Recognition of Prior Learning Policy

Latest Amendment/Approval Date: September 2022

1. Purpose

Campion College provides the opportunity for students to apply to have prior learning considered for credit towards a Campion College course where the prior learning is related to assessable components of that course. Forms of prior learning include previous study from recognised tertiary organisations, relevant work or life experience or courses undertaken outside a recognised tertiary education organisation.

2. Definitions

2.1 Credentialled prior learning – course-related learning leading to the award of a tertiary qualification. This includes learning from:

• Completed tertiary education subjects and courses
• Vocational Education & Training Accreditation Board (VETAB) accredited courses
• Overseas qualifications from National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) recognised higher education institutions.

2.2 Uncredentialled prior learning – informal learning from work experience, life experience or courses taken outside the tertiary education system.

2.3 Exemption – the process of releasing a student from undertaking an individual unit of study and for the granting of equivalent academic credit.

2.4 Substitution – releasing a student from undertaking a unit of study and specifying alternative unit(s) of equivalent credit point value which must be completed in order to achieve equivalent academic credit.

2.5 Credit transfer – recognition that a block or group of units and their associated equivalent academic credit, that have been completed at different institutions, are being recognised as a valid component of a student’s enrolled Campion College course.

2.6 Specified credit – equivalent to a unit exemption. Credit is granted where there is one-to-one, equivalent-level correspondence between the applicant’s prior learning (credentialled or uncredentialled) and Campion College unit learning outcomes. Credit can be granted, up to the limit allowable for the course.

2.7 Unspecified credit – credit granted where the prior learning (credentialled or uncredentialled) of the applicant is judged to be relevant to the course at the appropriate level but may not directly correspond to specific subjects within the course. Unspecified credit is usually granted towards meeting any elective requirements of a program.

2.8 Block credit – credit granted under pre-determined arrangements for study at TAFE, VET providers or other tertiary providers. Block credit normally refers to the exemption from a period of study, usually expressed in credit points, as recognition of successfully completed periods of equivalent study. Block credit can consist of either specified or unspecified credit, or a combination of both.

3. Scope

This policy is applicable to all coursework programs of the College and it covers the granting of credit towards a Campion College award on the basis of:

• prior learning at tertiary or credentialled institutions
• prior learning in non-credentialled settings.

It should be noted that eligibility for RPL does not guarantee an applicant a place in the course for which recognition of prior learning may be available.

4. Principles

Campion supports an approach which acknowledges that learning may be achieved through formal, non-formal or informal pathways, and that provision should exist for recognition of these. Accordingly, this policy provides for:

• the legitimate interests of students with diverse prior educational experiences in obtaining credit for prior learning, without being disadvantaged in achieving the expected learning outcomes and graduate attributes of a qualification
• public availability and scrutiny of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) provisions.
• a consistent and equitable approach to the granting of credit for prior learning, while assuring the quality, integrity and standing of Campion qualifications.

5. Policy

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for the purposes of this policy is the process of recognising for credit, in the form of specified or unspecified credit, what an individual knows or can do, wherever and however they may have acquired the knowledge and/or skills.

5.1 Campion College recognises two types of prior learning:

a. credentialled prior learning; and

b. uncredentialled prior learning.

5.2 Applicants for RPL on the basis of uncredentialled prior learning may:

a. be required to demonstrate their learning through the completion of some type of assessment or activity such as testing or compiling a portfolio of learning and/or experience,

b. unless they are or have been bona fide students at another higher education provider with which Campion has a formal articulation or exchange arrangement.

5.3 Applicants who have relevant prior learning may apply for recognition of this prior learning and, if their application is successful, they are granted either exemptions or substitutions from either specified or unspecified components of their Campion College course.

5.4 Eligibility for RPL does not guarantee an applicant a place in the course for which recognition of prior learning may be available.

5.5 Applicants for RPL may be granted any combination of recognition as described above subject to the provision that, except with the approval of the Academic Board, no student will receive credit that totals more than:

a) one-third of a course of three years or less full-time duration, or

b) one-quarter of a course of more than three years full-time duration.

5.6 Regardless of the nature or amount of recognition granted, any specific requirements of an award must be fulfilled, including any conditions associated with the professional recognition of the award.

5.7 Applications for RPL will normally only be considered at the time of admission. Where this is not possible, or where circumstances change, a second or later application will be considered only prior to final re-enrolment in the Campion College award course for which RPL is being sought. A second or later application for RPL must be made in writing to the Dean of Studies, must make full disclosure of the initial application and must set the circumstances which prevented an initial application or the changed circumstances which justify a second application.

5.8 This does not preclude a student’s right at any time to cancel exemptions or substitutions that have been granted previously.

5.9 Students wishing to cancel previously approved credit must do so prior to their final (re-) enrolment.

5.10 Courses studied at secondary school, or at a level below the AQF level of the relevant course, are not accepted as a basis for Recognition of Prior Learning.

5.11 Previously acquired credentialled or uncredentialled learning may only be counted once as approved RPL exemptions for any course offered by the College.

5.12 Where students do not meet College standard on grade requirements, any relevant applications for RPL will be rejected automatically. Where TAFE courses do not provide a grade, or where grade criteria have not been set, applications will be directed to the Dean of Studies for individual consideration.

5.13 Students accepted under this policy may be required to complete a bridging program.

5.14 The normal Campion College grievance procedures should be followed for students appealing against unsuccessful applications for RPL, or disputing any decisions made in respect of approved credit.

5.15 Wherever possible, NOOSR (National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition) guidelines should be used for assessing applications for RPL on the basis of overseas study.

5.16 Applicants for RPL will be informed of the outcome through timely written advice, within three weeks from the date of the submission of the application

6. Procedures

6.1 Application Process:

A student may apply for Credentialled prior learning by:

a) submitting a completed copy of the appropriate form

b) attaching, to the application form, details of the course or unit of study for which credit is being claimed. This should be in the form of a detailed course or unit outline, including description, learning outcomes, and assessment.

c) Official, original or certified copied transcript(s) (translated into English where required) from the relevant institution for the courses in respect of which RPL is being claimed.

A student may apply for Uncredentialled prior learning by:

a) submitting a completed copy of the appropriate form

b) complete and detailed information concerning life and work experience

Successful applicants will have ‘RPL’ recorded in their transcripts against the relevant units of study.

6.2 Criteria for Assessment

In assessing RPL applicants, the Dean of Studies shall consider the following criteria:

a) Currency: In determining whether credit may be granted, the Dean of Studies must be confident of the currency of the applicant’s knowledge. Applications for RPL will be considered on a course by course basis, where currency of learning can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Dean of Studies in consultation with the faculty.

b) Equivalence: a course or unit of study completed at another higher education provider must closely correspond to the curriculum, learning outcomes, and assessment of the College’s proposed equivalent course or unit.

c) Relevance: in the case of uncredentialled prior learning, an applicant’s life and work experience must be directly relevant to the course or unit proposed for credit.

d) Completion: an applicant must have successfully completed a course or unit of study at a satisfactory level. Students who have attained a very low pass in the proposed equivalent study may not be awarded credit.

7. Roles and Responsibilities

7.1 The Dean of Studies will be responsible for the application of this policy and ensuring that the outcomes of RPL applications are appropriately recorded.

7.2 In recognising prior learning, due regard will be had for the academic standards of the College, equity principles, promptness in processing applications and consistency of application of the policy between subjects and courses.

8. References

• TEQSA Guidance Note: Credit and Recognition of Prior Learning (23 October 2017)
• “General Regulations” University of Notre Dame, February 2018