Analytic Quality Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2004–8, Analytic Quality Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for amendments or additions.
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Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
corecore definition
APEL is the formal acknowledgement (based on professional
assessment) of learning acquired from previous experience, usually from
experience unrelated to an academic context.
explanatory context
APEL is similar to APL in as much as it is recognition of prior learning
but is broader as it allows, in theory, for learning from any prior experience.
Often APEL and APL are used synonymously and the terms overlap. They are
probably most clearly distinguished in the
analytical review
In the
APEL is the accreditation of prior
experiential learning, that is, the award of credit for learning based on prior
experience -- from work, community or volunteer experience -- which has not
previously been assessed and/or awarded credit. By converting informal learning
into certificated learning, APEL provides cost-effective routes to
qualifications. It has potential significance for people who, through life and
work experience, have learned knowledge, skills and analytical abilities that
are comparable to those in a higher education award. APEL offers the
possibility for what learners know to be recognised, assessed with the same
rigour as any other learning would be at HE level, and awarded credit.
(Learning from Experience Trust, 2000, p. 1).
the Accreditation of Prior Experiential
Learning (APEL) in which credit is awarded for learning and capabilities gained
through your experiences in a work, voluntary, home or leisure environment. A
wide range of life experiences could provide appropriate learning
opportunities, although it is the ability to state and demonstrate your
learning, rather than simply having had the experience that is the basis for
credit. Since this learning will not have been previously assessed, a claim for
APEL credit involves the submission of piece of work (such as a report or
portfolio) which is assessed by the University. Applying for APEL credit
involves an initial agreement about the learning and how it is to be
demonstrated followed by the submission of the work itself by an agreed
deadline. To make a successful claim for APEL the learning you have achieved
must be at the same level as the learning you would have been expected to
achieve as part of your programme of study.
The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning
recognises learning that results from work or life experience, as opposed to a
taught course. Once authenticated this is treated no differently to any other
academic credit.
To be valid, the experiential learning being claimed must be equivalent
to learning which would normally be included in the proposed award programme.
This means it must be at an appropriate higher education level, be directly
relevant, and in a cognate area. For example, prior experience of working in an
office environment may be relevant to a Business Information Systems degree,
but not to Software Engineering.Quality assurance processes also assure that
the experiential learning was current, in the sense of whether the learning was
recent enough to still be valid learning. Some subjects 'age' much more quickly
than others. For example, working in the computer industry five years
previously would probably be judged to be out of date, whereas some of the
experiential learning gained within a library for instance might still be valid
after 4 or 5 years. Subject experts within the field of study of the proposed learning
will be asked to make a judgement as to the specific value of the prior
learning in relation to the proposed award. A claim for credit via APEL is by
means of a portfolio, containing both commentary and evidence, (samples of your
work, and an accompanying explanation) and in some instances testimonials from
previous employers. The portfolio is examined by an Independent Assessor, and
final approval of the credit claimed is via the Accreditation & Approvals
Committee. (APU, 2004)
Accreditation of prior
experiential learning is established in some other countries, especially in
some vocational areas such as nursing. It can be found in
APEL 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. The credit that may be awarded 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. (IPFM Centre, 2003–4)
It is also emerging in
some other countries:
The Flemish Government has introduced an enactment
which outlines the accreditation of prior learning (APEL). Competences gained
through formal or informal vocational training, but also through experience
from previous employment, social or even everyday life can be officially
accredited. This should allow
people to obtain a certificate of competence for a given occupation without
actually holding the proper diploma. According to the Flemish Government, the
advantages are numerous: social promotion according to seniority can be
achieved, the skills of unqualified school-leavers can be reassessed,
unemployed persons can complement their curriculum vitae, and labour market
entrants can more clearly state their abilities. (Stevens, 2004, p.1)
In the
Accreditation of Prior Experiential
Learning: A maximum of 50 per cent of the 60 required credits for the Associate
degree may be earned by transfer or a combination of transfer and validated
experiential credits. No more than 25 per cent of the required credits may be
for documented workplace experience. This document must be formally presented
for its learning outcomes and evaluated for credit by the University.
However, APEL is also is probably
better known in the
Equivalency examination: An examination designed to
demonstrate knowledge in a subject where the learning was acquired outside a
traditional classroom. A person who learned management skills while working at
a restaurant, for instance, could take an equivalency exam to earn credit in,
say, small business management. (NTNC, 2002)
associated issues
Is APEL taken seriously?
The extent to which APEL is taken seriously in higher education in the
Unfortunately, whilst paying lip service
to learner-centred learning through the supposed flexibility of modular systems
and CATS, universities seem to be moving towards a mass production model where
there is little scope for this type of development and where individual
students are expected to fit in and conform for the sake of efficiency and for
the purposes of 'quality control'. At the same time lecturers are hanging on to
old-fashioned ideas of ownership of knowledge and their sole right to dispense
it as they see fit. It is not surprising therefore that APEL has made little
impact and barely receives a mention in government and institution documents on
lifelong learning. If lifelong learning is to be meaningful for those who are
expected to participate in it and learners are genuinely to take '...increased
ownership of their own learning and its management throughout life.'(Fryer
1997) a different culture needs to be established, one in which the
contribution individual learners bring to the group learning situation and to
the institution is recognised, valued and accommodated as an integral part of
the academic process. (Peters et al.
1999)
However, Konrad (2001) suggests that:
This view may
be unduly pessimistic. Over the last ten years some 30 regional accreditation
networks (Open College Networks) have developed which provide increasingly
accessible community-based assessment of learning at levels that are broadly
related to those identified above as NVQ Levels 1 to 3. These activities enable
individuals in community groups to accredit their chosen areas of lifelong
learning against a nationally recognised framework. (
related terms
see also
Accreditation of
Prior Learning (APL)
sources
Anglia Polytechic
Univeristy, 2004, Prior Learning -
Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL), http://www.isc.anglia.ac.uk/html/apel.htm,
undated page accessed October 2004.
Fahy K., Perrin, C. and Ferrer, J., 1999, ‘Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning: reaching a
standard or jumping through hoops’, Australian Electronic Journal of
Nursing Education 4(2), March, http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/nhcp/aejne/archive/vol4-2/fahykvol4_2.htm,
accessed October 2004.
International
Postgraduate Facilitator Management Centre (IPFM Centre), State of Sarawak,
2003–4, Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning (APEL) 2003–4, Accessed October, 2004.
Konrad,
J., 2001, ‘Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning in the
Learning from
Experience Trust, 2000, Mapping APEL: Accreditation of
Prior Experiential Learning in English Higher Education Institutions,
Peters,
H. et al.,
1999, ‘Fitting in: what place is accorded
to the experiential learning mature students bring with them to Higher
Education’, paper presented at SCUTREA, 29th Annual Conference, 5-7 July 1999,
University of Warwick. Available
at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000001015.htm
(Available on-line, October 2004).
Prescott,
N., 1997, ‘The
Stevens, E., 2004,
‘Accreditation of prior learning in the Flemish Community’ Resource Centre for
Labour Market Research, May, www.eu-employment-observatory.net/
resources/monthlyupdates0405/belgium_update_may_04.doc
.