Welcome to CAPLA’s FREE
RPL@HigherEd Fall Webinar Series

CAPLA is inviting you to participate in two, free ZOOM sessions this fall. The purpose of these meetings is to share activities, research, innovative approaches, and challenges associated with supporting non-traditional adult learners looking for recognition in higher education, to facilitate their education completion. These individuals may have older degrees, partial higher education credits, a combination of work experience and international credentials, or advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities in specialty fields relevant to higher education courses and programs.

Webinar 1:

Stop Building Buy-In. Start Building Systems That Produce It.

October 14, 2026 | 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (Eastern)

What happens when an institution stops treating recognition of prior learning as a side project and builds it as core infrastructure from day one? One community college reimagined CPL delivery entirely: full-catalogue coverage across 1,200+ courses at launch, four distinct pathways unified through a single innovative assessment workflow, and structured evaluation anchored to student learning outcomes. The results surprised everyone. Faculty resistance dissolved when the tools made evaluation tractable. Learners sought out the institution from across the state. Credential programs that were structurally impossible without recognition became completable for the first time. This session shares what innovation in recognition infrastructure actually unlocks when institutions design for scale instead of waiting for permission to try. It includes client testimonials.

Presenters: Frank Gerdeman and Japman Bajaj.

About the speakers

Frank Gerdeman

Director of ADVANCE, Lake Tahoe Community College

Frank is the founding director of Advance (formerly the Lake Tahoe Adult Education Consortium) serving the Lake Tahoe Basin in California and Nevada where they continue creating a fully integrated education and workforce/economic development system.

This work is built around the central idea of Navigation as a necessary and vital service in the community and continues to serve as a model for other programs looking to replicate this approach to serving adults. Prior to moving to South Lake Tahoe in 2016, he served as the State Director of Adult Education and Deputy Division Director with the Vermont Agency of Education. Currently, Frank continues to focus on expanding access to credit for prior learning for adults, especially working adults, something he has been involved in for 20 years. By building effective, efficient, and innovate processes and polices he hopes to help local, state, and national efforts to expand access to the millions of Americans with college-level skills but little or no college credit or credential. He holds a B.A. in history/political science and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration.

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Japman Bajaj

Vice President, Vametric

Japman Bajaj is a strategy and workforce transformation executive whose work focuses on how organizations recognize, develop, and deploy human capability — particularly when traditional credentials do not fully capture what people know and can do.

As Executive Vice President at Vametric, Japman works with employers and institutions on workforce strategy, skills recognition, partnerships, and organizational transformation. A recurring theme throughout his career has been the gap between demonstrated capability and the formal systems used to assess, credential, and reward it. His experience spans technology, telecommunications, consulting, public policy, and entrepreneurship. He previously served as a Practice Director at Long View Systems, supporting a national consulting organization of more than 700 professionals, and as a Director of Government Relations at TELUS. Japman is particularly interested in Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) as a practical tool for improving workforce mobility, reducing unnecessary barriers to education and employment, and creating more credible pathways for people whose knowledge has been developed through work, lived experience, non-formal learning, and alternative forms of training. He is an Action Canada Fellow and has contributed to discussions on workforce transformation, skills, technology, and public policy through organizations including the World Economic Forum and the United Nations.

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Webinar 2:

The ONCAT PLAR Platform for Postsecondary Learners:
More Preliminary Findings

October 28, 2026 | 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm (Eastern)

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) enables learners to receive credit for knowledge and skills acquired through work, education, and other experiences. However, navigating PLAR remains complex for both learners and institutions. This webinar presents preliminary insights from the development of a provincial PLAR prototype in Ontario, led by ONCAT in collaboration with OntarioLearn and currently in the design and validation phase. The session will discuss lessons learned from early research, engagement with institutions and the sector, exploration of learner journeys, along with consideration of shared-service and technical opportunities. It will address emerging questions related to learner navigation, advising and support, assessment workflows, institutional roles, quality assurance, data and reporting, and the balance between shared approaches and institutional autonomy. Rather than presenting a finalized model, the webinar will focus on the design challenges and applied considerations currently shaping the prototype. Topics include identifying which elements could be shared, which should remain institution-led, where technology may improve processes, and where human support is indispensable. Participants will consider what improvements a shared PLAR approach should target, the conditions necessary for institutional participation, and the key lessons a provincial prototype should address before broader implementation.

Presenter: Mark Ihnat.

About the speaker

Mark Ihnat

Program Director, Centralized PLAR Platform
ONCAT | Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer 

Mark Ihnat is Program Director at the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT), where he is leading the development of a provincial prototype focused on improving access to Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition across Ontario’s postsecondary sector.

In this role, Mark is helping to convene thoughtful conversations across the sector, working with institutional partners, practitioners, and sector organizations to better understand current PLAR practices, learner and institutional needs, and the opportunities and challenges of developing a more shared approach. Mark has more than two decades of experience in postsecondary education. He previously served as Dean of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Georgian College and as Associate Dean of Digital Learning at Humber Polytechnic, with responsibilities spanning teaching and learning, digital learning, faculty development, academic innovation, student support, and institutional transformation. He also spent many years as a faculty member, with direct experience teaching and supporting postsecondary learners. Mark has contributed to provincial collaboration through leadership roles with OntarioLearn and the Ontario Education Technology Committee.

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