Institute of Criminal Justice Studies

Accredited Prior Learning (APEL)

"At first, making my APEL claim seemed so complex, but I kept reminding myself that it would mean the award of credit toward my degree without having to repeat previous learning, write essays and so on."

Many degree students, especially mature students, already know and understand some of the things that are going to be taught on their degree.

The knowledge, skills and experience you have gained through training courses, employment, professional development courses, voluntary work, private study and previous attendance at college and university could be counted toward your degree. This learning is often unrecognised because it has never been formally assessed or because the course was not completed. This learning can be recognised and given credits that count to your degree. This process is called the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APEL) and it gives you the chance to incorporate what you already know into your degree programme. This means that you can then build on this knowledge, and start the degree at an appropriate level. It is a matter of choice as to whether students make a claim. Sometimes it is better to join in with the rest of the degree students on the course but sometimes this can be repeating learning that you already know. The best thing to do is discuss the implications of claiming APEL with your Course Leaders.

This online guide:

• provides a step-by-step guide to making a claim for prior learning credit
• provides examples to help you write your claim
• explains the principles behind APEL
• answers your frequently asked questions

As long as the learning you claim is up-to-date, relevant to the degree for which you are studying and you can provide convincing evidence for it, the University of Portsmouth will allow you to count it towards your degree.

The Institute of Criminal Justice Studies has designed an easy to use website which will help you build your APEL claim.