Current Size: 100%


Background: APL and APEL

SEEC members are well-versed in developing strategies, policies and working practice for the implementation of the recognition and accreditation of prior learning (APL), both certificated (APCL) and experiential (APEL). The group has debated and developed systems in a range of disciplines, and many working examples are from the Health Professions and the Business Education sector. Staff development is in constant discussion, both for academics and for the administrative staff who operate a university's admissions system, and international issues around the acceptance of credit in UK institutions have been on the agenda since the publication of the ECTS Guide to credit, and the internationalisation of the UK university sector. Work based and work related learning, and its recognition from employer-led training to joint awards with universities, also proves a continuous dialogue with colleagues. 

The SEEC Revised Code of Practice around AP(E)L was derived directly from the collective experience of members of the Network who, through the experiences of AP(E)L development, have accumulated an enormous pool of well-proven practice to draw upon. This dedication to sharing it in a practical and collaborative way is the strength of the network group, and over the years many dilemmas have been researched and reported upon through this group. The institutional and operational Recommendations which make up the Code of Practice are designed to support and complement the Higher Education Quality Council's Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Credit-Based Learning.

In addition, SEEC's Companion to the QAA Guidelines on the accreditation of prior learning offers advice to institutions using academic credit systems, on how to ensure that processes developed will comply with those guidelines. It supports staff by offering more detailed guidance drawn from SEEC publications and expertise in the practice of AP(E)L.

A new version of the SEEC booklet "How to do APEL" is in development during the Spring Term of 2011. It will update the first edition, written in 2000 by colleagues at University of East London, and will bring recent case studies presented to SEEC and SELLLN members in 2009/10, to a wider audience. 

Research

Members of the APEL Network Group developed a short publication with advice for External Examiners about APEL, especially where they might not be specialists in this area. This has been published in the form of a folded A4 leaflet, and can be downloaded as a PDF file below.  

Key Contacts

Chair: Sue Cundell. A former member of the Work Based Learning and Business School staff at the University of Surrey, Sue is a Consultant member of SEEC and has chaired this group for the last eight years. Sue can be contacted by email.

Deputy Chair: Debbie Hatfield, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Brighton. Debbie's work for SEEC has included membership of the specialist Health and Social Care Professions Network. Her Senior Lecturer role at Brighton is augmented as the Continuing Professional Education Learning Adviser (aim: to assist navigation and signposting of continuous professional education provision), and the Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning Co-ordinator for the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Debbie can be contacted by email.

Key Documents