Joy Van Kleef

Joy Van Kleef is CEO of the Canadian Institute for Recognizing Learning. She has worked in the field of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) for over 20 years. Her learning in this field is both academically and experientially based. Van Kleef has a Masters degree in Political Studies from Queen’s University and a Masters degree in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University. She is currently a Ph.D. student at l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. Over the past 10 years, Van Kleef has specialized in research and the management of projects related to adult learning recognition and labour force development and has completed more than 85 projects during that period.

Her work in PLAR is well known across Canada. She was the principal author of A Slice of the Iceberg: Cross-Canada Study of PLAR (1999) involving seven institutions and over 15,000 adult learners. Van Kleef also authored Quality Assurance Practices of Postsecondary Institutions in Canada (2002) as well as Feedback from Learners: A Second Cross-Canada Study of PLAR (2003). Joy has designed and evaluated PLAR services for post-secondary institutions and regulatory bodies, conducted national consultations, designed and conducted PLAR activities in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe, South Africa and Mexico. Her current pre-occupation is quality assurance in the recognition of prior learning in regulated professions.