West Yorkshire Lifelong Learning Network: APEL Project

Escalate had two projects funded by the West Yorkshire Lifelong Learning Network that aimed to increase applications for the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).  APEL is the opportunity for students to claim academic credit for the learning they have gained through experiential activities such as work, voluntary or social activities.  Claiming APEL helps students by removing the need to study what they already know, reducing the number of credits they have to study towards and reducing the overall cost of gaining a University Award.  The courses piloting APEL as part of the projects were:

• Foundation Degree in Children, Young People and Families
• Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care 
• Foundation Degree in Social Enterprise Leadership 
• Postgraduate Certificate / Diploma / Masters in Professional Studies
  

As many of these courses were new when the project was established, APEL was been built into the course approval process and APEL Guidance for Students has been developed to help and encourage students with their application for APEL.  Students can also apply for academic credit for previous accredited learning, formal education and training they have undertaken.

The projects ended in September 2009 and using the learning from these pilots Escalate reviewed the institutional framework for the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).