More that 70 educators from across Atlantic Canada met in Slemon Park recently for the Atlantic Provinces Community College Consortium conference "PLAR in Action!" recently. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition are becoming an increasingly important element of post secondary education. By using PLAR processes and tools to assess students' abilities when they are entering college or university, credit can be given to them for applicable skills that they have already mastered.

"People acquire skills in many different ways," explained conference organizer and Holland College's Manager of Instructional Development Gerry Seaward. "It's not always formal training. Work experience, independent study, even skills acquired through hobbies - these are all valid ways in which people acquire knowledge. By using PLAR processes, we can ensure that students get full credit for what they know coming into a training program."

The conference featured hands-on activities designed to help participants develop PLAR processes and tools that can be used as they move toward integrating PLAR into their admissions process. Guest speakers included Dianne Conrad, Athabasca University; Deborah Blower, Red River College; Ingrid Clouther, Red Rive College; and Gaelyne MacAulay, from PEI's Department of Education.