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Committee grills proposals to expand credit for prior learning and to build a "career passport"
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Summary
The governor proposed funding to scale credit for prior learning (CPL) across the system ($50M total: $43M one-time, $7M ongoing) and $50M one-time for a career passport. LAO urged pause on the passport and recommended reporting on existing CPL efforts before new funding.
The subcommittee reviewed two career-education proposals: scaling credit for prior learning (CPL) and building a digital career passport to share validated skills with employers.
Justin Hurst (Department of Finance) described the CPL proposal as $50,000,000 total: $43,000,000 one-time and $7,000,000 ongoing to build systemwide processes and staffing to identify and award credit for prior learning, with emphasis on veterans and working learners. He described a separate $50,000,000 one-time request to develop a career passport that would display validated skills drawn from eTranscript California and CPL efforts and be provided at low or no cost to individuals.
The LAO urged caution on both items. On CPL the LAO noted $6,000,000 of prior-year one-time funding remains available and recommended requiring a Chancellor's Office report on efforts, outcomes and remaining barriers before providing more ongoing funds. On career passports the LAO said the administration has not demonstrated a clearly defined problem nor shown demonstrated outcomes from similar projects; it recommended rejecting the passport funding at this time.
Samuel Lee and other Chancellor's Office staff defended CPL as a continuing, multi-year scale-up already underway, citing research that students receiving 15 CPL units complete more quickly and are more likely to finish; the Chancellor's Office described bridging multiple funding sources to support a seven-year expansion. The Chancellor's Office supported career passports as a tool to make validated skills visible to employers and to support workforce match.
Committee members expressed interest in reallocating one-time passport funds to CPL or enrollment growth if the passport risks were deemed high. The panel agreed to provide more detail about the unspent $6M, the Chancellor's Office implementation plan for the CPL staffing and workgroups, and a timeline for the passport deliverables.
