‘Recognition of prior learning’ or ‘RPL’ is a great way for an assessor to discover the knowledge, skills and understanding that a learner has gained prior to delving into their qualification.
An RPL assessment could be in a formal or informal setting and should be mapped directly into the assessment criteria for the qualification. The assessor may then allow the learner to complete a unit within a qualification, without the need to assess them further – instead of starting from scratch, learners can showcase the knowledge they already possess.
As good as this sounds, this isn’t a free pass to a full qualification! RPL is typically used for specific units within a qualification. A centre must ensure that personnel involved in the decision-making process are competent and qualified. Furthermore, all evidence must be sent to our EQS team for review.
All evidence used towards completion of assessments under Highfield Qualifications must meet the requirements of VARCS (please see FAQ 13 above). This means that prior learning may need to be supported by further assessment to ensure compliance against the requirements of the qualification. Our EQS team will expect to see where RPL has been used and where it has been mapped in full against the requirements of the qualification.
Alternatively, with this evidence of a learner’s prior achievements, knowledge, skills and understanding, an assessor may choose to reduce a learner’s study time. They’ll still be expected to demonstrate their mastery of all assessment criteria, but they may need less time to do this. In this instance, our EQS team wouldn’t need to provide prior approval but would expect to see evidence of this discussion and planning within the learner’s record.
It may be that a learner has undertaken a qualification in the past where a unit or units map directly into the new qualification - this would be classed as an exemption, rather than RPL.
However, you should tread carefully and be mindful of the date the unit was achieved, and the content as follows:
- where specific pathways may have been followed these should be in keeping with the new qualification. Where they are not, further assessment will be required.
- where a full unit has been undertaken over 12 months prior to the learner's registration on the new qualification, further questioning or evidence of CPD should be added to support currency.
Where an exemption is being used towards an externally set and marked qualification, your centre will need to submit evidence of this with the examination paperwork to achieve the overall pass result for the learner.
For the examples specified within this FAQ, we will require all evidence to be retained within the learner's portfolio of evidence and/or workbooks and submitted to our EQS team upon request.
Please note, some qualifications do not allow for RPL or the reduction of learning time. These requirements will be set out within the Qualification Specification and/or any supporting documentation for the qualification.