A CAEL Research Brief - Accreditor Policies on CPL - Guidance on CPL Provided by the Formerly Regional Accreditors, Career-Based Accreditors, and Faith-Related Accreditors

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

CAEL’s April 2025 research brief explains how postsecondary institutions should design and implement Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) in coordination with accrediting guidance. It outlines major decision areas for CPL offerings, including assessment options, administration, fees, and quality assurance. The report summarizes CPL policies of the seven formerly regional accreditors—such as HLC, MSCHE, NECHE, NWCCU, SACSCOC, WSCUC, and ACCJC—and also provides final notes plus CAEL’s ten CPL assessment standards and policy details for career- and faith-related accreditors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Institutional Accrediting Bodies and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)

Guidance to the Accreditors: The Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit

Summary of the Formerly Regional Accreditor CPL Policies

Formerly Regional Accreditor CPL Policies

Summary of CPL Policies of Other Accrediting Bodies

Final Notes

Appendix A. CAEL’s Ten Standards for Assessing Learning

Appendix B. Details on CPL Policies of Career-Related, Faith-Related, and Other Accreditors

A CA EL RESEARCH BRIEF APRIL 2025 Accreditor Policies on Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Guidance on CPL Provided by the Formerly Regional Accreditors, Career-Based Accreditors, and Faith-Related Accreditors REBECCA KLEIN-COLLINS [cael.org](cael.org) Table of Contents Institutional Accrediting Bodies and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) ......................................................... 3 Guidance to the Accreditors: The Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit ............................. 5 Summary of the Formerly Regional Accreditor CPL Policies ....................................................................... 7 Formerly Regional Accreditor CPL Policies .................................................................................................. 10 Higher Learning Commission (HLC) ..................................................................................................... 10 Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) ............................................................... 13 New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) ................................................................. 17 Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) ...................................................... 20 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) ................... 22 Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)– Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) ............................................................. 24 The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)..................................... 27 Summary of CPL Policies of Other Accrediting Bodies .............................................................................. 30 Final Notes ....................................................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix A. CAEL’s Ten Standards for Assessing Learning ....................................................................... 34 Appendix B. Details on CPL Policies of Career-Related, Faith-Related, and Other Accreditors ............ 35 Career-Related and Other Accreditors................................................................................................. 35 Faith-Related Accreditors ...................................................................................................................... 38 [www.cael.org](www.cael.org) Guidance on CPL Provided by the Formerly Regional Accreditors, Career-Based Accreditors, and Faith-Related Accreditors 2 A CA EL RESEARCH REPORT ACCREDITOR POLICIES ON CPL A CA EL RESEARCH REPORT ACCREDITOR POLICIES ON CPL military training, non-college Institutional Accrediting Bodies and Guidance on CPL Provided by the Formerly Regional Accreditors, Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Career-Based Accreditors, and Faith-Related Accreditors Postsecondary institutions have a number of decisions to make in designing Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) offerings, including the specific assessment options they make available to students, how assessments of prior learning are administered, what to charge for CPL, how to maintain high academic standards, and so on. States, Credit for Prior Learning systems, and private entities like CAEL offer important guidance on these matters (CPL) is the term used for the (please see the examples in the sidebar on page 4) . Perhaps more importantly, various ways in which higher both public and private institutions also turn to their accrediting organizations education institutions and for CPL guidance. other organizations assess an individual’s extra-institutional learning for the purposes In 2014, CAEL published a report that described how each of the seven formerly of granting college credit, regional accrediting bodies addressed CPL in t

FAQs

What decisions do institutions need to make when designing Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) offerings?

Institutions must decide which assessment options to offer, how assessments are administered, what to charge for CPL, and how to maintain high academic standards.

Which types of institutional accreditors are recognized for CPL guidance?

The report describes four types: formerly regional accreditors, national faith-related accreditors, national career-related accreditors, and institutional accreditors that consist of a single organization.

What do the formerly regional accreditor CPL policy sections cover?

They provide summarized and detailed CPL policies for each accrediting body, including Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), and ACCJC.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum