Accreditation of Prior Learning

The Concept of Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)
What is APL?
Where Can APL be Used?
Sorting Out The Acronyms
Where Does APL Fit In With Other Off-campus Credit?
Why get Involved In APL?

The Concept of Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)
Arrangements for APL will vary from institution to institution and full details of the process will be found within institutions' own guidelines and quality assurance frameworks. Awarding bodies such as SQA (formerly SCOTVEC), EDEXCEL (formerly BTEC) and the professional bodies issue their own guidelines on APL in relation to their awards and quality systems.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)( formerly Higher Education Quality Council [HEQC]) has published Guidelines on the Quality Assurance of Credit-Based Learning (1995). These Guidelines, which were drawn up in collaboration with SCOTCAT and other bodies representing Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, represent a consensus view of good practice in relation to the quality assurance of credit-based learning, within which APL most commonly occurs. The bodies responsible for regional and national credit frameworks also issue guidelines on APL.

The Inter Consortia Credit Agreement (InCCA) project, funded by DfEE, began in 1996. The Consortia Higher Education Credit Initiative Wales (HECIW), Northern Universities Consortia of Credit Accumulation and Transfer (NaCCAT) and Southern England Consortia for Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SEEC) reached agreement on a set of principles which could form the basis of a common framework for the use of credit in HE. The principles, together with associated advice, guidance and related issues, was published in the 1998 report A Common Framework for Learning.

If you are a newcomer to the concept of the Accreditation of Prior Learning, it might be helpful to think of it in terms of applying for a new job. The job application process is analogous to that which a learner would need to go through to use prior learning (that is learning which has been acquired in the past) for entry into an educational institution, or for the recognition of the value of that learning towards a specified award.

A job seeker notices an advertisement for a job, which immediately seems appropriate and desirable. The next stage is to get fuller details of what the job actually entails to see if it is in fact in line with what the advertisement implied. Then comes the process of thinking back over past experiences and qualifications to see how their relevance can be identified and applied in the context of this job description. The help of colleagues and family is often invaluable here, to help highlight aspects that might otherwise be overlooked in writing the letter of application, and to bolster confidence in entering new areas. At this stage, referees who can endorse the candidate's claims are identified, the application is dispatched, and the next decisions lie in the hands of the potential employer.

The application is read by the employer, who decides on the face of it whether the applicant has broadly the experience, qualifications and qualities that are necessary for the job in question. In virtually every case, the written application alone is not enough to guarantee that the person is totally suitable, so an interview is held. At this point, both parties are able to ask and answer questions to make sure that the job is what the applicant wants, and the applicant has what the employer wants. Where the match is appropriate for both parties, details of salary, starting date, terms and conditions and so on are agreed.

Learners wishing to use the Accreditation of Prior Learning to access Higher Education (HE) will need to undergo a similar process:

• identify a potential programme/award

• match previous learning against the requirements stipulated by the institution

• provide evidence of that learning - either in writing or some other tangible form, and/or through an interview.

The institution, meanwhile, will need to:

• ensure that the background information about the course is accurate and clearly expressed so that it is possible for applicants to see how they might match prior learning to its outcomes

• have people available who can advise candidates in the process of identifying prior learning and submitting evidence

• provide assessors who can quantify the demonstrated learning within the context of the programme/award that the candidate is seeking to access

• satisfy itself that the evidence offered by the applicant is sufficient, authentic, current and valid in relation to the relevant learning outcomes, taking into account the level and volume of credit sought.

If both sets of actions are successfully implemented, it is then possible for individual learners to negotiate the "terms and conditions" that will enable them to study for the rest of the award against which their prior learning has already been recognised.

Readers who would like to follow through a typical sequence of events for a claim for Accreditation of Prior Learning in diagrammatic form may wish to consult the model.

What is APL?
APL is the generic term used for the award of credit on the basis of demonstrated learning that has occurred at some time in the past. This learning may have come about as the result of a course, or self-directed study, or as the result of experience either at work or in leisure pursuits. The latter is usually referred to as Prior Experiential Learning. A fuller account of the acronyms associated with APL is given below.

The credit that may be awarded within HE on the basis of prior learning may take the form of entry into a programme of study, advanced standing within a programme of study, or credit towards an award. Decisions about the type and amount of credit may be based on certificates the learner has gained which demonstrate that learning has been assessed, or may take into account learning from experience which is considered worthy of credit.

