Work Based Learning and APEL

Professor Jonathan GarnettCentre for Excellence in Work Based Learning

Middlesex University

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APEL is long established in the UK

• 1980s pioneering work of Learning from Experience Trust

• CNAA Legitimization 1986• 1990 Favourable policy context eg Robertson 1994• Work of credit Consortia eg SEEC Code of practice 1996

endorsed by 37 institutions• Merrifield (2000) 83 institutions offered APEL

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But use of APEL is limited

• Merrifield: two thirds of HEIs with APEL policies and procedures have less than 100 APEL students

• 26% of institutions which offer APEL do not include it in their prospectuses

• Staff expertise to guide APEL claimants tends to be concentrated with a few individuals

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APEL Concerns

• Quality - is “experiential learning” comparable to learning from the HE course? Can assessment be valid and reliable?

• Cost - is the support and assessment of an APEL claim too resource intensive?

• Use - who benefits?

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APEL Opportunities

• APEL traditionally seen as a means to widen access to Higher Education

• Negotiated learning programmes , especially work based learning, in the UK highlight new opportunities

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APEL in Work Based Learning

• Work Based Learning is “ learning through, at and for work”• Within the UK Work Based Learning can be at any level and may

vary from being part of a single module to a whole programme.• Work Based Learning has been a Middlesex speciality for 15 years• In 1996 Middlesex was awarded a Queens Prize for “Excellence

and Innovation” for pioneering work based learning• 2003 Quality Assurance Agency report highlighted the innovative

and robust procedures for ensuring the quality of work based learning at Middlesex (www.qaa.ac.uk)

• 2005 APEL part of the Middlesex case for Excellence in Work Based Learning recognized by HEFCE

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Work Based Learning at Middlesex

• In 2006/7 over 1100 students were engaged in Work Based Learning programmes, including about 500 at Honours Degree level

• WBL takes place in all types of organisations, some of our employer partners are: Marks and Spencer, City of London Corporation, Dell, Ministry of Defence Police, Health Service Trusts.

• Comprehensive range of qualifications – Certificate, Diploma, Hons Degree, Masters, Doctorate

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APEL within a Work Based Learning Programme

• Forward focused Review (APEL)• Programme Planning - to meet individual and

organizational (including MU) needs• Work Based Research and Development Methodology• Work Based Project(s)

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The individual Work Based Learner

• Mature (typically 35-50)

• Well established at work

• Considerable pre-understanding (formal and informal learning)

• WBL places the learner at the interface between work and the university to explore work-focused issues

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Bob: the Work Based Learner

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Bob has a range of knowledge and skills

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• Values the learning already held by the individual and their organisation

• Enables the individual to plan their own programme• Is a distance learning programme with individual tutorial

support from a Programme Adviser• Is flexible to meet individual/organisational needs• Leads to internationally recognised higher education

qualifications

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WBL and APEL Challenges

• Roles: of the HE institution, the work based learner, the employer

• Nature and purposes of knowledge• Responsiveness: How responsive can/should HE be to

the needs of the “knowledge driven economy”?• Quality: maintain standards of HE qualifications while

being fit for the purposes of employees/students and employers

• Curriculum, learning, teaching and assessment• Cost: How much, who pays, is it worth it?

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WBL and APEL Opportunities

• Provides a new way of focusing higher education level critical thinking on the demands of work

• Can stimulate HE eg approaches to research for work based researchers, recognition of learning at work, new curriculum models

• Offers the opportunity to develop new types of partnership to support the development and application of knowledge in the workplace

• Potential to increase participation in HE and widen the funding base