Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL)

If you have studied for at least one year at another u or Higher Education Institution, and you would like to transfer to the University of Cumbria to continue your studies, we will certainly consider your request. You may only be part-way through the first year, and know that you wish to transfer at the end of it, but we can still have a look at the possibilities whilst you continue to study.

Some professional health courses do not allow advanced entry to year 3, such as BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography and BSc (Hons) Nursing. For more information, contact the APL at apl@cumbria.ac.uk.

The course you studied previously or are studying now must be similar to the course you wish to study at the University of Cumbria. You should also have gained 120 Level 4 credits for year 2 entry, or 120 Level 4 and 120 Level 5 credits for year 3 entry, and we will need to see an official transcript of results as confirmation.

If you have the required credits and most of the subject matter is covered but there are some knowledge gaps, we might be able to offer you bridging work which would then enable you to fill these gaps and enter the course at the appropriate point. In all cases, we are seeking to ensure that you have the same knowledge as students studying the whole course at the University of Cumbria, and are therefore fully prepared for the next academic level and subject areas.

The tuition fees that you will be charged will be assessed on an individual basis and will be dependent on a number of factors including your previous qualification and dates of study.

International Students

If you are applying to join the second or third year of a University of Cumbria course as an international student, you will need to send details of your university-level study to apl@cumbria.ac.uk.

You will need to provide translated copies of your prior learning transcripts, showing details of the academic credits and award you have attained, and the syllabus content of your previous study. We will also need full details of the institution where you have studied.

The APL team will liaise with the International Admissions team to confirm the UK equivalency of your prior study, and with the appropriate programme team in considering your application.

How to apply

You will need to apply through www.ucas.com and ensure that you select Point of Entry as 2 or 3 as appropriate. We will require a reference from a tutor at your previous university or Higher Education Institution.  If you are applying for a nursing course, please contact the APL team at apl@cumbria.ac.uk as there may be a different application process for your course.

If you have any difficulties locating the course on UCAS, please contact the APL team. It may be that we are no longer recruiting to year one of that course, but can consider transfer requests into year 2 or 3. The APL team will provide you with an online Direct Entry Application Form instead.

Most applicants will be interviewed, though it is not always necessary depending on the course you are applying for.

In addition to your application, we will need a transcript of your results from your previous institution. This should include the module titles, marks and grades, and the number and level of academic credits gained for each module. If you are still studying at the institution you wish to transfer from, this will not be available immediately. However, if we know that entry to year 2 or 3 of a course is possible because Learning Outcomes match, we can make a provisional offer of a place subject to our receipt of the transcript.

For professional courses such as teaching or health care, you will be expected to meet professional standards. For example, teaching practice placements for QTS teaching courses are non-contributory in terms of credit and must be passed. For any courses that involve a placement, you will need occupational health clearance and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) background clearance prior to registration. There is usually a charge for completing the DBS disclosure procedure. DBS disclosures from previous institutions are not accepted.

If you are applying to join the second or third year of a University of Cumbria course as an international student, you will need to send details of your university-level study to apl@cumbria.ac.uk.

You will need to provide translated copies of your prior learning transcripts, showing details of the academic credits and award you have attained, and the syllabus content (module learning outcomes) of your previous study. We will also need full details of the institution where you have studied.

Any certificated evidence from another language medium must be provided in the original format and with a translated copy. Both the original language and translated copies must be authenticated by the issuing institution and signed by its senior academic officer.

The APL team will liaise with the International Admissions team to confirm the UK equivalency of your prior study, and with the appropriate programme team in considering your application.

If you have studied individual modules on a stand alone basis, i.e. they have not counted towards a major award qualification, you can often use these to count towards a qualification at UoC, however the modules must have been awarded academic credits at the appropriate level and in a relevant subject. If you wish to submit a claim for APL you should not register on the module in question as you will be seeking exemption from study of this module.

If you wish to seek APCL for module(s) in this way, please complete the APCL Application Form. You will see that there are maximum limits of APL which you can claim – these are noted on the guidance sheet.

All claim forms must be accompanied by the relevant transcript of results, showing marks, academic credits and levels. There are upper limits to the amount of APL you can apply for – these are listed in Appendix 6 of the University’s Academic Regulations at https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/about/organisation/professional-services/academic-quality-and-development/academic-regulations/

If you are awarded APCL against a specific module, where the prior learning presented is at the same academic level and is worth the same number of credits, usually your mark will be transferred as well as the credit. This would then be used in any calculation of award classification. The grade used will conform to the UoC mark scheme. If the pass mark at your previous institution differs to the UoC pass mark, ungraded credit will be awarded. 

You should note that there is no guarantee that your claim will be successful. Claims are assessed on an individual basis and decisions depend on the date, content, level and credits of your previous study, as well as the content and structure of the award.

If you have previously completed a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma, and would like to continue study to gain a Postgraduate Diploma or Masters award, in a similar subject area, or you have studied a related postgraduate course or module, you should also seek APCL via the APCL Application Form. Please see the guidance notes in the application form for further information and evidence required.

Assessing an application for APL can take some time, so it is important that you apply early. Following your initial enquiry, we expect to receive your application within one month and if we do not, we will assume that you are no longer interested in pursuing your APL application.

For entry to year 2 or 3 of full time courses starting in September which award a professional qualification, e.g. Social Work, the deadline for applications will be the end of June each year. Bridging work may be required in such cases and more time is needed to allow for this to be set, submitted and marked prior to the course commencing.

However, for BSc (Hons) Pre-Registration Nursing, BSc (Hons) Midwifery and BSc (Hons) Diagnostic Radiography courses, the application deadline is 31 March for year 2 entry in the following September.

For other courses, applications will be received up until the end of the first week in September. However to avoid possible disappointment, you are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

If, following application, you are successful and are offered a place, you will need to be able to provide certificated evidence of all qualifications held, including GCSEs where required.

APCL claims for individual modules may be submitted at any time.

If you are in any doubt, please contact the APL team in the first instance.

If the module has been completed at a different institution then the mark previously achieved will only be used when:

• The module learning outcomes match to a specific UoC module
• The academic level of study matches
• The credit value of the previous module is the same
• The pass mark at your prior institution is the same as UoC’s pass mark

If any of these differ, ungraded credit will be awarded.

Prior certificated learning (APCL)

You will need to provide evidence of the qualification you have gained previously, in the form of a ‘transcript of results’ and module learning outcomes. We need to ascertain the academic level, number of credits, date of award and syllabus information to make a judgement on your claim.

If you are applying for APL on a course which leads to professional registration and includes placements, you will be required to provide details of your previous practice placements – the number of hours/days and details of the setting.

For prior experiential learning, please refer to the APEL-specific page, here.