RPL for university students: Some international comparisons

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) for universities refers to credit given for nonformal and informal learning for the purpose of university entrance and, occasionally, for advanced standing into a university award. Non-formal learning refers to learning that takes place through a programme of instruction that does not lead to the attainment of a formal qualification or award, while informal learning refers to learning that results from daily work-related, social, family, hobby or leisure activities. This paper discusses the major reasons postulated for the use of RPL in the university sector. It then draws on OECD Country Background Reports to compare how RPL is handled by universities in Australia and six other countries: Canada; Chile; Korea (specifically South Korea); South Africa; Spain; and the United Kingdom. The countries have been chosen to reflect both geographic diversity and a range of different approaches to RPL. The analysis reveals considerable diversity in the way that the university sectors in different countries are addressing the issue. Findings from the comparative study include: the level of recognition of non-formal and informal learning in universities around the world is low, particularly in comparison to the vocational education sector; newer universities, particularly those that have grown out of polytechnic-style colleges, are most likely to embrace RPL; national qualifications frameworks, where they do exist, primarily focus on the school and vocational sectors; the primary mechanism for RPL for university entrance is access or entrance examinations; the websites of many universities around the world equate RPL with articulation from completed vocational sector qualifications; and almost universally, the strong rhetoric by governments in support of RPL is not reflected either in policy or practice.