ASOMI views RPL as a process in which the evidence of learning that has taken place before being admitted to an accredited programme of study is evaluated, recognized and given value.

This context therefore two distinct types of RPL that are incorporate in the policy and procedure, namely:

• Summative RPL
• Credit Transfer

The definition of the above types of RPL are being fully aligned with the guidelines issued by MFHEA (May, 2021) and are being reproduced hereunder:

1. APPLICATION PHASE
2. QUALITY CHECK 1 – EVIDENCE VETTING
3. ASSESSMENT & OUTCOME PHASE
4. QUALITY CHECK 2 – ASSESSMENT & OUTCOME VERIFICATION
5. COMMUNICATION OF OUTCOME

The application phase of the RPL process aims to provide the essential information for potential students to access RPL at ASOMI College. This phase consists of the follows steps:

Step 1:

Potential students fill in an RPL form (attached as an Annex to this document) in which they provide details of their:

1. Work experience
2. Other experience
3. Formal qualifications

Step 2:

The RPL form is then reviewed by Admin. Officer at ASOMI to check that all the required information is duly provided by the student.

Step 3:

Admin. Officer communicates with student via electronic mail to inform of the result of the process check on RPL and to provide important guidance on the required evidence that would need to be gathered by the student.

The student is guided to develop a portfolio as a form of evidence of the work experience and other experience listed in his/her application form. The portfolio may include past projects, reference letters, links to electronic data (that is publicly available) that he/she has worked on and endorsement letters by current/previous employers.

Step 4:

Portfolio of evidence is formulated by student and submitted on the date as specified by the Admin. Officer of Asomi College. During this step, students are offered guidance and support by Asomi on an individual basis.

Step 5:

Once the portfolio of evidence is submitted, the Admin. Officer informs the QA director and presents to him the RPL form and the portfolio of evidence for vetting (Phase 2). This step concludes the first phase of the RPL process.

The aim of this phase is to conduct the internal quality check on the evidence provided by the learning in the application phase and is conducted by the QA director as an internal process as follows:

Step 1:               

QA director reviews all evidence as submitted by the learner together with the RPL form.

Step 2:               

QA director conducts all the necessary quality checks of the evidence provided to ascertain that:

1. Evidence presented is authentic
2. Evidence presented is aligned with the RPL form declaration
3. Potential for summative RPL exists for assessment purposes
4. Potential for Credit transfer exists for assessment purposes

Step 3:               

The results of step 2 are compiled into an internal quality report which is submitted to the Head of Institution (HOI) for approval.

Step 4:               

Once the quality report is approved by the HOI, the RPL committee is informed and is asked to convene for the assessment phase (Phase 3). This step concluded

The aims of the RPL assessment phase are to:

1. Quantify the summative RPL outcome in terms of ECTS credit points
2. Quantify the credit transfer outcome in terms of ECTS credit points
3. Formulate individual learning plan for student

Step 1:               

The HOI convenes the RPL committee to conduct RPL assessments and presents to members with:

1. Evidence collected in Phase 1
2. IQA report (system check 1)

Step 2:               

RPL committee members evaluate all the evidence collected and conduct 2 maps as follows:

Map 1: Summative RPL map

Based on the portfolio of evidence, the RPL committee maps the experiential learning of the student with the competencies of the accredited programme that the learner has registered for.

Map 2: Credit Transfer

Based on formal qualifications presented, the RPL committee maps the experiential learning of the student with the competencies of the accredited programme that the learner has registered for.

Step 3:               

Before moving towards the outcome phase, the RPL committee has the possibility to conduct an interview with the student in order to ascertain that mapping of competencies is being conducted effectively.

Step 4:               

Once the maps have been compiled and clarifications (if any) are conducted, the RPL committee complies a report with the results of the outcome.

The aim of this phase is to verify that the outcomes arrived at by the RPL committee are fit for purpose in terms of quality standard. The QA director is responsible for the verification of assessment and outcome and conduct the following steps:

Step 1:               

Review report compiled by RPL committee to check for process and procedural adherence.

Step 2:              

Clarifies any issues/unclarities directly with the RPL committee members under the direction of the HOI.

Step 3:

Declares RPL process as fit for purpose and submits internal report to HOI

The aim of this phase is to communicate the outcome of the RPL to the student and to the administration staff at ASOMI.

Step 1:               

Outcomes are presented to Registrar at ASOMI. The latter in turn stores the outcome of RPL on the student record files.

Step 2:               

Registrar communicates directly with student my means of an official communication informing student of the outcomes of the RPL process. In this communication, the total RPL credit points, together with the breakdown of the Summative RPL and Credit Transfer, are presented to the student.

In addition, an individual learning plan is also sent to the student to inform him/her of the modules of study that he/she has to follow in the accredited programme of study at ASOMI College.

During the application phase, more specifically on submission of the RPL form, students are requested to pay a fee for the RPL process to be initiated.

Learners have the opportunity to appeal the outcome of the RPL process against an additional fee which would be returned to student should the appeal result in a modified outcome.

The appeal process is initiated by the student himself/herself by communicated directly with the registrar of ASOMI. Once an appeal is filed, the registrar informs the HOI of ASOMI College. The appeal process is then reviewed by the appeals committee of ASOMI college.