WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM FOR ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING (PAL)
The nation's premier support program for college students with learning disabilities.
Established in 1970 as a natural response to Curry College’s philosophy toward individualized education, the Program for Advancement of Learning (PAL) quickly became a global prototype for programs of its kind. Today, PAL’s significant resources, comprehensive support, and outstanding record of success combine to make the program unparalleled in the field.
PAL proudly celebrates the significant accomplishments of our many successful graduates both at Curry and after graduation. Through our strength-based, proactive, mentoring approach, PAL provides students with the tools and insights they need to achieve academic success. We invite you to learn more about this exceptional program and welcome your comments and questions.
PAL Mission Statement
PAL recognizes and respects each individual as a unique learner with potential for continued growth and the ability to achieve and succeed. PAL encourages students to become self-directed, independent, successful learners, achieving competence and effectiveness. Since learning is an active process, each learner is asked to become actively engaged in the process and to develop an understanding of the particular way s/he processes information.
Each individual's sense of self worth is nurtured through appreciation and respect for his/her specific thinking/learning style. Metacognition, thinking about thinking, is at the heart of the process. Each learner is asked to identify how s/he most effectively gains knowledge, what gets in the way of potential success, and what must be done to achieve the success s/he desires and deserves.
NEW! PAL publishes 40th Anniversary Book!
The Program for Advancement of Learning announces the publication of its 40th Anniversary book: Changing Lives Through Metacognitive Relationships: LD/ADHD and College Success. Reading it may help to answer the common questions: What happens at PAL? And what makes PAL unique? It explores the value of consistent metacognitive relationships that are less likely to occur in typical college support program models. It also describes, from various vantage points, processes that inspire a lifelong "changed life." PAL professor, Laurie Fox, Ed.D., ET/P, is Senior Editor; Associate Academic Dean, Lisa Ijiri, Ph.D., is editor. Proceeds, in part, support the PAL Scholarship Fund.