Chancellor's Office seeks $57 million to expand credit-for-prior-learning and pilot a career passport; LAO questions timing and scale

The subcommittee reviewed two career education proposals in the governor's budget: expanded funding for credit for prior learning and a proposed career passport digital tool.

Justin Hurst of the Department of Finance said the governor proposes $50 million (including $43 million one‑time and $7 million ongoing) to expand credit for prior learning policies and $50 million one‑time for developing a career passport. Hurst described the career passport as a secure digital tool to display validated skills and credentials drawn from electronic transcripts and credit for prior learning records; the administration said it should be provided at low or no cost to individuals.

The Legislative Analyst's Office advised caution. On credit for prior learning, the LAO noted last year's $6 million one‑time appropriation remains largely unspent and recommended the Chancellor's Office report on existing efforts and barriers before adding ongoing funds. On the career passport, the LAO said the administration has not identified a clearly defined problem that a new statewide tool would solve, raised concerns employers may not value a new platform, and highlighted missing timeline and out‑year cost details; the LAO recommended rejecting the $50 million career passport request.

Chancellor's Office staff and Samuel Lee, senior advisor on credit for prior learning, said the proposed ongoing $7 million and one‑time funds would be braided with federal FIPSE and other grants across a multi‑year plan to scale credit for prior learning statewide. They explained credit for prior learning has research showing students awarded 15 units are nearly twice as likely to complete and that many veterans, journeypersons and apprentices could receive meaningful college credit if systems were in place to identify and award that credit.

Committee members asked for detail on what the ongoing funds would buy, how students would be identified and routed to receive credit, and how much of the credit would apply to CTE certificates versus traditional transfer coursework; the Chancellor's Office said roughly 80% of credit for prior learning opportunities are CTE‑aligned. Members also questioned whether career passport funds might be better reallocated to scale credit for prior learning or to enrollment growth. The subcommittee held the items open and asked for more information on use of last year's unspent funds, implementation timelines, and potential outcomes reporting.