Accreditation of prior learning for Masters courses in Education: FAQs

Accredited Prior 'Certified' Learning (AP(C)L): There is no charge.

The maximum number of credits that you can become exempt from is:

• 90 credits for a Masters degree
• 60 credits for a Postgraduate Diploma
• 30 credits for a Postgraduate Certificate
• The structure of modules within each programme may also restrict what you can APL

Most of our Masters degrees currently restrict APL to a maximum of 60 credits, but occasional exceptions may be granted.

There are a number of requirements that you have to fulfil in order for previous learning or experience to be suitable for applying for APL:

1)      Your learning or experience must have been achieved within the past 5 years.

2)      If you want to use courses for AP(C)L that you have taken in the past these must be at an appropriate level compared to the course you want to study at this university.  For example, only Masters level modules can count towards modules on the MA, MEd or MSc at this university.

3)      You cannot use learning from modules for AP(C)L more than once.  If you have already used experience gained from modules at another institution for AP(C)L purposes you must have new experiences or new accredited learning to be able to AP(C)L modules here.

4)      You must have evidence of your prior learning or experience, for example, for AP(C)L, original certificates for programmes you have studied and in some cases you may be asked to submit pieces of your assessed course work to support an application.  If such documentation is not in English you must provide a translation from an academic or professional source.

5)      If you have prior relevant learning of an appropriate level you must remember that you are not permitted to reproduce assessed work that has already been submitted at another educational institution of any kind.  This includes translations into English of assessed work you have submitted before.  Although you are the author of this work, reusing such material in part or fully will be considered as plagiarism.

6)      You cannot APL parts of modules.  Check the size of the modules on the particular programme you wish to study as you may find that you cannot put all of the credits you would be able to APL to use, because they would only cover parts of a module.

7)      Marks awarded from prior certified learning will not be used for the purpose of classification of the Exeter award. Where previous University of Exeter credits have been allowed under APL these will be shown on your transcript.

Even if you are unable to match all of the ILOs for the module you wish to APL it can be worthwhile applying. If, however, you are unable to match at least two-thirds of the ILOs then it is probably not worthwhile.

Credit or experiences that are older than 5 years are not usually allowed to be used for APL purposes.

The MSc in Educational Research is composed of compulsory modules only. This means that you are expected to cover all of the content of the compulsory modules in order to gain the qualification. Therefore AP(C)L is only allowed on this programme where the content of the module that you wish to use for exemption (from another institution) matches the majority of the content of the MSc Educational Research module that you wish to become exempt from. AP(E)L is not available on this programme.

The maximum number of credits that you can become exempt from is:

• A maximum of 90 credits depending on programme*
• 60 credits for a Postgraduate Diploma
• 30 credits for a Postgraduate Certificate

The structure of modules within each programme may also restrict what you can APL.

*Owing to the course structure, students enrolled on the Language and Literacy in Education programme are only able to gain exemption from up to 60 credits.

You must hold credits at the same level as those from which you wish to become exempt. You can find out what level your credits are by checking your award transcript, usually sent to you with your award certificate. Usually each module is listed showing how many credits they carry and what level they are. To be used on our master’s programme they must be at master’s level. Usually you will see an M next to them or they will be described as being Level 7. If you are unsure you should contact the awarding institution for more information. 

A DELTA is usually considered as being Masters level equivalent on our Med TESOL programme. However, its appropriateness would need to be checked and confirmed by the Programme Director. 

There are some professional qualifications that are considered to be Masters level equivalent. The Programme Director of the course that you wish to join will be able to confirm if you are able to use them for AP(C)L purposes.

You will need to post in your original award certificate and transcript to evidence the credits that you are using for module exemption. The paperwork must clearly demonstrate the level (M level/ level 7) of the modules listed. If it doesn’t then you will need to contact the awarding institution and ask them to provide you with evidence of this. You must ensure that you use recorded delivery to send these, we will return them in the same manner.

Each application has to go through an approval process involving the Programme Director, the Associate Dean of Education (ADE) and the Dean of Taught Faculty. The length of time this will take depends on the availability of each of person at each stage of the process. For AP(C)L we would hope to have an application fully approved within a month, although it is often quicker than this. 

You will be emailed as soon as your application has completed the approval process. This will provide you with formal notification of credit exemption. If the information submitted with your application is not sufficient then you will be contacted and given the opportunity to rectify this.

Your course fees will be adjusted to reflect any module exemptions. You will not have to pay for any modules that you are formally exempted from.

If the previous credits you wish to use for exemption are credits from Exeter University, such as a PGCE, there is not usually a need to complete the application process. We have progression agreements in place that mean that we can apply exemption automatically. Please just email us to confirm that you wish to use them for APL purposes and we will let you know if there is anything you need to do – info.stlukes@exeter.ac.uk

No, using APL to become exempt from modules will mean that you are not eligible to receive a PGT loan.

No, your award classification will be calculated on the basis of the marks received in the modules that you complete as part of your current studies with Exeter.

When should I apply for APL? - You should think about APL at around the same time as you apply for the course. However, there may be some flexibility on this depending on the timetabling of the modules you wish to become exempt from or if you are studying part time. For part time study, you must have your APL application completed and approved before you progress to your dissertation module. You should apply for the course in the normal way as well, bearing in mind that ultimately you may not be permitted to APL any of the modules.

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE FAQs BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE

If you have read all of the FAQs and still have questions then please contact hassenquiries@exeter.ac.uk. Ensure that you give details of the programme you are applying for and the modules from which you wish to be exempt.

If the previous credits you wish to use for exemption are credits from Exeter University, such as a PGCE, there is not usually a need to complete the application process. Please just email us to confirm that you wish to use them for APL purposes and we will let you know if there is anything you need to do – hassenquiries@exeter.ac.uk

The AP(C)L application form can be found here: ‌AP(C)L application form