Each year, CAEL surveys its membership, which includes more than 5,000 individuals and hundreds of institutional members to gain insight about evolving needs within a changing education-employment ecosystem. For over 50 years, CAEL has helped this community of practice enhance its service to adult learners and workers.
As the preeminent pioneer and continuous innovator of credit for prior learning (CPL), CAEL was founded to meet adult learners and workers where they are. In more recent years, that work has seen the CAEL community increase not only in quantity but in diversity. More chambers of commerce, workforce developers, industry groups, employers and other nonprofit organizations are complementing the postsecondary pillar of CAEL membership, which includes colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and several other countries. This growth means more opportunities to collaborate and greater individual and collective capacity to uplift and support adult learners and workers locally, regionally and nationally.
The diversification and growth of our membership community also means it’s more important than ever that our members’ perspectives and voices be seen and heard. CAEL is committed to doing so continually, through ongoing engagement at the Member Hub, various events and, of course, the annual survey I mentioned earlier. This dialogue helps us ensure member benefits are relevant, timely, useful day to day and effective in supporting strategic planning for the future.
We just completed our analysis of the annual survey results, and I wanted to share the topline trends we identified:
- Enhancing CPL strategy is a top need for postsecondary members, topping increasing adult learner enrollment to regain the number one spot. (You may recall that in last year’s survey, enrollment overtook CPL for the first time ever.)
- Credit mobility is an area of overall need.
- Designing career pathways and occupational bridges are top needs for workforce and economic development members.
- Industry partnerships is an important theme for members from various sectors.
- Members are asking CAEL for more resources about (top two responses) credit mobility and adult learner/worker recruitment, engagement and retention.
CAEL uses survey results to continually improve the resources it offers and develop new solutions for our members. In fact, a section of our annual survey is explicitly devoted to querying members about what resources they find most valuable. For 2025, members prioritized resources in the following areas (percentages are the percentage of members who requested resources on the various topics):
In answering these requests and meeting the needs behind them, the CAEL membership team is already at work. We are developing resources, planning virtual workshops and webinars and designing new professional development opportunities to address key areas. Additionally, the events team is planning another amazing National Conference, November 11–14 in Memphis, that will bring together representatives from each stakeholder group to collaborate, communicate and share information to advance the field in service to adult learners and workers.
CAEL also provides technical expertise in a variety of areas that address many of the needs noted above. Each is dedicated to helping organizations thrive among the accelerating forces reshaping education and employment landscapes. That includes building and leading inclusive partnerships that leverage the power of the membership stakeholder diversity I mentioned earlier. Such collaboration is vital to building and maintaining agile, responsive pathways linking learning and work.
By helping diverse organizations find common cause in adult learners and workers, we can keep education and training providers aligned with workforce needs in real time, sustain healthy talent pipelines and support enrollment in education and training programs, from badges and microcredentials to certificates and advanced degrees. To see that common cause, we don’t have to look any further than some of our earliest survey questions. One of the primary concerns of our postsecondary education members is increasing adult learner enrollment. And the top concern of our workforce/economic development members is designing career pathways/occupational bridges.
These parallel challenges become paired opportunities when we work together. Thank you for being a part of that work. For information about CAEL or becoming a CAEL Member, visit the CAEL Member Hub or email us at membershipservices@cael.org
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