RPL – Recognition of Prior Learning

The accreditation figures for formal learning are based on the certificates issued by the educational institutions. Formal language studies may need to be supplemented by examinations and/or assignments required by the Humak professional language courses.

If a student believes that their informal language skills meet the objectives set by Humak, they can prove their language skills either by completing the Humak course assignments and course examinations or by compiling a portfolio of their previous competence. The portfolio is presented to the language teacher, who will tell the student what will be accepted. The student then applies for eRPL and addresses it to the language teacher. All eRPL applications for languages are registered by the language teacher.

A) The RPL procedure for language skills acquired in formal education and training

The following competences are accepted as a substitute for language studies included in the degree at Humak:

1. Foreign language and second native language studies of equivalent level, content, and scope completed at another university or UAS may be accepted as such for the language skills course.
2. A university or higher education degree in English obtained abroad may be substituted for the first foreign language (English) course (5 ECTS). 25 credits of basic studies in English philology can be substituted for the first foreign language (English) course (5 ECTS). Mastery of the language skills required for the profession is demonstrated by participation in the examinations for the course(s).
3. 25 credits of basic studies in Nordic languages may be substituted for a second home language (5 ECTS). Professional language competence is demonstrated by participation in the course examinations; both oral and written proficiency must be demonstrated.
4. The second national language examination/children’s state administration language examination (‘civil service examination’) for a member of the State Language Examination Board must be supplemented by the completion of the required coursework and participation in the coursework examinations; both oral and written proficiency must be demonstrated.
5. In the case of the General Certificate of Language Competence (CCL), a foreign language or a second indigenous language at level 3 or above may be supplemented by the completion of the required coursework and participation in the course examinations. In the second indigenous language, both oral and written proficiency must be demonstrated.
6. Language courses (in a foreign language and/or in a second national language) included in UAS degrees, university language courses and Erasmus intensive language courses as part of international exchange programmes may, at the discretion of the language teacher, be accepted as elective courses and language courses to supplement professional vocabulary, e.g. by completing coursework assignments and taking coursework examinations.
7. The language examinations and foreign language tests (e.g. Cambridge, TOEFL) included in the VET degrees are not directly accepted as substitutes, but must be supplemented by the student’s professional language skills through the completion of coursework and participation in coursework examinations.
8. Less common foreign language studies completed at another university or UAS may be accepted as elective studies. However, the courses to be accepted do not primarily include the basic courses in the various languages, but rather a broader range of courses (basic + advanced) is recommended.
9. Language courses taken at a work, civic, or general education college do not count towards ECTS credits at Humak unless they are at university/UAS level.

B) The RPL procedure for language skills acquired in non-formal education and training

Demonstration of competence acquired through work or leisure activities and life experience:

the student compiles a portfolio of their previous knowledge, including evidence of language skills (e.g. CV, job application(s), work certificates, texts/documents written in the language at work, etc.) and includes a self-assessment based on the European Framework of Reference for Languages (EFR) proficiency scales, the portfolio is presented orally in the language concerned and assessed numerically (in particular second language proficiency, both oral and written); the marks are Satisfactory/Good for second language proficiency, and Satisfactory/Good/Excellent for foreign language proficiency.

the student completes the required coursework assignments and coursework examinations (both oral and written assignments and examinations); performance is assessed numerically (in particular second home language proficiency, both oral and written); marks are Satisfactory/Good in the second national language and Satisfactory/Good/Excellent in foreign language or

Click the “New application” button. First check that the basic information at the top is correct. Enter the PSP discussion details and click the “Save” button.

New Application

The application remains in draft status until you submit it using the “Submit application” button. You can continue working on the application later if you do not submit it. You can also delete the application by clicking the “Cancel” button.

At this stage, you add all the places of performance where you have acquired the competence you wish to have recognised in your RPL application. Select the type of place of performance: Educational institute, Work experience, or Other (e.g. leisure activities).

Educational institute

1. In the “Place of performance type” field, select the appropriate educational institution (e.g. another university of applied sciences). If you are applying for recognition of studies completed previously at Humak, select “Own UAS (Humak)” as the place of performance type and then select “Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu” from the “Place of performance” menu (note: only this option is shown). If the place of performance cannot be found in the dropdown menu, tick “Place of performance not found in the list” and enter the name in the fields that appear, in both Finnish and English. Please be careful with the spelling of the English name (e.g. nouns begin with a capital letter). In the “Name of programme” field, you can enter, for example, Open UAS studies, Degree Programme in Communications, etc. In the “Description” field, you can enter additional information useful for the processor.
2. Record as precisely as possible in the “Description of competence acquired in relation to learning outcomes” field, so that the processor has sufficient information to make a decision.
3. Add a certificate or transcript of records as an attachment using the “Select files” button. Attachments can be, for example, PDF or image files. Please note: an attachment is mandatory and the application cannot be submitted without one.

You can transfer completion records from studies completed at other higher education institutions to Humak by obtaining a link from the My Studyinfo service and adding the link to the eRPL application in Peppi.

Work experience or Other

1. In the “Place of performance type” field, select the “Informal Education” option. Tick “The place of performance cannot be found in the menu” and enter the name in the fields that appear, in both Finnish and English. In the “Description” field, you can enter additional information useful for the processor about your workplace or leisure activities.
2. Record as precisely as possible in the “The competences acquired compared to the competence goals” field, so that the processor has sufficient information to make a decision.
3. Add an attachment, e.g. an employment certificate, using the “Choose files” button. The maximum size of a single attachment is 64 MB. Attachments can be, for example, PDF or image files. Please note: an attachment is mandatory and the application cannot be submitted without one.
4. Remember to add all places of performance where you have acquired previously acquired competence that you wish to have recognised to the RPL application.

Apply for recognition for the full scope of the course. The coach will assess whether your competence is sufficient to replace the entire course. Only higher education studies completed less than 10 years ago can be recognised at Humak.

If the coach determines that your competence is not sufficient to cover the full scope of the course, they may require a demonstration of competence. The demonstration of competence is agreed upon in the agreements section of the RPL application.

In addition to the application, you can see in the Agreement Bank what competence you still need to demonstrate to complete the course. You can also see agreements linked to a course in your PSP. The course will not appear as a completion in your transcript of records until the demonstration has been completed and the course has been recorded as fully completed.

Once you have completed the application, you can review the information you have saved. At this stage, you can still edit the information if needed, either using the “Edit” button or by clicking the pencil symbol. Clicking “Submit application” will send the information to your PSP coach or language teacher. After this, you can no longer edit the application, but you can still view its details. You can monitor the status of your application from the “eRPL — Recognition of Prior Learning” menu on the Student Desktop.