Dr. Melanie Booth, dean of learning and assessment, will lead a workshop titled Prior Learning Assessment 101 at the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Academic Resource Conference in San Diego held April 10-12, 2013.

Booth's workshop will examine PLA as a promising way to approach and potentially deepen the learning that is available through open courseware, MOOCs, job training, military training, self-study and other experiences. Participants in this interactive, experiential workshop will learn about the philosophies behind and practices for prior learning assessment.

Melanie Booth is the dean of learning and assessment and director of the Center for Experiential Learning & Assessment at Marylhurst University. She has been director of Marylhurst's 35-year old prior learning assessment program since 2005. She specializes in teaching, learning and assessment for adult learners in higher education. She currently serves on the Credit for Prior Learning Advisory Committee for Oregon's Higher Education Coordinating Commission and is a peer reviewer for PLA Inside Out: An International Journal on Theory, Research and Practice in Prior Learning Assessment. 

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges was formed in 1962 to promote the welfare, interests and development of education in the western region. The theme of the 2013 WASC Academic Resource Conference is Fast Forward >> Higher Education's Future. Attendees will explore ways educators can adapt current practice and use innovations most effectively now as they prepare for higher education's next horizon.