The Lumina Foundation estimates that in order to meet the demand for educated employees the United States needs to raise the percentage of adults with a college degree from 38 percent in 2010 to 60 percent by the year 2025.
"Capitalizing upon the idea that working adults have 'banked' valuable applied learning through their work," says Carol Williams, associate dean for continuing education, "we will offer working adults a way to turn that learning into meaningful college credit through a 'reverse internship' concept. Individuals will be able to convert their prior learning into college credits equivalent to a standard practicum or internship that will be usable toward degree requirements at Eastern."
Eastern is currently creating an interactive "reverse internship" tutorial to be incorporated into our Credit for Lifelong Learning (CLL) program. Student "competency statements" will be an essential part of the "reverse internship" model. Students selected in the fall participated in a January CLL Portfolio Development workshop that incorporated the new "reverse internship" tutorial. Portfolios that were due at the end of January are being assessed by the faculty.
A benefit of the program is that it will decrease the cost of completing a bachelor's degree at Eastern for students participating in the program by 6-9 percent. Anyone interested in the "reverse internship" should contact Joanne Melody ( melodyjo@easternct.edu ), coordinator of the program for the School of Continuing Education at Eastern.
By Carol Williams, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the School of Continuing Education
Eastern Connecticut State University
