APELPrinciples

Your learning experiences are important regardless of where or how you acquired them. If they're relevant to the programme or course you're applying for, they should be recognised.

If your experience is assessed, it should be fair and accurate and based on solid evidence. This means that assessments be must unbiased, fair, adaptable, valid and reliable.

Assessments should be carried out by people who are well versed in the subject area or skill you're being assessed on. They know the content inside out and know how to evaluate your experience.

The way you're assessed should be appropriate to your level of knowledge and experience. This will ensure that you can demonstrate your actual skills.

Any decision relating to your assessments will be clearly communicated to you and will be accessible to you so that you can easily understand and review it. In addition, you have the right to appeal any decision, giving you the opportunity to address your concerns and reassess.

You should have easy access to information and support services that respect and cater for the diversity of all learners. These services should help you to understand and manage your learning journey.

There should be clear and open quality assurance processes. This is to ensure that you can have confidence in the fairness and accuracy of assessments and decisions about your applications.

Recognition Of Learning

This refers to intentional learning through enrolment in a programme of study within an organised and structured context (e.g. at school, college and university) that usually leads to a formal qualification.

Also called experiential learning, it takes place continuously throughout life, usually arising from work activities that are not undertaken with a learning purpose in mind. Thus, it is often unintentional learning.

This type of learning takes place alongside mainstream education and training systems. There may be an assessment, but it does not usually lead to formal certification. Seminars, workshops, apprenticeships, and short courses are examples of such learning.

Examples Of Acceptable Evidence

Direct Evidence

You can present evidence of your qualification such as:

  1. school certificates
  2. results statements
  3. course certificates
  4. digital badges/ credentials

Records that can be used to verify your workplace activities include:

  1. letter of appointment
  2. contract
  3. job sheet
  4. meeting minutes
  5. job appraisal

You can show samples of your work such as:

  1. drawings
  2. photographs
  3. writings
  4. audio/visual recordings
  5. reports
  6. designs
  7. physical objects
  8. product prototypes

You can provide evidence of your feats and achievements through:

  1. letters of commendation
  2. published works
  3. trophies
  4. meritorious honour awards

Indirect Evidence

You can prove your competence through:

  • project documentation
  • recorded interactions (such as chat transcripts and email threads)
  • recording of presentations /demonstrations
  • rating scores
  • customer feedback

You can provide supporting evidence in the form of:

  • personal diary excerpts
  • logbook entries
  • training records
  • notes and sketches
  • personal correspondence

You can provide verification of your claims with the following:

  • Letter from your employer
  • Support letter from community leaders, public figures, your MP, etc.
  • Endorsement by important/ well-known clients
  • Personal testimonials

You can provide evidence of your feats and achievements that appeared in:

  • news articles
  • audio/visual footages
  • journal citations
  • books
  • editorials/commentaries