GUIDELINES TO ACCREDITATION OF PRIOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

FOR CREDIT AWARD (APEL C) AT OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

Copyright @ Open University Malaysia (OUM), June 2017.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the
written permission of the President, Open University Malaysia (OUM).

Version June 2017

1. Definition of APEL C

a) Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) recognises, assesses and awards

credits for experiential learning gained through informal and non-formal means.
APEL C is the award of credits for the prior experiential learning towards a course in
an accredited programme of higher education provided (HEP).
b) Credit is granted on the basis of knowledge and skills acquired through formal and
non-formal learning.
c) Learning must occur in line with the learning outcomes of the courses concerned. It
is the learning and not the experience of the learners which is being evaluated.

2. Objective

Through APEL C, OUM is trying to achieve a few objectives:

a) Firstly, to provide recognition for learning acquired from non-formal and informal
sources.
b) The second objective is to reduce the duplication of learning, or learning of the
similar content.
c) Finally, to capitalise on APEL and provide opportunity for learners to accelerate their
graduation period, which reduces the time of completing a programme.

3. Scope of APEL C

The scope of APEL C comprises of three main areas; namely application, assessment and
evaluation for the purpose of recognising and awarding academic credits based on prior
experiential learning.

2
4. Criteria for APEL C

a) Learners of OUM who are undertaking Diploma, Degree and Masters Programmes at
OUM with relevant prior learning experience are eligible to apply for APEL C.
However, APEL C may not be applicable for learners which are sponsored by the
Ministry of Education or linked to professional bodies.

b) The Programme Directors and Discipline Chairs will declare if there are any special
criteria they need the student to fulfil in view of being eligible to apply for APEL C.

5. Core Principles of APEL C

a) OUM learners will initiate the application and is responsible to provide for sufficient
evidence. It is a voluntary process.
b) Information on APEL C must be accessible in OUM’s main website.
c) Processes, procedures, practices and decisions should be reliable, transparent and
consistent to safeguard the integrity of the entire system.
d) Roles of assessors and advisors must be clearly outlined. Assessors are responsible to
assess the aptitude tests, portfolios and interviews whereas advisors play the role of
counselling the learners at various learning centres of OUM.
e) Quality assurance process shall be available for scrutiny by the quality assurance
bodies at all times.

6. APEL C Policies

a) APEL C provision is applicable to OUM learners regardless of their mode of entry

(through conventional or APEL A entry).
b) OUM can only implement APEL C once getting approval from MQA.
c) APEL C is confined to courses in programmes that have obtained at least provisional
accreditation from MQA.

3
 d) Awards of credits under APEL C are in the form of credit transfer where it does not
involve the transfer of grades. Credit awarded for the course will be counted
towards the total credit requirement for graduation.
e) The maximum percentage of credit transfer through APEL C is 30% of the total
graduating credits of a specific programme of study at OUM. This percentage is in
addition to the maximum 30% credit transfer provision based on the existing formal
credit transfer policy.
f) MQA states that APEL C is applicable for all courses except for final year project-
based courses and dissertations. However in OUM, APEL C will only be offered for
selected courses of Diploma, Degree and Masters as identified by the respective
Programme Directors. For Diploma and Degree, first year and second year courses
can be considered whereas for Masters, the first year courses should be considered.
For high failure rate courses reported in OUM, the offering of APEL C may not be
feasible.
g) OUM reserves the right to add or remove any course for APEL C anytime without any
notification.

7. Form of Credit Award

a) Form of credit refers to the amount of credit granted to a learner on the basis of
prior learning for a course. Learners who are successful in the APEL C application and
assessment for a registered course will be awarded with full credits for the course.
b) There will be no partial credits awarded for a single course.
c) Learners who are unsuccessful in the APEL C application and assessment will be
required to register and complete the courses as in an ordinary semester.

4
8. Forms of Assessment: APEL C Test

a) Either APEL C test (challenge test) or Portfolio assessment will be used in OUM to
assess if the learner is able to meet the intended learning outcomes for a particular
course. The learner will make the choice. The APEL C test is a paper-based
examination. OUM reserves the right to amend the format of test or the assessment
form at its discretion. Applicants are advised to find out about the assessment prior
to application.
b) APEL C test may come in the form of multiple choice, short answer, essay and
situation-based problem solving.
c) For both the APEL C Test and/or Portfolio assessment, learners must achieve at least
50% of each Course Learning Outcomes. Learners must pass all the learning
outcomes in order to be granted the credits. A total of 3 hours will be given to the
learner to complete the APEL C test.

9. Forms of Assessment: Portfolio

On the other hand, a portfolio is a formal document that contains a compilation of

evidence documenting the learners’ prior experiential learning and his/her articulation
of learning acquired over a period of time. The portfolio must be prepared in such a way
that it can it allow the learner to demonstrate whether or not he or she has achieved the
course learning outcomes. For both the APEL C Test and/or Portfolio assessment,
learners must achieve at least 50% of each Course Learning Outcomes. Learners must
demonstrate at least 50% of the course learning outcome to obtain the credit award.

5
10. Criteria for Evidence when Assessing Portfolio

a) Acceptability: good matching between course learning outcome and the evidence
presented.
b) Sufficiency: sufficient breadth and depth of evidences which can demonstrate the
competencies claimed.
c) Authenticity: reflection of learners own effort and experience.
d) Currency: evidence must reflect the currency of knowledge and skills.
**Learners must achieve at least 50% of each course learning outcomes.

6
11. APEL C Process Flow

7
12. APEL C Application

a) After self reflection, if learner decides to proceed with APEL C application, he/she
must be rendered appropriate support through an appointed advisor. Every learning
centre is required to assign an advisor for APEL.
b) The advisor will advise on assessment issues and on other matters. Learners can
apply for APEL C anytime from the first up to the fourth semester in the programme
of study. However, it is advisable to submit the application during the first academic
year of a programme to avoid registering for a course (through a normal semester)
for which they may earn APEL credits.
c) Application for APEL does not guarantee the award of APEL credits. Learners must
pass the assessment for the particular course.

13. Registering for APEL C

A fee of RM200 (Diploma), RM300 (Bachelor), RM900 (Master) will be charged to the
learners account. A learner is NOT allowed to register a same course in the normal
semester and APEL C at the same time. If so, the registration for the latter will be
cancelled and considered void. No refund of fees will be entertained.

14. APEL C grades

Grades awarded for the APEL C course can be either Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U)
depending on the outcome of the assessment. The APEL grades do not contribute to the
computation of the Grade Point Average (GPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average
(CGPA). However, the credits earned can be accumulated towards the total credits to
complete a programme.

8
15. Results of APEL C

Results must be announced to learners on a timely basis and they may appeal against
the results if they are unsatisfied. A different assessor shall be appointed for the second
evaluation.

16. Results of APEL Application and Assessment

a) APEL Application: Results of the APEL Application will be made known to applicants
through the APEL Application Result menu. Learners are advised to check the status
of their application periodically.
b) APEL Assessment: Results of the APEL Assessment will be made known the same
time within the semester results, upon endorsement by the University Examination
Committee. The results will be displayed at the APEL Assessment Result menu.
Alternatively, learners also may refer to their Academic Transcript for the results.
c) For successful APEL assessment attempts, a Satisfactory (S) grade will be awarded
and full APEL credits for the course will be stated in the Academic Transcript.
d) For unsuccessful APEL assessment attempts, an Unsatisfactory (U) grade will be
given and no APEL credits will be granted. The learner will be required to take the
course through the normal mode (i.e, attending tutorials/online classes). The grades
will be updated once learners complete the course.

17. Withdrawal from a Registered APEL course

a) A learner who has registered for APEL C course and yet does not intend to proceed
with the APEL C test in the current semester must withdraw the course before its
deadline. However, if the learner still intends to pursue APEL C in the following
semester, he/she must reapply and start the process as new.

9
 b) In the event a learner is unable to take the scheduled APEL C test, he/she must notify
APEL Centre ONE (1) week in advance prior to the test schedule. Failing so, the
learner would be awarded an Unsatisfactory (U) grade for the APEL C course and no
appeal will be entertained.
c) All decisions regarding withdrawals must be made in writing and addressed to the
APEL Centre, Open University Malaysia before the deadlines.

18. Payment

The APEL C Fee:

Diploma : RM200.00 per course
Bachelor : RM 300.00 per course
Master : RM 900.00 per course

The fee will be charged automatically to the learner’s account when the course is registered.
There will be no refund for learners who:
a) withdraw a registered APEL C course after the specified deadline;
b) failed to attempt the APEL C Test without providing written notice to APEL Centre via
email; and did not pass the APEL C Test.

19. Appeal Mechanism

Learners unsuccessful in their APEL assessment can appeal to the Appeals Committee,
whose decision will be accepted as final. Charges for appeal may apply.

10