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This research report aimed to identify: barriers preventing articulation between VET and HE courses and examples of successful articulation agreements; possible strategies for efficient and sustainable approaches to articulation; and strategies and models to improve uptake of RPL in the health and community services sector.

While the report has identified a number of barriers to successful articulation between VET and HE courses, it also identified four major approaches for consideration and further development to assist in successful articulation of RPL arrangements in the health and community services sectors, and a tested, successful ‘community development’ recognition of competence model for RPL which has been used in this sector. Show less

This study focused on the formation of generic skills in post-school education, emphasising generalist courses such as the arts, humanities, and social sciences and the role of those skills in student movement between the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors. These skills are common to more than one work site, occupation, or field of knowledge. Data was gathered from a literature review; canvassing the opinions of students who had moved between the sectors; canvassing the opinions of VET and higher education teaching and policy making staff; and by examining generic skills' curriculum as well as intersectoral recognition systems.

The study found that students move between the sectors in order to compile mixed portfolios of knowledge, skills, and qualifications. That is, they change their educational preparation to fit their current needs. Thus policy makers and system managers should facilitate student flexibility and choice in student movement between the sectors and between areas of study. The study also confirmed that there is a high level of student movement between the sectors, and that movement is more fragmented and spontaneous than policy has assumed.

Suggested innovations included: greater scope for students to design their own educational paths, based on better information about both sectors; improved recognition arrangements from university to TAFE; encouragement of cross-field combinations of courses, especially general-vocational combinations; launching a study of student movement in and out of private training and of that sector's recognition of prior learning (RPL) and credit transfer arrangements. Show less

This paper reports on a study of the concept of recognition of prior learning (RPL). It attempts to answer the following questions: What is RPL? How has it evolved? How do Australian universities and TAFE institutions currently view and apply it? What form and direction will and should the future of RPL take? The following broad conclusions were reached: (1) the educational changes that occurred in the postsecondary sector were led by government and industry with TAFE sector cooperation and the absence of the university sector in these developments was a major barrier to the acceptance of RPL; (2) the TAFE sector does not possess a uniform definition of RPL with the university arena being worse ; (3) the implementation of competency-based training in TAFE was a major concern to universities which see it as bringing learning down to its most basic level; (4) while articulation has been advocated as a way of promoting equity and access by allowing students to choose their pathway and gain RPL, prior learning of a 'non-formal' nature was not generally admissable; and (5) RPL as a concept has not been universally embraced.

The collected proceedings are indexed at TD/TNC 74.501; the collected PowerPoint presentations are indexed at TD/TNC 74.530; available papers are indexed from TD/TNC 74.502 to TD/TNC 74.529. Show less

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) was introduced in Australia in the 1990s as part of the Federal Labour Government’s competency-based initiatives within its training reform agenda. In this thesis which focuses on the university and TAFE sectors, documentary and interview sources are analysed in an attempt to ascertain the future possibilities of RPL in the postsecondary sector to answer the following questions: What is RPL? How has it evolved? How do Australian universities and TAFE institutions currently view and apply it? What form and direction will and should the future of RPL take? It is structured as follows: the first chapter provides an overview of RPL covering its origins in America, the program in other countries like the UK, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand, and its rise in Australia; in chapter two, the concept of RPL is explored from an Australian perspective; chapter three covers RPL terminology in Australia; in chapters four and five, the Australian university and TAFE perspectives on RPL are provided; in chapter six the issue of articulation is discussed; and the final chapter provides a summary of the research, concluding that the future of RPL is limited and uncertain and dependent on the new Federal Minister’s plans for postsecondary education. Show less