In all cases, credit is awarded for learning which can be demonstrated, not for the experience itself. The resulting credit is of equal standing to that awarded to learners following a more traditional route to an award, for example, through taught or distance learning modules.

The Accreditation of Prior Learning is of particular value to mature learners wishing to re-enter education or training, or to reduce the overall time of a programme of study. Its significance is growing now that increasing numbers of HEI's are prepared to accept learning from experience, as well as learning which has already been certificated, as a valid indication of achievement.

Learners wishing to take advantage of APL may do so on the basis of many forms of learning:

• experiential learning acquired in paid work

• experiential learning acquired in unpaid or voluntary work

• experiential learning acquired from leisure activities

• uncertificated learning from self-directed study

• certificated learning from abroad

• certificated learning from other United Kingdom educational institutions

• certificated work-based learning.

Despite a long tradition in vocational training of learning by "sitting next to Nellie", it is only quite recently that academic institutions have been prepared to accept the idea that learning from experience may be appropriate for credit in the context of their awards. The concept of APL started as an access to HE route in the United States in the 1970s. Since then it has developed, and has been brought to the forefront as an acronym particularly in the context of National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs). The assessment of existing competence, regardless of how or when this competence was achieved, is the cornerstone of the N/SVQ philosophy.

The former Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), some functions of which are now performed by QAA, stated the principle that "appropriate learning, wherever it occurs ... may be recognised for academic credit." The introduction of Credit Accumulation and Transfer Schemes (CATS) into HE has made it much easier to put this principle into practice through the assessment of prior learning as well as concurrent on- and off-campus learning.

The CNAA principle is echoed in the SCOTCAT Quality Assurance handbook (1995) as the foundation of the credit framework which links all the HEI's in Scotland. It is accepted that "credit may be awarded on the basis of learning from past experience", whilst acknowledging that "in some cases a limit will be imposed on the proportion of an award that can be earned through the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning".

The HEQC's Guidelines on the Quality Assurance of Credit-Based Learning (1994) goes into more detail about the operation of admission with credit: "provided applicants have fulfilled some of the progression and assessment requirements of the programme of study by means other than attendance on the planned programme and will be able by completing the remaining requirements to fulfil the objectives of the programme and attain the standard required for the award, they may be admitted as a student to any appropriate point in the programme." The Guidelines continue with specific guidance on the principles underpinning admission through the Accreditation of Prior Learning.

Significant work on the development of a credit framework has occurred in recent years. The InCCA project A Common framework for Learning provides a set of principles which form the basis of a common framework for credit across England and Wales which is compatible with developments in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) is a three year development project with a remit to develop a single unified credit framework across HE, FE, and other providers of post-14 education and training. The project has identified eight credit levels and these have been endorsed by the InCCA project. NICATS proposes that all learning is specified in terms of units of assessment which will be expressed in terms of learning outcomes, built and assessed around agreed criteria with a defined level of difficulty and a credit value. It is intended that, on completion of the NICATS project, the framework will be implemented through the provision of flexible local education and training at all levels in order to maximise opportunities for participation and achievement.

Where can APL be used?
The concept of assessing learning derived from experience was originally explored as a means of access or entry into educational institutions. However, the range of ways in which prior learning is now being used by learners is becoming increasingly varied.

Within the sphere of FE, adult learners may use their prior learning for:

• entry into vocational programmes

• entry with advanced standing onto some longer courses (eg direct entry into the second year of an HND)

• credit towards GNVQs, GSVQs, NVQs/SVQs and other competence-based qualifications

• entry into Access provision.

In addition, many Adult and FE providers offer short courses specifically designed to help adult learners to identify and recognise where learning has been acquired which they might be able to use for progression into other educational opportunities or employment.

Within HE, prior learning may be assessed and used for:

• entry into the institution

• direct entry into a second or subsequent year of a programme

• advanced standing with credit towards a target award (eg the award of credit against specified modules within a programme, which do not necessarily amount to the equivalent of a whole year).

A survey of practice, carried out in 1996, suggests that the assessment and accreditation of prior learning is used in a wide range of programmes within HE, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Its use is particularly widespread in Nursing and other Health Care qualifications, Social Work, and in Management where it is often linked to attainment in higher level NVQs/SVQs. More limited use can be found in areas such as Engineering, and there are examples of prior learning being counted towards Humanities awards, such as a degree in Theology. (See the Summary of the UCAS Survey for further details of the context in which institutions currently use APL.)

