Overview
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process through which prior learning is formally valued. It enables learning to be identified, assessed, and recognised by an educational institution as part of its programmes, courses, or modules on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
RPL makes it possible for individuals to build on learning they have already achieved and receive formal recognition for it. This course enables staff working in the tertiary sector to understand what RPL means within their own contexts and to reflect on its application and potential within their institutions and across the wider sector.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the concept of Recognition of Prior Learning and reflect on its application within your own setting;
- Evaluate the potential impact of RPL on an institution, its staff, and its students;
- Identify existing RPL policies and consider their alignment with institutional practice;
- Analyse the relationship between programme and module learning outcomes and the experience of an RPL candidate.
Professional Development Recognition
On earning the open badge for this course, you will have achieved further recognition across the following domains of the National Professional Development Framework for Staff Who Teach:
- Domain 1: The Self — recognises the centrality of the professional and personal values that individuals bring to their teaching and their development as educators;
- Domain 2: Professional Identity, Values and Development in Teaching and Learning — supports critical reflection on professional and disciplinary identity and recognises that professional identity can evolve throughout a person’s career;
- Domain 4: Professional Knowledge and Skills — supports individuals in remaining current in their professional or disciplinary knowledge and applying evidence-based teaching, learning, and assessment practices.
Course Developers
This open course was developed by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in partnership with Dr Deirdre Goggin, Munster Technological University, and Dr Cathal de Paor, Mary Immaculate College, as the original content designers.
The course was subsequently updated by Dr Ciara Staunton, University College Cork, and the RPL in Higher Education Project, an HCI Pillar 3 initiative.
