Register for CAPLA’s Spring RPL Event
The overarching theme or objective of the 3-webinar series is to give participants concrete strategies that they can use in their practice to initiate and/or grow their PLAR/RPL service provision. The webinars will identify potential barriers and offer suggestions to get around these barriers.
The webinars consist of 1 hour of presentations and then 25-minute break-out rooms to dive deeper into the subject matter with presenters.
Webinar 1: May 29: Getting University/College RPL Buy-In.
Webinar 2: June 5: Getting employer/employee RPL Buy-In.
Webinar 3: June 12: Getting Government RPL Buy-In.
As in other years, you can register for one session or all three. And since all our sessions are on Zoom, video recordings can be sent to you if one of the dates becomes problematic.
Webinar 1
Getting RPL Buy-In at Colleges/Universities
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 | 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (Eastern)
1. Getting student buy-in
Presenter: Andy Brown, CAPLA Chair & Champlain College Saint-Lambert Teacher
Andy will share strategies that he used over a 12-year period with over 500 RPL candidates/students. In particular, he will focus on strategies that the RPL Team used to attract and support the candidates’/students’ success towards a government college-level qualification delivered through the RPL process.
2. Getting teacher buy-in
Presenter: Michelle Chisholm, Learning Design Consultant for Prior Learning
Academic Planning and Evaluation; Patrick Reinartz, RPL Consultant, NBCC
New Brunswick Community College
New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) is an institution on Canada’s east coast. “PLAR For Everyone” (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition for Everyone), is an initiative that reduces barriers for learners seeking validation of their prior learning. This initiative reviewed how our internal processes and policies might negatively affect learners’ access to RPL services, and proposed recommendations across all areas of the college to create more inclusive services that can reach every New Brunswicker. The team previously facilitated a pilot based on research that included extensive faculty/assessor input to ensure involvement in any new RPL processes. The results informed new recommendations for the ongoing development of future offerings. This session will discuss our experience in developing and implementing new PLAR services, with a focus on the work completed to encourage faculty buy-in.
3. Getting institution buy-in
Presenter: Geneviève Rock, Conseillère pédagogique, Cégep de Saint-Laurent, Quebec
Geneviève will share her expertise in getting an RPL service off the ground and then growing it into a vibrant, successful and sustainable college service. The presentation will focus on 3 pillars to get institutional buy-in: political, social and financial.
About the speakers
Andy Brown
CAPLA Chair and RAC (RPL) Advisor
Champlain College-Saint Lambert
Andy has taught for over 30 years in a variety of contexts. For the last 12 years he was a Pedagogical Counsellor at Champlain College-Saint Lambert in Montreal. He had the absolute pleasure and honour of working with a deeply caring and committed RPL (RAC) Team delivering an RPL service towards a college qualification (AEC) in Transport & Logistics (T&L). Andy was at his happiest supporting and guiding the students and content specialists of the T&L Team.
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Michelle Chisholm
Learning Design Consultant for Prior Learning, New Brunswick Community College (NBCC)
Michelle’s role at NBCC is to provide learning design for special offerings at the college such as Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) and microcredentials. She brings a knowledge of evidence-based strategies in assessment, Universal Design for Learning and other inclusionary or accessible practices to the projects at NBCC. Michelle has an MEd in Exceptional Learners from the University of New Brunswick along with a BA and BEd from St. Thomas University.
Patrick Reinartz
Recognition of Prior Learning Consultant, New Brunswick Community College (NBCC)BIO & photo to follow
Patrick’s role at NBCC is facilitating and contributing to the design of innovations in the area of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). With a background in corporate training/certification and Learning Management Systems, he has worked on piloting new approaches to PLAR and making recommendations for future offerings.
Geneviève Rock
Conseillère pédagogique,
Cégep de Saint-Laurent, Quebec
As a RAC (RPL) and CERAC coordinator, then manager, I led the development of the College’s Recognition of Acquired competencies (RAC) services, culminating in the College’s designation as a Center of Expertise for RAC.
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Webinar 2
Getting Employee/Employer RPL Buy-In
Wednesday, June 5, 2024 | 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (Eastern)
1. Getting Employee Buy-In
Presenter: Elizabeth Nicholas, CHRP, CHRL, CCDP, Virtual Employment & Education Specialist / HR Support
Can we curate our career? Liz believes we can and she has been using RPL in her work with the military community, predominately military spouses, for over a decade. As an employee or prospective employee, RPL has extreme benefits but achieving buy-in can be difficult. Join us as Liz shares some tactics to help attract and embrace people to this amazing tool.
