RPL arrangements and their shortfalls
REPORT | Deborah Willmer, R/Teaching and Learning Manager - South Western Sydney Institute, Liverpool Campus
Deborah was a participant at the RPL Colloquium 2007. She kindly agreed to scribe from the two groups in which she was a member and to write the information into a story. The following is from the morning Green group.
Whilever the goodwill of teachers’ remains the basis for the processing of RPL, inconsistencies in quality and timing will exist. The Green morning group explored the shortfalls of the current RPL arrangements in the various Institutes.
Cost
The cost of processing RPL is still currently absorbed into the related duties of teachers, whose main priority at the commencement of a semester, when RPL applications are high, is to be ready and available for their next class group. Staff are currently not timetabled to perform RPL, it is completed gratis on top of their teaching load.
Priority
‘Everyone has the right to RPL – BUT is that RPL to be granted immediately!’ How do teachers prioritise the completion of an RPL application against the other demands of their teaching load?
Enrolment occurs so close to the commencement of actual classes, that RPL is not processed ahead of delivery, and where that RPL is uncertain, applicants are generally required to attend class to ensure they do not miss out, in case their RPL is not granted.
Organisation
When planning for RPL, head teachers need to be able to predict the walk-in time of the applicants and their RPL needs. The ability to book RPL appointments and roster assessment staff to manage the demand, would go some way to addressing the systems issues.
RPL applications may be better grouped together, with flexible options being made available for gap training. The New England Institute has a centralised enrolment support system that provides RPL knowledge to staff and applicants, and has contact with people throughout the Institute.
Workplace assessment
Funding to support assessors to go into workplaces where common recognition themes exist, could support an increase in RPL, Professional development and assessment tools however, are needed to enable staff to take advantage of these opportunities. Streamlined processes that are not totally documentary but use other forms of assessment are required.
Relevance of other qualifications
Some students have been resentful of the “Prove It” concept. “After all, who are you to question my university degree?” VET is often perceived as at a lower level than universities and therefore has no right to question a degree. The tension that this attitute creates is evident.
Holistic Assessment of qualifications
Embedded testamurs were discussed, with the idea that that, rather than individual mapping/matrixing of old qualifications to new, a certain percentage of recognition could be automatically granted, particularly when an applicant is still practicing in the field.
Could a risk management approach to RPL in this context be adopted? At times the collection of evidence against every element of a competency seems inappropriate, when the holistic assessment of a person with relevant life experience would seem adequate to establish a starting point for further studies.
Training Packages issues
Training Packages are as varied as the industry experts who assess against them. In some cases new packages are far more rigorous than those they replace, making automatic recognition against them dubious. Others appear to have become less thorough, and do not address aspects of training previously seen as valuable.
While Continuous improvement of Training Packages is necessary, the rate of change causes difficulty for RPL in mapping odler qualifications to the new.
Shopping around for RPL
Consistency is seen as necessary with national legislation being preferable in trades such as plumbing. The ability to cross state boundaries and to respect other state’s qualifications impacts heavily on those Institutes close to state borders. Experience shows that students do ‘shop around’ to get the best deal possible for RPL. It was reported that some individuals have managed to compile whole qualifications by travelling around the State(s) collecting recognition as they go.
Recording of RPL
The question was raised as to why RPL differs from other forms of assessment in its recording. Students generally are enrolled in a unit, assessed in that unit and a result is entered. Evidence is stored and the validity of the assessment tools is established in the Assessment Validation process for that unit. Establishing a parallel RPL assessment process can detract from the rigour of evidence collection used to evaluate other students. The paperwork needing to be generated by the RPL process is often more arduous than the regular assessment process.
The way forward
Consistency
Consistent processes, simplified policies and more consultation were called for. A Faculty Forum in Western Institute was cited as an approach to determining what works for assessors. Four or five case studies were presented at the forum, demonstrating models and tools for recognition, and ways of partnering with industry. Forum participants were able to see what would work best for them.
Exemplars
Enrolment staff and student course information officers were identified as those who needed to have a thorough knowledge of the RPL process, so that from the outset the applicant can be correctly informed and directed.
On-line exemplars that portrayed the RPL process from the time an applicant walks through the door until recognition was finally granted, were requested for reference.
Some insitutes have models that have worked well and benefit will be gained from sharing between institutes.
Statisitical analysis revealing the Training Package units in which RPL is currently granted/not granted would serve to reassure the assessor that they were not providing RPL where others have found it untenable.
The discussion ended where it began, with a cry for additional resources. Professional development was called for across all aspects of evidence collection and RPL within the context of Training Packages.