Bridging rhetoric and reality: accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) in the UK.

Accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) is defined as 'a process by which appropriate experiential and uncertificated learning is given recognition and an academic value. Often the academic value is expressed in terms of academic credit points (a measure of volume) at a particular level (a measure of difficulty) but it can occur outside an academic credit framework for exemption from specific course units. Experiential learning encompasses knowledge, skills and behaviours acquired in a planned or unplanned way through life, especially work. APEL is often closely associated with, and sometimes subsumed within, APL which is Accreditation of Prior Learning and can apply to both certificated and uncertificated learning'. Though long established in the UK, it is under-used and this report demonstrates its huge potential as a framework for providing retrospective credit, exemptions and 'advanced standing' into higher education programs and as a developmental tool. It explores the use of APEL in higher education institutions and the implications for pedagogy, curriculum and relationships with their communities. It also describes and examines what is happening in other countries in terms of policies, procedures and provisions that have been used that lean towards the fuller use of APEL. Of particular concern is what can be learned from overseas experience in relation to extending the productivity of APEL in the UK. The report makes recommendations, including a proposed model for Learning, Recognition and Development (LRD) with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) as the lead agency. The report also informed a series of APEL national forums facilitated by the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) during 2004 to develop a plan of action on APE