Building on growing attention to the intersection of displacement and higher education pathways, this paper draws upon university websites to analyze how well-resourced universities serve displaced learners across the lifespan via Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). By displaced learner, I refer to individuals holding refugee/asylee status or a form of temporary humanitarian protection, with that latter category varying across nations. This analysis addresses the question: How does PLA serve displaced learners according to the website content of 244 North American universities ranked by Times Higher Education in 2024?

Objectives:
As argued elsewhere, there are several rationales undergirding higher education for displaced groups. These include the student equity argument, which applies a critical lens to challenge systems of exclusion; the humanitarian argument, which points to United Nations member states’ obligations; the diplomatic argument, emphasizing that attainment supports the rebuilding of conflict states; the internationalization at home argument; and finally, the economic argument, pointing to advantages to the host country accrued by highly skilled displaced groups. Indeed, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have developed a range of initiatives serving displaced learners amid security and climate challenges. Cultivating HEIs that are supportive of these learners requires iterative policy and program development to address this vital human rights issue.
Prior Learning Assessment is a process by which students pursuing a credential may earn credit for earlier learning outside the classroom. Key areas for PLA include: non-formal learning; workplace-based training; and seminars/workshops that do not produce a formal credential. PLA has been used across countries since at least the 1970s. It is a student-centered practice furthering access and attainment and an opportunity to liaise with industry partners to facilitate the further training of workers. How specifically PLA is conducted has varied over time and across HEIs. It may include standardized/faculty-developed exam, portfolio-based assessment, and/or evaluation of non-college programs.

Methodology:
This study used Olivieri’s (2018) Website Content Analysis (WCA) Framework, based on elements of McGregor (2004) and Fairclough (1993,1995). WCA supported an analysis of how HEI webpages across 244 HEIs, with those pages being identified through searches for terms including PLA and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), reflected intended audience; topicalization; and assumed power relations, among other factors. Based on Olivieri’s work I developed a coding scheme and operationalized key concepts.

Results and Conclusions:
In North America as elsewhere, many HEIs have well-developed PLA initiatives, moving far beyond “one size fits all” PLA. These programs support student success across the lifespan. However, the 244 universities in focus are not utilizing PLA consistently, nor are they centering displaced learners in relevant initiatives. In other words, displacement is omitted from the discourse on equity with respect to prior learning. One clear question moving forward is whether/ how PLA is implemented differently for displaced learners vs. other minoritized learners in any given national setting. If this is the case—as seems highly likely given the website content of myriad PLA initiatives—then a distinct challenge to access and equity for lifelong learners presents itself.

Keywords: Higher education, refugees, asylees, prior learning assessment, recognition of prior learning.