning of theory.