Sorting out the Acronyms
One of the difficulties in getting to grips with the concept of the Accreditation of Prior Learning is the range of acronyms it has attracted, and the fact that different people and organisations use the same acronyms to mean different things.

APL stands for the Accreditation of Prior Learning and is generally used as an umbrella term including both prior certificated learning and experiential learning.

Within APL, there are two main categories:

• APCL - The Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning - ie learning for which certification has been awarded by an educational institution or another education/ training provider

• APEL - The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning - this refers to uncertificated learning gained from experience. APEL is sometimes referred to as RPEL (The Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning).

For the remainder of this document, the term APL will be used to encompass both certificated learning (APCL) and experiential learning (APEL), and these three acronyms will be used specifically with these meanings.

Where does APL fit in with other off-campus credit?
Conventional course structures in HE have for some time enabled institutions to undertake validation of courses, by giving approval to a prescribed programme of learning to be undertaken by groups of students over a defined period of time. The introduction of CATS has enabled the course structure to be broken down, so that many institutions can now validate individually negotiated programmes for students entering the institution, on the basis of accumulated modules or units. This means that both the content and the timing of the programme are flexible, and can be agreed to meet the needs of the individual student.

More recently, HE has become involved in the accreditation of individual programmes which include elements of experience-based learning, which had not previously led to an award. A further extension of this has been the assessment (for credit) of an individual's learning against learning outcomes which have been negotiated by that individual in collaboration with a member of staff within the assessing institution.

This latter category of individually negotiated access to assessment is itself divisible into two categories: whether the learning has already taken place (APL) or is yet to take place. In addition, the learning that is to be assessed may be judged against learning outcomes stipulated by the university or another validating agency such as a professional body, or against outcomes that are built around the specific work role or experience of the learner.

Pre-determined outcomes
Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL)		Placements
Past Future Accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL)		Work-based learning
Learner-defined outcomes

Why get involved in APL?
APL has benefits for very many groups of learners, many of whom may not have had the opportunity to participate in HE before. Typical users of the APL process are in the age range 25-45, and may fall into any of the following categories:

• unemployed people seeking recognition for past work or non-work achievement, either for entry to Higher Education, or advanced standing with credit towards an award

• people with certificated or non-certificated work-based learning seeking credit for that learning towards a Higher Education award

• those seeking to "top up" an existing qualification (eg Diploma plus work experience towards a degree)

• those with overseas qualifications

• people who have left a HE programme before completion, wishing to count that learning towards another award. This list is not exhaustive, but indicates the range of learners that an APL system could have to cater for.

APL has the potential to widen access, increase flexibility in the curriculum, and enable a positive value to be placed on off-campus learning. It can also be argued that it may serve as a vehicle for learners to integrate theory with practice, and for promoting reflective practice through the identification of learning from experience, and the application of this learning in changed practice.

Some of the wider benefits for learners include:

• credit achieved through APL can be used to access programmes leading to particular qualifications

• credit achieved can be counted as part of the total credit required for particular awards, and may accelerate the time necessary to gain a qualification

• recognition of learning from experience, and the process of reflection required to construct an APEL claim often leads to an increased level of confidence

• preparing a claim for APEL helps to develop independent study skills

• reflection on experiential learning enhances the theory/practice link, leading to an increased understanding of the two-way flow both from academic learning to practice, and vice versa.

Benefits to employers/managers of APL candidates include:

• a higher level of motivation and interest in aspects of practice on the part of the employee/student

• APL may lead to an accelerated path to a qualification, and thus less time spent away from the workplace

• APL may prove less costly than fees for taught modules

• the process of reflection on practice may lead to new ideas/developments within the workplace.

Staff in HE may also benefit from supporting learners making APL claims:

• the learning outcomes approach encourages curriculum development insofar that a student's APEL claim may suggest ideas for assessment techniques or for new taught modules

• the importance of issues in the work or leisure context is highlighted

• the APEL process encourages study to be relevant to work, life and personal development

• APEL claims are often made on the basis of recent experience, and therefore represent an up-to-date and dynamic interaction with the world of work, providing material for discussion and research partnerships in learning with employers are encouraged through the negotiation of learning outcomes which relate to current work practice.

There is evidence that many institutions are now using APL as a marketing tool to increase the attractiveness of their part-time provision. There are also indications that increasing numbers of students raise the issue of using their prior learning when they first approach the institution, suggesting that the level of awareness amongst current and potential students is rising.