Key points:
- Improving the credit transfer process improves graduation rates, debt loads, and inclusivity
- 6 aspects of today’s student experience in higher ed
- How we connect incoming students to the university resources they need
- For more news on transfer credit models, visit eCN’s Student Success hub
Millions of students transfer between colleges each year, hoping to build on their previous work. Instead, many find themselves starting over.
One major reason is that many students lose credits when attempting to transfer, primarily because the colleges they are transferring to do not accept or recognize their previous credits. More than half of learners reported losing at least some credits in the process, according to a 2025 Public Agenda survey.
Research shows that students who successfully transfer most of their credits are 2.5 times more likely to complete their degrees than those who lose half or more. Yet the path remains littered with barriers. The financial and emotional toll is significant: repeated coursework increases debt, delays graduation, and often derails academic goals entirely. The consequences can devastate adult learners who must balance work, family, and school.
This issue is contributing to a growing crisis. A new report shows the problem of college stop-outs is getting worse, not better–even as more states and colleges pour resources into student success. These students start college but never finish. Between the 2022–23 and 2023–24 academic years, nearly 800,000 more adults joined the ranks of those with some college credit but no credential–a 2.2 percent increase in just one year.
Credit for prior learning: An underused solution
One potential remedy for eliminating credit transfer issues has existed for decades but remains underutilized: credit for prior learning (CPL), awarding academic credit for skills and knowledge gained outside the classroom, such as through military service, certifications or professional experience.
While many institutions offer CPL options, the process is often so fragmented, inconsistent, or narrowly applied that few students can fully benefit. Evaluation methods vary widely, and the student bears the burden of proof.
As a result, even learners with years of relevant experience, including military veterans and seasoned professionals, must retake entry-level courses they have already mastered.
A different approach: Competency and consistency
Some institutions are working to redefine how prior learning is recognized. Western Governors University (WGU), a nonprofit online university designed for adult learners, leverages a system where students earn credit by demonstrating competency, not by time spent in class. This competency-based education model allows students to move quickly through material they already know and receive credit for industry-recognized certifications, job training, and prior coursework.
Rather than navigating a maze of transfer policies, students can turn experience into progress in a structured, consistent way. The university has also invested in building articulated pathways with partners and creating a user-friendly prior learning assessment portal that streamlines the evaluation process.
Yet even for WGU, the work is ongoing. University leaders acknowledge that developing a truly frictionless system is complex. Each student’s background varies widely, requiring a nuanced and rigorous evaluation framework. Certifications, military training, and workplace learning often have little documentation (uniform or otherwise), making standardized evaluation difficult.
WGU has had to continually expand its lists of pre-evaluated certifications and workplace training programs to keep pace with industry changes. This moving target requires constant collaboration with employers, credentialing bodies, and education partners. “Turning experience into credit,” as WGU describes it, demands academic integrity and flexibility, a balancing act that few institutions have been willing or able to attempt at scale.
The stakes are rising
Demographic shifts, declining adult enrollment, and growing scrutiny about the cost of higher education make the transfer credit conversation more urgent. Even though states like California have begun initiatives to simplify the transfer process, change is slow.
WGU leaders emphasize that we have a broken system where experience and knowledge often don’t translate into recognized progress. We must do better, especially for working adults who can’t afford to start over.
Solving the credit transfer problem isn’t just about fairness. Improving the credit transfer process is essential to improving students’ graduation rates, reducing student debt, and building a more inclusive higher education system.
However, without real policy reforms, millions of students, particularly those already marginalized by traditional systems, will likely lose hard-earned ground and pay twice or more for an education they’ve previously achieved.
The opportunity ahead
Fixing the transfer system requires more than better articulation agreements, but demands a shift in mindset. Recognizing and rewarding prior learning does not lower standards; it meets students where they are and values the full breadth of their experience.
If more educational entities adopt models that trust and verify real-world learning, students may finally get the credit they deserve–and the future they have already earned.
Rick Benbow is the Regional Vice President (West) at Western Governors University, the nation’s largest competency-based university. He leads efforts to expand access to affordable, high-quality education for adult learners by advancing strategic partnerships and driving student success across the region.
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