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Students and faculty are becoming increasingly interested in spending time in different academic environments, often in foreign surroundings. The length of stay can range from one semester to the pursuit of a full academic credential. A proper protocol (or mechanism) designed to recognize previous academic performance is essential in ensuring a full range of student mobility options. It is for this reason that credit transfer and student mobility are linked. The first half of the paper will center on student mobility and what it means to the post-secondary system. The barriers which prevent the free flow of students from jurisdiction to jurisdiction will also be focused upon. Additional sections will examine the role finance, information and most importantly, academics, play in the restriction of opportunity. Next, the paper will investigate measures designed by post-secondary institutions and governments to assist increased mobility opportunities. The mobility section will end with a detailed analysis of the Canadian performance on select mobility measures and provide additional information on the mobility picture in the main international post-secondary education systems (e.g. United States and the United Kingdom).

The second half of the paper will examine how post-secondary education credits act as a form of knowledge 'currency' and how the issue of credit recognition is best seen as a policy issue which requires the 'exchange' of one institution's credits into a currency that other institutions can freely accept. It will examine how credit transfer works in various Canadian jurisdictions, the role played by Credit Transfer Councils in certain jurisdictions and how transfer information is ultimately conveyed to the student, parent, guidance counsellor or post-secondary institution. Finally, a detailed analysis of credit transfer systems in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union will be provided.

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The aim of this guide is to make available to students and their advisors, information about the entry and advanced standing opportunities available in the University of Wollongong for holders of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) major awards.

TAFE NSW and the University of Wollongong have co-operated in the preparation of this publication. This issue updates the 1989 edition. Show less

This vocational education and training (VET) roadmap is a national strategic planning tool that identifies the key areas that require national action to enable Australian learners to utilise their e-portfolio to support learner pathways through training, education and employment. It explains the goals for a collaborative approach to e-portfolios in the VET sector and lays out a plan for the national VET system to realise these goals. The document was compiled following intensive research and national stakeholder consultations. This revised version identifies the actions completed and the work still to be done as part of the e-portfolios for learner pathways business activity, a project of the National VET E-learning Strategy 2012-2015. The project aims to support individuals’ lifelong learning goals by providing the basis for learners to progress through VET and gain recognition of their prior learning and experiences, and by enabling the national portability of learning evidence and verifiability of qualifications.

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This paper examines the interplay between geopolitical goals, governance and International Student Mobility (henceforth ISM). It explores how the United Kingdom's newly envisaged domestic credit-mobility programme (the Turing Scheme) is reshaping the spatiality of their outward student mobility flows to bolster a global sense of internationalisation through ISM. During its emergence, the Turing Scheme was often positioned as an antithesis to the pre-established Erasmus+ Scheme which had a strong focus on European integration, instead it focused on promoting a 'Global Britain' narrative. This paper conducts a content analysis of Hansard (transcripts of debates in the U.K.'s Houses of Parliament), to reflect on ISM decision-making, debating the choices made and unmade regarding the development of the Turing Scheme. This research illuminated multiple issues, adding to the debate about the importance of ISM for geopolitical purposes, and how these can underpin credit-mobility schemes, and shape these during periods of large-scale geopolitical change.

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2010 sees the end of the process of establishing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Although not all countries may have achieved all the objectives, many are those countries and universities who have implemented many of the targets set. Within the Bologna Process, there have been many developments such as: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for the transfer of period of study abroad; joint degrees; and quality assurance aspects among others. Guidelines for Quality Assurance and the development of an overarching European Qualifications Framework have been developed. While the Bologna Process brings with it many advantages on an education level, the discussion has not really considered the legal aspects of such a system. Once the EHEA is implemented comprehensively across Europe, situations may arise which would require universities to consider the legal aspects of learning that students may have experienced within different tertiary institutions. This paper considers what problems may arise, for example with fraudulent behaviour by students in the acquisition of ECTS credits in another university; with weaknesses or failure to prove quality of learning following an external quality assurance audit in another university; with the failure to deliver learning by one of the partner universities running joint degrees etc., and explores the possible legal implications of such situations as well as identifying the legal lacunae which exist and which need to be taken into consideration if the EHEA is to maintain the reputation that it aims for.

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This chapter describes how California Community College and California State University faculty developed a system for implementing associate degrees for transfer that has the potential to simplify transfer and decrease unit accumulation. This intersegmental, faculty-led system provides a mechanism for maintaining local control of curriculum, while identifying curricular commonalities that can ultimately facilitate student movement within and between higher education segments in California.

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How established is the horizontal permeability between modes of vocational education and training (VET) in Switzerland? Formally encouraged by the Swiss law on VET, horizontal permeability refers to transitions across VET modes, i.e. between dual and school-based VET. This paper first discusses why horizontal permeability is indeed relevant and then empirically examines the horizontal permeability of the Swiss VET system for a given occupation - commercial VET. The latter is the largest VET domain in Switzerland and, importantly, a domain in which school-based VET is well established. The empirical analysis uses panel data following a cohort for over 10 years in the Canton of Geneva. Results show that going from school-based to dual VET within commercial VET increases chances to earn a qualification, however students changing modes lose half a year in the process. These findings suggest that, at least in commercial VET, horizontal permeability is only partial.

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It is the intention of the UK government to enhance progression routes for apprentices to higher education. However, little research has been carried out into why former apprentices pursue higher education or the experiences of this transition. This paper seeks to redress this gap by reporting three case studies of former apprentices who had completed or were completing a higher education qualification in England. Each case study represents a different route to higher education: progressing to a full-time higher education course; pursuing a part-time route to sustain full-time employment; and undertaking a career change during the transition to higher education. The paper addresses their experiences of the apprenticeship, the decision-making to progress and the perceived outcomes of their transition so far. Analysis draws on Fuller and Unwin's expansive-restrictive framework and conceptual lenses for understanding learning. The findings revealed that although their apprenticeships were restrictive in different ways, progression was pursued for a number of reasons involving the context in which apprenticeships were completed, the relationship to their employer, the higher education context and their understanding of learning. Experiences of boundary crossing were particularly associated with more complex descriptions of personal transformation and learning as becoming.

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Objective: Problems with credit mobility, or the transfer of credits from a sending to a receiving institution, may be one reason why community college transfer students have low rates of bachelor's degree completion. This study investigates different policy approaches to credit mobility and how college staff and students experience transfer at the campus level. Method: The study utilizes data from policy documents and legislative statutes, phone interviews with higher education system officials, and college staff across 10 states, and interview data with students and staff collected during site visits to 2- and 4-year colleges in Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

Results: We categorized credit mobility policies across a continuum, from system-wide transfer initiatives to local-level institution-to-institution approaches. We refer to these different policy systems as 2 + 2, credit equivalency, and institution-driven. Across the systems, policies may not be working as intended because many transfer students do not select a major and destination institution early enough in their community college career to avoid credit loss. Moreover, institutions may lack capacity to provide personalized support to students interested in transfer early in their career. Contributions: We provide a new framework to understand different policy approaches to ensuring transfer students' credits transfer and apply to their major, and offer research, policy, and practice considerations to improve credit mobility across different policy systems.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

Special issue: 'Transfer matters', guest edited by Mark M. D'Amico and Matt S. Giani. Show less

The paper examines developments in the education restructuring process which are relevant to credit transfer and recognition in 'middle-level' vocational education in Australia and New Zealand. It looks at a recent Trans-Tasman project establishing credit transfer arrangements between Australian TAFE and the Auckland Institute of Technology. This project is used as a basis for identifying principles and procedures which may aid the future development of credit transfer arrangements. Show less