Credit Transfer, Advanced Standing and Recognition of Prior Learning for Undergraduate Courses
1. SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT
This document deals with provisions for the granting of advanced standing in first degree courses offered by The University of Western Australia (UWA) through the transfer of credit for work done elsewhere in the tertiary sector and in TAFE colleges, and the recognition of prior learning through professional and other courses and work experience. It does not deal with the equivalence of secondary and other qualifications to the stated matriculation requirements of the University. Information on the equivalence of qualifications for matriculation purposes can be obtained from the UWA Admissions Centre. Information about credit which can be granted for postgraduate courses can be obtained from the appropriate Faculty Office. 2. DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this document the following definitions apply: 2.1 Advanced Standing means the authority to commence a first degree course with credit granted for components of the course in recognition of work done at another institution. 2.2 Credit Transfer is the process of bringing credit gained for academic work in another institution and having it recognised and counted towards a first degree of this University. 2.3 Prior Learning, in the context of recognition of prior learning, falls into two broad categories: (a) learning acquired in a credentialled context (ie. one which is qualified through assessment) other than a University or TAFE college such as a course offered by a professional body, or a private institution, or by any other provider recognised by the University; and (b) learning acquired in an uncredentialled context such as through work experience or through life experience. 3. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING GOOD PRACTICE IN CREDIT TRANSFER AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING (RPL) The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) and The Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Board (AQFAB) have specified a number of principles governing good practice in regard to Credit Transfer and the development of cross-sector linkages. The University of Western Australia has endorsed those principles, in a slightly modified form, and these are set out in this document. Relevant websites are –
AVCC – http://www.avcc.edu.au/content.asp?page=/policies_programs/teaching_learning/credit_transfer/index.htm
AQFAB –
http://www.aqf.edu.au
Also relevant is the Group of 8 Universities Credit Transfer Agreement which provides for mobility of students between Go8 universities. The agreement can be found at: http://www.go8.edu.au/storage/go8_agreements/Go8_Credit_Transfer_Agreement_0307.pdf 4. THE UNIVERSITY'S GENERAL APPROACH TO THE GRANTING OF CREDIT UWA is committed to articulating the amount of credit which can be expected for previous qualifications on a course by course basis wherever possible and has an agreed process for the establishment of these block credit policies. Faculties are responsible for determining block credit policies appropriate to their degree courses and are required to review these at least once every five years and report to Academic Council the review outcome for approval. In most cases applications for advanced standing on the basis of transferred credit are assessed individually. The reason for this is to ensure that credit for a student's previous studies is compatible with the structure of the academic programme to which the student has been admitted, and that advanced entry to the course is at a level appropriate to the student's background. There is a danger that credit granted automatically on the basis of prior qualifications, without account being taken of individual circumstances, may lead some students into a level of a course which is more demanding than they can cope with. Such practice when it leads to failure can have long-term damaging effects on the confidence of students. 5. THE UNIVERSITY'S APPROACH TO RPL With regard to recognition of prior learning the University is cautious about committing itself to giving specified amounts of credit for courses offered by professional bodies and other private educational institutions, until it has more experience on which to make assessments. For the present it will consider each application for recognition of prior learning on its merit. It is unlikely that credit will be granted in response to applications which are based solely on learning acquired in an uncredentialled context such as work experience or life experience. However, such experiential learning may be cited in support of applications for credit based on professional and other kinds of qualifications. 6. LIMITS ON CREDIT AVAILABLE It should be noted that there are limits on the amount of credit that can be granted towards a degree of this University by virtue of work completed at another institution or in another degree of this University. These are specified in the Rule 1.2.1.11 of the General Rules for Academic Courses and/or in the Faculty Rules for the degree concerned. 7. TIME LIMITS ON CREDIT Those seeking credit should be aware that in most cases eligibility for credit has specific time limits. There are a number of policies in force relating to the period of time for which credit is available and students should check this with the faculty responsible for the degree concerned. In most cases the ’life’ of a credit relates to the year in which the original work was completed and the time limits of the degree of the degree in which credit is being sought. Time limits for degrees are detailed in Rule 1.2.1.33 of the General Rules of Academic Courses. In essence this means that the year in which the work was completed becomes the year in which the degree course commenced in terms of the degree’s overall time limit.
8. DISTINCTION BETWEEN APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION AND APPLICATION FOR CREDIT
It must be emphasised that the granting of credit for previous academic work is a separate process from application for admission. Only those students who are admitted to the University and enrolled for a first degree course can be granted credit towards that degree, although the process of applying for first year credit may be initiated at the same time as application is made for admission to the University. Students planning to apply for credit transfer are advised to consult the University Undergraduate Handbook (http://handbooks.uwa.edu.au/) in order to familiarise themselves with the structure of the course in which they are seeking advanced standing. 9. ADMISSION ENQUIRIES All Admissions enquiries should be directed to the: Prospective Students Office
Admissions Centre
M353
The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Nedlands WA 6009 Telephone: (08) 6488 2477
Fax: (08) 6488 1226 10. ADMISSION APPLICATIONS Applications for admission should be directed through the: Tertiary Institutions Service Centre
100 Royal Street
EAST PERTH WA 6004
Telephone: (08) 9318 8000 11. ENQUIRIES REGARDING CREDIT/RPL Enquiries concerning, and applications for, advanced standing through credit transfer or recognition of prior learning should be directed to the appropriate Faculty Office. Applications for credit must include documentary evidence of the work for which advanced standing is being sought .e.g. academic transcript, certificate of completion, curriculum vitae etc. 12. DETAILS OF CREDIT AVAILABLE Details of Block Credit policies involving overseas institutions can be obtained from the International Centre. Details of the credit policies for individual faculties can be obtained from the appropriate Faculty Office. Any credit specified in Faculty policies only remains valid if the unit/course on which the credit is based remains unchanged from that when the original assessment of the unit/course for credit was undertaken.
(File Ref: 01/02/035/001)
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