Recognition of Prior Learning [RPL] is a method of using your existing skills, knowledge and experience to obtain a formal qualification without the requirements of attending classes or receiving full tuition. It should always be borne in mind that the RPL process is still an assessment – not a guarantee, and requires considerable time and effort on both the part of you, the student, and the academic centre providing the assessment.
If you have relevant professional experience appropriate to the qualification or training you have gained through previous/current employment, volunteer work, or have any other recognised type of training, then you may be eligible for RPL of some nature.
The RPL process takes into account all of the relevant skills, knowledge and experience that you may have regardless of the manner in which you received them. This can include experience and training you have gained through commercial work, volunteer work, previous studies, and/or your own life experiences.
Through the assessment process it may be possible to achieve 100% of any qualification. However, it is usually more common for most students in identifying those areas in a qualification for which they have relevant and specific prior knowledge, which can be used under RPL process to form a unique learning pathway, and identify directly the remaining elements of a qualification, which is then completed under normal, additional training.
The RPL process does remain a formal assessment process and does require a considerable amount of time, energy and effort on both the part of the applicant and the academic centre. A range of evidence to determine your suitability for RPL needs to be gathered by you in the first instance and assessed by our academic team for review. RPL applicants are also required to undertake a competency interview with the academic specialist in your area, which is usually conducted at your place of work.
Typical documentation required for RPL process can include, but is not restricted to:
- employment documents and records
- references and testimonials
- up to date CV/Resume
- job and/or position descriptions from both current and previous employers
You should also consider providing where possible – transcripts of formal academic achievements, details of in-house courses, other commercial training programmes, orientation or induction processes. Sample work in the form of a portfolio is usually a good inclusion, as is any relevant Health & Safety documentation, diaries, worksheets and other details.
Every RPL application is unique, custom and individual to each applicant. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate indication of the length of the process. As a general guide, a formal RPL application for a substantial portion of a qualification is certainly going to take months to resolve.
If an RPL process is relevant for you, you should use our Contact options on the website to begin discussing with staff your particular circumstances pertaining to a formal RPL approach.
Credit Transfer is the process of providing you with updated statements of attainments for units of competency you may have studied and completed at other institutions. This process is more formally known as National Recognition. You may for example, need to attain units in one of our courses, which you have previously achieved at another centre in a similar, or related course. This is known as National Recognition. Credit Transfer along these lines will only recognise units by exact reference of the unit number and title – having a ‘similar’ unit is usually insufficient.
Essentially, credit transfer is a like for like process, and if you have completed the unit elsewhere, you should not normally need to do it again. In some occasions, it may be possible to use elements from a number of units to achieve recognition by credit transfer in another. Where granted, credit transfer can reduce the duration of your studies significantly. Digital Construction Academy charges a small administrative fee in place of the full unit fee for updating of records to incorporate new credit transfer arrangements. This is currently $35.00 for each unit sought under credit transfer arrangements.
For more information on Credit Transfer, Contact us and discuss your options with us.
Assessment Only Fast Track [custom RPL]
AO Fast Tracking is our shorthand for study by Assessment Only conditions, a usually quick and more direct method of establishing an alternative RPL route. This means that, where granted, a student may proceed directly to the Assessment Events in a given unit or units, without full tuition being provided. This may be considered suitable in occasional student enrolments, where Digital Construction Academy is confident of a candidate’s ability to proceed under these conditions, and a full RPL assessment is not ideally suited to the application. A modicum of academic guidance is generally still provided, as is access to areas of our portals, but as a general principle, students should only explore an AO academic route in a limited range of subject areas specific to their known current knowledge and skill set, and will always require an initial discussion and pre-entry evaluation with academic staff in those areas.
Essentially, it is agreed at the outset that you are able to cope directly with the assessment conditions without extensive tutorial support.
AO Fast Tracking is granted entirely at the discretion of Digital Construction Academy, and is usually only suitable to cover the competences of one, or a small group of units. Candidates proceeding directly to AO events must be aware that academic support is limited to general guidance only, and no specific learning material is provided.
Where granted, an Assessment Only approach can significantly reduce the duration and overall cost of your studies. AO fast-tracked units are currently charged at $175.00 per unit, in place of the full unit fee.
For more information on AO Fast-Tracking, Contact us and discuss your options with us.