Accumulating credit
You can accumulate course credits by:
- Attending taught courses at the university
- Claiming credit for courses or modules that you have completed elsewhere
- Claiming credit for learning obtained through work
- Undertaking work-based projects under our supervision.
Taught programmes
These typically start in September and finish in May, and are usually worth 30 higher education (HE) credits each. Once you register, you will be subject to the rules of the university School that is providing the programme.
If you wish to take a programme that is at a higher level to level 1, you may need to attend an interview so we can ensure you will be able to fully participate in the course.
Accreditation of prior learning
Claiming credit for courses already completed at other academic institutions is known as Accreditation of Prior Course-based Learning (APCL). All you need to do is fill in a form and show us your certificate.
If you have sufficient HE credit, we may decide to admit you straight on to the honours degree or Master’s degree programme. However, no more than 50 per cent of the value of an award can come from prior learning.
Learning achieved through work
This is known as Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) and involves submitting a portfolio of work that we judge on quality (level) and quantity (numberof credits).
You can either submit a portfolio immediately, or you can attend a course in which we will show you how to put your portfolio together.
There are APEL courses at HE levels 1, 2 and 3, each worth 15 credits.
Work-based projects
These are worth 15 or 30 credits at HE levels 1, 2 and 3. You will first need to prepare a learning proposal stating what the project will be about and what you intend to learn from it, which will be approved by your tutor. On completion of the project, you then produce a report that will be marked.