The University of Memphis Center for Regional Economic Enrichment (CREE) was honored by the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) as the 2025 Adult Learner Impact Award recipient during a ceremony at their annual conference hosted at the Peabody Hotel on Nov. 13.
“Receiving this award from CAEL who has been championing the success of adult learners for more than 50 years is a powerful affirmation of the work that we do,” Tracy Robinson, CREE executive director said.
“Adult learners represent a vital and often overlooked part of the academic community. This recognition highlights their unique journeys and the dedicated efforts of our center to help them succeed. We’re honored to walk alongside our students as they balance work, family, and education, and we know the transformative impact that earning a degree has on them, their families and our broader community.”
CAEL presents five awards annually, honoring excellence through the experiences of adult learners. The Adult Learner Impact Award recognizes institutions or organizations which have provided excellence through their programs and services for adult learners, embodying CAEL’s vision of, “Every adult has a pathway to lifelong learning and meaningful work.”
CREE has worked extensively with CAEL over the last decade to expand their Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) program and the Finish Line Program. Their initial collaboration in 2012 resulted in the Credit for Prior Learning program growing from 30 students to more than 300 annually today.
In total, CREE has three programs at the UofM contributing to successful outcomes for adult learners: Professional and Continuing Education, a program offering specialized noncredit training opportunities; Credit for Prior Learning, a program that provides students the opportunity to petition for college credit for the knowledge, training and skills they previously learned through a broad range of experiences outside the traditional academic classroom; and Finish Line, a program which assists students who completed 90 or more credit hours but stopped attending before they graduated with their bachelor’s degree.
CREE also oversees additional programs including Growing Relational and Occupational Wealth in West Tennessee Households (GROWWTH), Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and the Tennessee Delta Alliance.
The UofM has offered Credit for Prior Learning for more than 30 years at the undergraduate level and became the first state institution to offer Credit for Prior Learning at the graduate level in 2016.
Robinson and the late Dr. Richard Irwin (who served as executive dean of the College of Professional and Liberal Studies and the Center for Regional Economic Enrichment, and UofM Global) began the Finish Line Program in 2012.
“When we realized how many students had literally gotten ‘almost to the finish line’ and not graduated, it became imperative that we do something to support those students to completion. Within the first couple of semesters and several students returned and successfully completed, we knew it was a program worth building and funding,” Robinson said.
Finish Line has assisted 1,189 students in graduating from the UofM.
When asked what she would say to encourage an adult learner to pursue their educational goals, Robinson said, “You belong at the UofM! We will meet you where you are, and our Credit for Prior Learning Program will help you move closer to your goals faster and more affordably.”
