APEL is a process by which a student actively recalls and formally communicates his real world experiences and achievements in a manner that is intended to facilitate entry to or credit toward a chosen program of study at the university level. APEL is used in academic sectors that target adult learners. It is used significantly in some countries to give adult students who may lack traditional qualifications the opportunity to obtain a university education.
APEL is intended to give adults who lack education but have significant life / work experience educational credit for their achievements.
APEL is employed in European countries as an admission strategy for nontraditional students to gain admission into institutions of higher learning. It is applied by administrators and applying students, in order to obtain college or university credit in graduate and postgradate programs of study. Many students who use APEL at the undergraduate level are considered "nontraditional" in that they do not possess the traditional qualifications to enter the university environment and are from a lower social and/or economic class than the usual university applicant. This has allowed for a more diverse group of students to pursue university-level education than would have been the case in the past.
There is no official policy of APEL. Policies may differ to a certain extent from one institution to the next. As an example of how APEL works at Staffordshire University, the student enrolls in school, and the student or tutor requests APEL.
The student identifies past experience(s) that may warrant potential accreditation and fills out preliminary paperwork. Learning outcomes are provided by an award tutor.
The award tutor identifies the appropriate credit or award for the application filed. The student receives guidance from the award tutor regarding how to provide evidence to support the claim. The student collects evidence to show two subject expert tutors that support the claim. Paperwork is submitted to the school accreditation of prior leaning system committee. The committee determines appropriateness of claim and decides whether to accept or reject the claim.
There is much potential for APEL in regard to extending higher education opportunities to those with no credentials and who have been out school for a significant period. However, at this time, the extent of APEL's potential has yet to be realized as the program has not been in effect long enough to evaluate it.