Marcia Anderson, Director Emerita of the Student-Directed Learning Office, will be awarded the 2021 Morris T. Keeton Award from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) at its conference Nov. 18. The Morris T. Keeton Award honors leaders who have made contributions in the following areas:
- experiential learning,
- access to postsecondary education for adult learners and minorities, and
- assessment, teaching and learning.
For information about the virtual conference or about viewing the Award presentation, see CAEL.
Anderson has worked with thousands of Metropolitan State’s diverse adult students in her 45 years on the community faculty, facilitating degree planning, teaching, and assessing learning. Earning her BA at Metropolitan State in 1977 with an individualized focus in community journalism, she worked initially as the university’s academic editor. She soon made higher education her primary career, and earned an MA in adult learning and development.
Over her many years employed at Metropolitan State she served as an academic-affairs staff associate, admissions counselor, professional staff advisor in the College of Individualized Studies, and as Director of Student-Directed Learning.
Always an advocate for experiential and self-directed learning, she coordinated the continuum of options for student-directed learning and prior learning assessment for 15 years, including advising students and working with program advisors and faculty evaluators, chairing the SDL Advisory Committee, and teaching the Metro 100: Getting Credit for What You Know course.
Anderson also had a significant influence across Minnesota State, culminating in helping to found and serving as the interim director of the Credit for Prior Learning Assessment Network (C-PLAN), organized to coordinate systemwide planning, best practices, and professional development on credit for prior learning. She has attended and presented at many CAEL conferences, also.
Anderson retired from full-time employment in July 2021, although she hopes to continue to teach and assess learning as a Senior Community Faculty Member.
Metropolitan State helped to found CAEL in 1974 and has had a long association with the international policy, research, and professional development organization. Metropolitan State received the CAEL Institutional Service Award in 2008.