Credit for Prior Learning Act
Sponsored By: Senator Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would make it cheaper for students to earn college credit for real-world learning by creating a new allowance of up to $2,000 per award year for prior learning assessment costs and by setting clear standards and transparency rules for those assessments. It would also require accreditors to verify that institutions use expert-based criteria and publicly disclose how they evaluate learning earned outside the classroom.
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- Students: Students could use up to $2,000 per award year to cover reasonable costs, like test fees, for assessments that convert work or life experience into college credits. The cap would be adjustable for inflation after the 2025-2026 award year and the changes would take effect on July 1, 2027.
- Colleges and accreditors: Institutions would need assessment policies that evaluate skills and knowledge against criteria accepted by subject matter experts and accreditors would be required to confirm those standards during reviews.
- Consumers and equity: Colleges would have to report how many students receive prior learning credit and the average credits awarded, disaggregated by race, income, and Federal Pell Grant status.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Help to pay prior learning fees
If enacted, you would be able to add up to $2,000 per award year to your school's cost of attendance for fees to assess prior learning. The $2,000 cap applies for award years through 2025–2026 and would be adjusted for inflation after that. This allowance would apply when your school calculates cost of attendance for students seeking Title IV federal student aid. The bill also defines which assessments count: they must test real learning (not time or experience) and award academic credit without requiring extra classes. These changes would take effect on July 1, 2027.
Clearer rules for prior learning credit
If enacted, accrediting agencies would have to confirm schools use adequate standards to assess prior learning. The standards would need to test skills and knowledge at levels accepted by subject matter experts and be publicly disclosed. Colleges would also have to report two new metrics: the number of students receiving prior learning credit and the average credits awarded per student seeking such credit. Both metrics would be broken down by race, income, and whether a student received a Federal Pell Grant.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
MN • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT]
MT • R
Sponsored 6/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov