Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is an assessment process that translates your life and work experience into academic or professional credits. It evaluates skills gained through various settings so you can access formal education or advance in the workplace without repeating what you already know.

RPL evaluates learning across three distinct categories:

1. Informal Learning

What it is: Unstructured learning that happens organically through daily life, paid/unpaid work, leisure, or community activities.

Examples: Learning to code by building personal projects, mastering motor vehicle repairs on your own, or acquiring budgeting skills while running a household.

RPL focus: This requires you to create a portfolio of evidence (or pass practical assessments) to prove your competency.

2. Non-Formal Learning

What it is: Organized, planned educational interventions that do not explicitly lead to formal qualifications or certificates.

Examples: Corporate in-service training, professional short courses, NGO-led workshops, or community-based sports coaching.

RPL focus: Usually supported by certificates of attendance or employer references to demonstrate the hours and outcomes achieved.

3. Formal Learning

What it is: Institutionalized, structured learning programs delivered by accredited education providers that result in recognized awards, credits, or degrees.

Examples: Completing a semester at a university, earning an NQF-aligned occupational certificate, or graduating from a college diploma program.

RPL focus: When you have formal learning, this is more commonly recognized as Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT). However, if your previous formal learning doesn't map perfectly into CAT, RPL can be used as an alternative route to gain entry into advanced programs.

Recognition of Prior Learning and Experience (RPLE) is referred to as the ‘principles and the processes through which the prior knowledge and or skills of a person are made visible, mediated and are assessed for the purposes of alternative access and admission, recognition and certification, or further learning and development’. 

In short, RPLE can thus be regarded as an assessment process of an individual’s learning and experience achieved outside the formal education and training environment. The main purpose is to determine and confirm the extent to which a candidate has achieved the required learning outcomes or competency standards associated with the requirements of a specific qualification. The term ‘recognition’ covers the acknowledgement of current competencies regardless of how, when or where learning took place. This also implies recognizing learning which has its source in life and work experience, including learning gained through non-formal learning and workplace-related training programmes.

All Nations University RPLE programme, as a result, identifies employees and potential students who accumulated employment experience relevant to administrative, management and leadership skills without having obtained formal qualifications. This includes employees that are currently working or have previously worked independently or within the government, private or NGO sector. This also enables students, while studying, to obtain related employment experience that is regarded as an entrée requirement to register at for instance Master's Degree level.

ANU RPLE policies are based on and incorporate the intended outcomes of accreditation frameworks (RQF, IQF, SAQA, EQF, etc) that All Nations University is aligned to (See Accreditation & Articulation).

All Nations University, in line with its RPLE policies, also offers the Diploma in Higher Education Access (Dip.HEA) (IQF-L3) (2 - 3 Months) which provides students with direct access to the ANU Graduate Programme (Bachelor & Master's Degrees) accredited on the UK-Ofqual Qualification Framework and UK-University System. The Diploma in Higher Education Access (Dip.HEA) (IQF-L3) can be completed online or alternatively as a blended-learning campus option at an ANU-Accredited Student Campus/Centre.

Students who have completed a Grade 11 or Grade 12 Certificate, Matric Certificate, National Senior Certificate, GCE Certificate, Secondary Education Certificate, or any other School-Leaving-Certificate and who have completed the Diploma in Higher Education Access (Dip.HEA) (IQF-L3) may register for the ANU Diploma in Management (Dip.Man) (IQF-L4) (1st Year Bachelor) or alternative All Nations University Diploma / Degree Programmes.  A certified copy of the school-leaving certificate may be required for verification of the applicant’s international qualifications. 

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the formal process of assessing and acknowledging skills, knowledge, and experience gained outside of formal education. In South Africa and globally, it is used to award academic credits, grant advanced standing, and meet requirements for professional designation.

The distinctions between how these three concepts apply in RPL are as follows:

1. Credits (Exemptions)

Credits are the formal value assigned to a specific module or course based on the notional hours of learning required.

How it works: If your RPL application successfully proves you possess the specific outcomes of a university or college module (usually through a Portfolio of Evidence, challenge exams, or interviews), you are granted credit for that subject.

The outcome: You do not have to attend lectures, complete assignments, or write exams for that particular module.

2. Advanced Standing

Advanced standing refers to the status granted that allows you to enter an academic program at a higher level than your formal qualifications would usually allow.

How it works: Instead of granting credits for individual modules, an RPL assessment determines that your collective work and life experience equals the foundational stages of a program.

The outcome: You receive module exemptions or are granted direct admission to a more advanced year of study (e.g., bypassing first-year to enroll directly in the second year of a diploma), though it does not necessarily award the lower qualification itself.

3. Professional Designation

A professional designation is a title or status awarded by an accredited professional body or council (like SAICA, ECSA, GTAC, SACQAC, ANOCC or SABPP).

How it works: RPL is utilized as an alternative pathway to bypass standard academic routes to achieve a professional title. Candidates prove their practical, on-the-job competency and experience against the strict occupational standards of the specific industry.

The outcome: You are officially certified, registered, and recognized in your profession without needing the standard formal degree that traditionally leads to that title.

RPL in South Africa is heavily regulated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and all assessments must be rigorously mediated to ensure they align with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)