Credit

When the provider gives a student a waiver for one or more of the normal requirements for completion of a course of study, such as not having to complete a particular unit of study. In this way, academic credit is awarded on the basis of evidence that the student has already undertaken learning that is deemed to be equivalent to the parts of the course of study for which credit has been granted.

Credit is interpreted broadly to include:

• specified and unspecified credit

• exemptions

• advanced standing

• credit transfers

• opportunities for substitute learning 

• other similar outcomes. 

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Defined in the Australian Qualifications Framework as a process through which eligibility for the award of credit is assessed, through the assessment of formal, informal, and non-formal learning. 

Paradigm Concepts

There are two ways of recording Credit and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in the form of unit enrolments within Paradigm:

1. Specified credit

2. Unspecified or Block credit

The key difference is that Specified Credit is when credit is awarded toward a specific unit included in the academic course plan. In contrast, unspecified credit reflects credit that broadly aligns with the learning outcomes of the course and means the student is required to take fewer units in total to successfully complete the course.

There are implications for higher education providers with regards to TCSI and the reporting of Credit and RPL to the government.

• TCSI Early Exit Awards Packet

• Student TCSI Edit | Course Enrolment: Prior Credit

1. Specified Credit

Providers may choose to award RPL or Credit for units that are not currently offered in the current semester or term. There are advantages in separating these unit enrolments from the remainder of the student cohort for easier internal reporting, or for those providers that use the scheduled unit maximum enrolled participant field to enforce a limit on the number of enrollments in a specific unit delivery.

Specified credit for a unit not currently offered

Paradigm supports creating a single scheduled unit for the purposes of grouping students who receive RPL or Credit for a specific unit code. This means a single scheduled unit is used across multiple enrolment periods. This requires a single scheduled unit coded as follows:

• Start date and End date = set to a wide date range capturing the accreditation dates of the base unit

• Census date = leave unset

• Flexible learning mode = YES

TCSI Reporting Considerations

Non-Vet Student Loan TCSI Providers are advised to carefully code their RPL and Credit scheduled units in a way that ensures the linked student unit enrolments are not reported to the government

• Home institution = provider not linked to the TCSI reporting provider

2. Unspecified or Block credit

The most effective way of tracking block credit is as a single unit enrolment with a sum of credit set on the student unit enrolment record. This requires a single scheduled unit coded as follows:

• Start date and End date = set to a wide date range capturing the accreditation dates of the base unit

• Census date = leave unset

• Flexible learning mode = YES

By enabling flexible learning, the student unit enrolment will inherit the start date and expected end date of the course enrolment, rather than the dates defined against the scheduled unit. This is a convenient solution that avoids the need for creating multiple scheduled units for every academic term.

TCSI Reporting Considerations

Non-Vet Student Loan TCSI Providers are advised to carefully code their RPL and Credit scheduled units in a way that ensures the linked student unit enrolments are not reported to the government

• Home institution = provider not linked to the TCSI reporting provider

Grouping credit into blocks

The exemption to this would be for providers who wish to distinguish between blocks of credit, for example by discipline or academic area. In this scenario, providers will need to create multiple base units to reflect the grouping of credit blocks.

There are three fields on the base unit that are relevant:

• Unit Category

• Unit Focus:

• Unit Discipline

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AVETMISS reporting for VET providers

• Credit transfer is reported as a unit enrolment in the file NAT00120 with an outcome code of 60

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is reported as a unit enrolment in the file NAT00120 with an outcome code of either 51, or 52

TCSI reporting for VET providers

The Department of Education, Skills, and Employment maintains a guide for VET providers outlining their obligations for reporting Credit and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) via TCSI. Read more here.