Social demand for higher education has more than doubled in the past 20 years. However, only one-third of all countries' higher education systems are enrolling more than 50% of the traditional age cohort. Despite major advancements in achieving higher levels of access and participation, inequalities and inequities in higher education persist and…

Internships are work-based learning experiences, but when they are unpaid and become the standard after formal education, they imply an opportunity cost and could add to the formation of obstacles to the socio-economic mobility that (public) education should seek to attenuate. The present study consists of an evaluation of the intern economy in…

The increasing availability of non-formal education in the form of Open Education Resources (OERs) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) gives rise to the questions of how such education can be formally recognized for credit. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), and Qualification Frameworks are fields of practice actively engaged in…

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. These "Proceedings" are from the Commission of…

Although the recognition of learners' experiential learning toward postsecondary credentials holds the promise of increased flexibility and opportunity for many, especially in the current climate of labour shortage, Canadian universities have been slow to adopt recognition of prior learning (RPL) systems. This case study of one Canadian…

The Degree of Experience is a program for accrediting prior learning (APL) at a London university. Advantages for students lacking entry qualifications include admission criteria stated in terms of skills, knowledge, and ability (SKA) rather than credentials; accurate SKA profiles for diagnosing weaknesses; and integration of APL into admissions…

Investigates the way in which Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology, UK, is working with Ravenscroft Plastics and the British Polymer Training Authority, to establish a programme that meets the company's specific needs. Describes how the move has ensured that more than 40 of Ravenscroft's 130-strong workforce have achieved National…

This bulletin describes the use of new qualifications, the General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ), which have been developed in Great Britain to qualify students for admittance to higher education through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The first part of the bulletin discusses the suitability of GNVQs as a route…

Explores how an advertising degree course had to be positioned between competing definitions of valid and relevant, academic and experiential knowledge. Locates the issues within the context of credential inflation--credentials become worth less as more people acquire them. (SK)

In the United Kingdom, outdoor educators have varied backgrounds in terms of academic versus professional outdoor training, and the profession has not agreed upon required qualifications. Multiple influences in the historical development of outdoor education have contributed to this situation. Since the 1970s, several U.K. colleges and…

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is a new field, but it has a long history, since children have always learned from adults and demonstrated their competence by observation of their work or by the quality of their products or services. Later, formal learning became more valuable and recognized school credentials paved the way to…

Presented are three brochures--for employers, colleges, and prospective employees respectively--that collectively explain Britain's efforts to simplify the nation's current vocational qualification system and to set up new national vocational qualifications (NVQs) for all occupational areas by 1991. The new NVQs are based on the achievement of…

These proceedings contain 17 papers from plenary sessions, workshops, and other presentations at a conference to consider and clarify major issues in assessment and standards in vocational education and training, including identification of problems and suggested solutions. A summary of discussions follows most presentations. Plenary session…

European structures of qualification levels were examined through a review of reports on recent developments in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The examination focused on the following topics: the scope of the national frameworks; the definition of standards and qualifications; the definition of levels in…

Recent trends and developments related to the structures of qualification levels in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom were examined in a quasi-experimental study that was part of a more comprehensive study on the same topic. The study focused on standards, qualifications, and classifications at the tertiary level of…