Assessment of Prior Learning for Credit for College or University Degrees
Beefing up your credentials by obtaining college credit or degrees for what you learned from life!

Assessment of Prior Learning
Many students seeking admission to college or university programs of study are mature entrants
often with considerable work experience. Colleges and universities now seek to give credit for

assessed learning from whatever source, and Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) and Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) or Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) are the mechanisms by which this learning is assessed and can be credited towards credits toward degrees that will greatly help your job search qualifications.

The assessment of prior learning may be for one of two purposes:
1. It may give evidence that you have learning which will satisfy normal entry
requirements for the award you seek, e.g. it may allow you to enter an Executive MBA
Program although you do not have a degree qualification. Or it may be sufficient to top off other credits earned previously so that you can qualify for a degree.
2. It could be assessed as equivalent to learning you might otherwise undertake on your program, and you could be granted credit towards that program, thus reducing the
amount of study you need to gain an award. In this case the assessment of the learning is as rigorous as assessment of learning on the program, since the credit gained would count equally.

Types of Prior Learning
The learning you wish to count might be of two general categories, certificated or uncertificated. Certificated learning may be some earlier qualification that you have achieved through continuing education, or may be a stage or complete award of a professional qualification. Some professional awards have been credited against university awards, others can be assessed individually. Prior certificated learning is easy to demonstrate and may be a source of significant credit. You may also receive credit for the learning you acquired from courses that were not formally assessed or certificated.Uncertificated learning arising from experience is often at a level comparable to undergraduate or postgraduate study in its complexity, the range of knowledge underpinning it and in the demandsmade in implementing or applying it in the workplace. It can be time-consuming to describe and to document in ways that allow assessment. For this reason we suggest you begin with completion of gathering

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