Overview

Launched in September 2026, the National Leadership Roundtable on the Recognition of Learning is a national coalition of six higher education organizations working together to advance how learning acquired through work, military service, education, training, and other experiences is recognized, validated, and valued.

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AARAO) convened the Roundtable in March 2026 to strengthen coordination among organizations working on credit for prior learning, competency-based education, transfer, workforce learning, learning mobility, and related areas. The Roundtable focuses on credit for prior learning while using recognition of learning as a broader umbrella concept that encompasses the recognition of skills, competencies, credentials, and other learning gained both within and outside traditional educational settings. Rather than developing another separate standard or framework, the Roundtable works to connect and translate existing research, frameworks, policies, and practices into practical guidance that institutions can use.

The work focuses on:

• Developing shared quality principles and guardrails for recognizing learning while maintaining academic quality and institutional autonomy.
• Developing more consistent terminology related to recognition of learning and credit for prior learning.
• Creating implementation guidance, exemplar policies, decision frameworks, process maps, institutional examples, and other resources for higher education institutions.
• Connecting credit for prior learning with broader developments in learning mobility, transfer, credentials, workforce learning, skills, and competencies.
• Using state-level work in Arizona and West Virginia to help inform and test the Roundtable's guidance.

Key activities:

• March 2026
  • AACRAO convened national organizations working across credit for prior learning and related areas.
  • initial phase included mapping existing frameworks, identifying shared priorities, and establishing areas for coordinated work.
• 2026
  • Roundtable participants began developing shared quality principles, terminology, implementation resources, and practical guidance for institutions.
• September 14, 2026
  • National Leadership Roundtable on the Recognition of Learning was publicly announced as a coalition of six national higher education organizations.
• November 2026
  • Roundtable plans to release a jointly developed guidebook identifying practices and actions institutions can use to strengthen recognition of learning.
  •  The guide is being designed primarily for registrars and enrollment leaders and is expected to address institutional processes, quality, transparency, consistency, and learner mobility.
• 2026 and beyond
  • Roundtable plans to continue sharing its work through professional conferences, meetings, and other higher education venues and to use state implementation efforts to inform development of its guidance.

Partners

• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
• American Council on Education (ACE)
• Center for Academic Innovation (CAI)
• Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN)
• Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)
• UPCEA

Funding

Funded by Strada Education Foundation and led and convened by AACRAO

The participating organizations contribute expertise related to academic records and enrollment, adult and experiential learning, competency-based education, credit for prior learning, learning mobility, professional and continuing education, and the recognition of workplace and other forms of learning.

Resources

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. (2026, August 4). AACRAO convenes a National Leadership Roundtable on credit for prior learning. https://www.aacrao.org/news/aacrao-convenes-a-national-leadership-roundtable-on-credit-for-prior-learning/

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. (2026, September 14). National higher education changemakers launch coalition to advance recognition of prior learning. https://www.aacrao.org/news/national-higher-education-changemakers-launch-coalition-to-advance-recognition-of-prior-learning/

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. (2026, September 15). A national push to put experience on the record. https://www.aacrao.org/news/a-national-push-to-put-experience-on-the-record/