• Home
• Current Students
• Staff Information
• Information for Former Students
• Timetabling
• Quality Manual
  • Summary of changes
  • Quality Assurance Structures
  • Recruitment and Admissions
  • Programme approval, monitoring and review
  • Assessment
  • External Examiners
  • Study Regulations
    • Accreditation of Prior Learning
    • Attendance Procedures
    • Changes of Taught Course
    • China and Malaysia
    • Research Degree Regulations
    • Taught Module Enrolment
    • Practice Assessment Panel Procedures
    • Students Required to Withdraw on Grounds of Health and Safety
    • Undergraduate Course Regulations
    • Voluntary Suspension
  • Collaborative Provision
  • E-Learning and Distance Learning Policy
  • Research Degree Programmes
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Placement Learning
  • Student Support and Development
  • Complaints and appeals
  • Career Development
  • Miscellaneous Policies
  • Sitemap
  • Search
• Policies
• Departmental Organisation
• People
• News
• Events
• Site Map

Accreditation of Prior Learning

1. Scope

This policy deals with all instances where credit towards a University qualification is awarded by the University by means other than enrolling on University modules (though see the policy on Double Counting) or participating in formal placement or joint degree arrangements. The learning will normally, but not always, have occurred prior to the student being admitted to the University. The policy covers both:

• Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) i.e. learning which has occurred in a formal educational setting
• Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) i.e. learning which has occurred as a result of vocational or other experience.

The term Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning or AP(E)L is used in this policy where both APL and APEL are being referred to together.The University places no requirement on Schools to grant AP(E)L or to consider AP(E)L applications if a School or course has a policy of not so doing.

The effect of previous research study on the minimum periods of registration for research degrees are contained in the regulations for those degrees.

 

2. Applications for AP(E)L

It is the student’s responsibility to apply for AP(E)L and to provide all the necessary evidence to support their application. Where the learning has occurred prior to the student being admitted to the University, application for AP(E)L should be made before the student first registers with the University as Schools may choose not to consider any applications for AP(E)L submitted after admission.

All applications for AP(E)L will be decided upon by the admitting School and the School can ask the student for any supporting evidence it deems necessary in order to make a decision on the application. The School may also wish to interview the applicant. As a minimum, applicants should include in their submission for AP(E)L the following information (though Schools may choose to waive some of these requirements where the AP(E)L will count only towards the Foundation or Qualifying Stage):

All applications

• The number of credits for which AP(E)L is being sought and the stage in the student’s course at the University (e.g. Qualifying stage, Part I) against which the credits will be counted.
• Any specific modules or category of modules from which exemption is being sought as a result of the AP(E)L.

Applications for APL

• The title, location, and nature of the institution at which the learning occurred.
• The dates of attendance at the institution and of any qualifications obtained.
• A statement of the equivalence of any qualifications obtained to levels and qualifications detailed in the University’s Qualifications Framework
• Curriculum details of subjects studied at the institution.
• An authorised transcript of marks and details of the marking scheme used by the institution.

Applications for APEL

• An account of the activities undertaken which has resulted in learning, including the dates and duration of these activities.
• A detailed statement of what has been learned from these activities.
• Confirmation from an employer or other objective source of the activities and learning claimed by the student.

Schools may choose to charge a fee for considering an AP(E)L application; such a fee, though, should be kept to a minimum and be designed only to cover the cost of assessing the application. Where fees are charged, these are likely to be higher for an APEL than for an APL application. Applicants should note that if AP(E)L is granted, and fewer credits are therefore studied, the resulting tuition fees will be as set out in the University’s fees regulations.  Applicants should also note that the reduction in the number of credits being studied may prevent them from having the status of full-time students.

 

3. Approving AP(E)L Applications

Schools are responsible for approving AP(E)L applications but should not approve them unless the following criteria are satisfied:

• The factual statements contained in the application have been substantiated (either by the School or the Admissions Office).
• The prior learning has taken place in the last ten years (many Schools will, of course, require the learning to have occurred much more recently).
• The student has gained pass marks in those modules or units for which APL is being claimed.
• There is a close match between the prior learning and the level and learning outcomes of those modules which will not be taken as a result of the AP(E)L.
• The limitations on granting AP(E)L contained in the policy on Limitations on AP(E)L and policy on Double Counting have not been breached.

The School may have additional criteria which must also be satisfied. All decisions to grant AP(E)L must be reported to the Academic Services Division (or, in the case of applicants for direct entry to Part I or II, to the Admissions Office) or equivalent and recorded against the student’s academic record.

 

4. Information to Individual AP(E)L Applicants

Students applying for direct entry to Part I via UCAS will receive a decision on their application via UCAS in the same manner as other applicants. For other AP(E)L applicants, the following arrangements apply: 

Students applying for AP(E)L should be sent this policy by the School and should also be told: 

• Whether a fee will be charged for considering an AP(E)L application and the amount of that fee.
• The information the student will be expected to provide and any deadlines for providing it.
• The likely timescale for considering the application.

Alternatively, the applicant should be told that the School/course has a policy of not granting AP(E)L, if that is the case. Once a decision has been made by the School, the student should be told in writing by the School: 

• Whether or not AP(E)L is being granted.
• The number of credits being awarded, their level, and the stage of the student’s course against which the credits are being counted.
• The marks which have been attributed to the credits being awarded. Or, in the case of a student receiving AP(E)L for which no marks have been attributed, the arrangements for progression and classification.
• Any specific modules or groups of modules from which the student is being exempted as the result of the AP(E)L.
• Any restrictions on the student’s module choice over and above normal University and supplementary regulations.

The written communication containing this information should be copied to Academic Services Division or equivalent.

 

5. Further Guidance for Schools

• Where a cohort of students will be receiving APL, please refer to Group Agreements (below)
• For details of the amount of AP(E)L that can be awarded, please see Limitations on AP(E)L (below)
• For guidance on situations in which students may receive more than one award, please see section Double Counting section (below) 
• For guidance on the effect of AP(E)L on progression or classification, please see the Compensation and Classification section (below)