2. Getting Employer Buy-In
Presenters: Chantal Carrière and Gabrielle Lopez, Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes (COFA). Louise Lalonde, Centre Moi j’apprends
The Coalition Ontarienne de formation des adultes – COFA (Franco-Ontarian Coalition for Adult Learning) is implementing an innovative professional development strategy to recognize lifewide learning across its 23 member organization workforce. It’s based on RPL assessment. COFA has developed a unique professional competency framework for adult learning professionals, containing skills at 3 levels of complexity for 4 key roles in the sector. The competencies are mapped to micro-credential badges. The badges are awarded based on assessment of targeted evidence packages submitted by staff of the member organizations. A member employer will be part of the presentation to explain this exciting development strategy based on validated proof of workplace performance.
About the speakers
Elizabeth Nicholas, CHRP, CHRL, CCDP
Virtual Employment & Education Specialist / HR Support
Elizabeth Nicholas, Career Specialist, is the host of Your Employment Detective, a podcast for Military and Veteran Spouses seeking to solve their career mysteries.
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Chantal Carrière
Project Manager, Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes
Chantal is a Project Manager at COFA. She has been working at COFA since 2022. Before joining COFA, she primarily held positions as a graphic designer. Also being an illustrator, she has taught art classes and illustrated a children’s book. At COFA, she believes that her ability to wear multiple hats and adapt contributes 100% to the success of the projects she participates in. What she appreciates most about her work is the diversity of tasks and daily challenges that require her to find creative solutions.
Gabrielle Lopez
Directrice générale, Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes
Since June 2019, Gabrielle Lopez has been at the helm of the Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes (COFA). Before joining COFA, Mrs. Lopez served as the interim ED of the pan-Canadian network, for Literacy and Skills Development (RESDAC).
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Louise Lalonde
Centre Moi j’apprends
Louise has been part of the Centre Moi j’apprends team, a literacy center in Eastern Ontario, for over thirty years. During this time, she held many positions.
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Webinar 3
Getting Government RPL Buy-In
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 | 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (Eastern)
1. Getting Government Buy-In: Quebec
Presenter: Daniel Laurin, Conseiller – Affaires académiques, recherche et innovation, Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire (BCI)
Daniel will present elements of Québec’s socio-economic conjuncture that were favourable to the deployment of a joint university strategic plan, leading to the definition and obtainment in 2023 of perennial governmental financing model for the province’s universities RPL (RAC in Québec) activities. This landmark step also led to the creation of a permanent provincial service (SSIRAC) to support and promote university RPL, set to be officially launched in November 2024 (Forum for University RPL 2024).
2. Getting Government Buy-In: BC
Presenter: Susan Forseille, Director, PLAR Thompson Rivers University
Susan will share information on initiatives Thompson Rivers University has had with the BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills to further advance PLAR in all provincial public post-secondary institutions in BC. Her presentation will range from using PLAR methods to assess Micro-credentials, the hope for a provincial credit bank, and a centre of PLAR excellence.
3. Getting Government buy-In: BC
Presenter: Janet Morris-Reade (She/Her), Chief Executive Officer, ASPECT – BC’s Association of Service Providers for Employability & Career Training; Co-Chair, BCPLAN
Janet will share BCPLAN’s efforts to educate and influence policy development in B.C. She will also provide an update on the province’s move toward microcredentials and the new international credential recognition legislation.
About the speakers
Daniel Laurin
Conseiller – Affaires académiques, recherche et innovation, Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire (BCI)
Daniel is pedagogical advisor at the Bureau de cooperation interuniversitaire (BCI), an expertise and consultation forum for the creation and mutualization of services destined for Québec’s 20 member universities. He is acting as RPL expert for the Direction de l’enseignement, de la recherche et de l’innovation.
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Susan Forseille
Director,
PLAR Thompson Rivers University
Susan Forseille is a passionate PLAR advocate, believing adult learners acquire great amounts of knowledge and skills through life and work experience. She was elected to the CAPLA Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting in 2019.
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Janet Morris-Reade
Chief Executive Officer, ASPECT – BC’s Association of Service Providers for Employability & Career Training; Co-Chair, BCPLAN
Janet Morris-Reade is the CEO of ASPECT BC (Association of Service Providers for Employability and Career Training). She works to provide leadership, education, advocacy, and public awareness in support of community-based workforce development service providers, working with government and stakeholders to ensure that the needs of those seeking a meaningful and sustainable livelihood are met. With over 20 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, she serves on a number of boards and committees in BC and Canada.