Credit Recognition

Tūtukitanga Whakamihi | Credit Recognition

The effective recognition of learning for the award of credit assists learners to move readily between education organisations, and progress in work and education without having to repeat learning or experiences.

NZQA guidelines for the recognition and award of learning for credit.

Unitec supports the achievement of academic credit through the recognition and award of credit for formal prior learning, known as Cross-Credit, and through robust assessment and recognition of prior formal and informal learning, known as Assessment of Prior Learning (APL).

Whakawhiti Tūtukitanga | Cross-Credit

will be awarded wherever:

• learning aligns with existing Unitec provision;
• credit can be wholly-attributed to formal courses of study successfully completed outside of the programme; and where
• the credit derives from completion of courses at the same or higher level taken at Unitec or other accredited tertiary institutions; or of NZQA unit standards registered on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF).

Credits will not be awarded for successful study that took place more than 5 years prior to the date of first enrolment in the programme.

A student may be awarded credits or exemptions in recognition of successful equivalent study, at the same or a higher level in the context of another programme.

The credit recognition may be:

• specified, where there is direct equivalence of the learning outcomes of a completed course and a course in the programme; or
• unspecified, where the previous study has taken place in a programme with a similar philosophy but there is no exact match in the programme’s courses.

Cross-credits will not be awarded for a research project in a postgraduate programme.

Aromatawai Tōmua | Assessment of Prior Learning (APL)

will be awarded through the robust assessment and recognition of prior formal and informal learning wherever such learning is equivalent to a Unitec qualification, its graduate profile, and/or course learning outcomes. The extent of any awarded credit awarded will be judged on the basis of the evidence presented.

APL decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis under the Unitec Assessment of Prior Learning Procedure. The availability of APL is subject to the relevant Programme Regulations and the requirements of any regulatory or professional body. Arbitrary maximum limits on credits gained via APL are incompatible with the intention of the policy.

Ngā whakawhitinga | Credit Transfer

is a form of Cross-Credit where courses from another programme (New Zealand or Internationally recognised qualification) can be automatically credited against courses in a programme.

Transfer arrangements may be established to streamline the administrative process. Articulation arrangements and rules for New Zealand qualifications must be created and approved by the Relevant Academic Authority. International articulation agreements must be entered into with the International Education Organisation and must include evidence of the mapping of courses and outcomes and must be formally approved via a formal contract. Details of any such arrangements will be noted in a Schedule for Mapping Credit Transfer attached to the Regulations.

Resources

Guidelines

Assessment of Prior Learning Guidelines for Staff

Schedule for Mapping Credit Transfer Arrangements

Relevant Policies and Procedures

AC 2.4 Credit Recognition Procedure

AC 2.3 Assessment of Prior Learning Procedure

NZQA Guidance

NZQA Guidelines for the Recognition and Award of Learning for Credit