President & Founder
Dr. Matt J. Bergman
What is your personal adult learner story?
My adult learner story is both personal and professional. I’ve spent my career working with adults who are balancing work, family, finances, and unfinished college goals often carrying more responsibility than time. Along the way, I’ve seen how prior learning, persistence, and institutional flexibility can change the trajectory of someone’s life. Those experiences shaped my commitment to helping colleges recognize what adults already know and remove unnecessary barriers to completion.
What aspect of adult learning are you most focused on?
I’m most focused on scaling Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) and adult-student-ready practices in ways that are equitable, consistent, and sustainable. That includes helping institutions and industry partners move from isolated CPL pilots to system-level implementation, aligning academic policy with workforce learning, and ensuring adult learners experience clarity, respect, and momentum from inquiry through graduation
It’s hard to choose just one, but projects that combine systems change with real learner impact stand out. Especially our statewide Kentucky CPL initiatives and cross-institutional work that helps faculty, registrars, and academic leaders align around shared frameworks. When those efforts result in adults earning credit, re-engaging with college, or finally completing a degree, that’s the work that matters most to me.
Favorite project you’ve worked on?
What excites you about the future of adult learning?
I’m excited by the growing recognition that learning happens everywhere, not just in classrooms and that higher education is beginning to catch up. The convergence of workforce learning, skills-based hiring, AI-supported evaluation, and renewed attention to adult learners creates an opportunity to redesign systems that are faster, fairer, and more humane. Done well, this moment can fundamentally reshape access and completion.
Beach, mountains, or city (vacation site)?
Mountains—especially anywhere with good trails, quiet mornings, and time to reflect.