Accreditation of prior learning in France as a case study

This report is based on the ENQA workshop “Quality Assurance and Qualifications Frameworks: exchanging good practice”, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, on 9-10 February 2012 and presents articles on themes such as the state of development of qualifications frameworks, the role of agencies in the self-certification process, and the meaning of qualifications frameworks in external quality assurance. Download the report Quality Assurance and Qualifications Frameworks: Exchanging Good Practice.
Recognition of prior learning and the role of quality assurance agencies. Accreditation of prior learning in France as a case study, by Teresa Sánchez Chaparro, Programme Manager, Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur (CTI), France, p.30-35.
Introduction
Recognition of prior learning (RPL) implies the formal acknowledgement of learning acquired in a non-formal context (usually coming from experience unrelated to an academic context). This process is generally seen as an important tool for progressing in the fields of lifelong learning and continuing education, two preeminent objectives of the Lisbon agenda. RPL is normally conducted by educational institutions or professional certification bodies. In the case of certifications issued by educational institutions, this process provides recognition of a certain academic level (according to a national qualifications framework) in view of two main objectives: increasing labour market recognition and/or enabling access to a higher level of studies.
Because of its potential role in the fields of employment and social promotion, RPL practices are politically sensitive and are normally part of an explicit political agenda which responds to national objectives. This political dimension must be taken into account by quality assurance agencies as a starting point in order to develop quality assurance criteria in this field. The answer to the question: what makes a sound RPL process? is fundamentally dependent on the pursued goals and cannot in any way be affronted from an exclusively technical perspective.
An ENQA break-out group session devoted to this subject within the workshop on Quality assurance and qualifications frameworks has enabled to confront different national realities and policies regarding RPL and, in consequence, different quality assurance roles and practices among the different QAA represented. In this paper, the French experience in the field of prior learning recognition, or in French terms, validation des acquis de l’expérience (VAE), is presented as a case study which enables to illustrate some important general issues. After analysing this case, the last section of this paper tries to reproduce the main issues raised during the discussion held at ENQA’s workshop break-out session on recognition of prior learning, and draw some conclusions as to the possible role of quality assurance agencies.
Recognition of prior learning in France (validation des acquis de l’expérience- VAE)
National context
RPL processes, as they are practiced today in France, were established by the 2002 Law on social modernization with the name of VAE (validation des acquis de l’expérience - Law n° 2002-73 du 17 janvier 2002 de modernisation sociale). This law establishes an individual right to the recognition of professional experience in the acquisition of an academic title or a diploma. This recognition device was established within the following context:
• The existence of a significant population sector with a low or inexistent graduation level (According to the 1995 INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques- National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies) employment survey, four out of ten workers in France didn’t have any formal qualification at the time). Regardless of their individual competences, this population sector was not recognised by the French labour market, and their professional and social ascension was, in practice, very difficult.
• Initial qualifications play a stronger role in France than in other countries (Anglo-Saxon countries, for example) in reference to social hierarchy. Some authors talk about a ‘French structural fondness for qualifications’ (TRYBY, Emmanuel; Accreditation of prior experiential learning and the development of higher education; European journal of vocational training, Nº 46- 2009/1-ISSN 1977-0219) or even about a ‘French dictatorship of qualifications’ (Méhaut Philippe, Lecourt Anne-Juliette (2007) ; The accreditation of prior learning experience in France : A good start, to be continued ; Discussion paper). A 2005 study shows that over 73% of job offers in France, regardless of the age of the candidate, mention the number of years of study and the qualification required (in Great Britain, this rate goes down to 27% - Marchal Emmanuelle, Rieucau Géraldine (2003) « Candidat de plus de 40 ans non diplômé ou débutant s’abstenir », Connaissance de l’emploi n°11, CEE). Different studies also show that the possession of a diploma enables a quicker and more stable access to the job market in France. The fact of having a diploma has also an impact on the stability of the contract (with a much higher rate of indefinite contracts for graduates). Finally, the possession of an initial academic qualification plays, at least since Napoleonic times, an important symbolic role in the meritocratic France, where initial qualifications are one of the axes for social differentiation.
• A dual training system which establishes a sharp distinction between initial training and continuous and vocational education training (CVET). As an example, only around 1,5 % of continuous education actions in 1996 resulted in an academic title or diploma (again from the studies by the CEREQ).
The new VAE system established by the 2002 law tries to profit from the major role played by initial diplomas in France in order to attain two main objectives:
• Facilitate social promotion and secure career paths
• Build a bridge between the CVET system and the initial training system.
Brief description of the French VAE system
The VAE process enables an individual to get all or part of a certification (diploma or professional qualification certificate) based on his/her professional experience (salaried, non-salaried, or voluntary). This experience, which must be related to the intended certification, is validated by a panel. If the VAE process leads to an academic qualification, it is directly assessed and recognised by the higher education institution.
The diploma obtained has exactly the same validity as a diploma obtained by an ordinary study path. All diplomas, certificates, and professional qualifications are available through VAE. They are registered in a public registry (RNCP- National Register of Professional Certifications, http://www.rncp.cncp.gouv.fr/). Academic diplomas registered in RNCP cover a variety of levels, from secondary education to the masters level. All engineering degrees (masters level diplomas) are included by law in the RNCP and have thus the obligation of delivering their diplomas also through VAE.
The diagram below shows the main steps of the VAE process and the main actors involved. Several structures at the regional and national level have been put in place in order to provide general information on the procedure and to orientate candidates towards a suitable certification. Once the certification is chosen, a first check on the admissibility of the request (mainly the verification of the candidate having the three years of relevant experience required) is conducted. After passing the admissibility check, the candidate must prepare an application which will be finally examined by a mixed panel composed of academic and professional members. The panel may issue a full or a partial validation. In the latter case, the jury can propose the necessary pedagogical complements (courses, internships, and so on). There is no time limit for obtaining these additional competences.
The VAE process in engineering higher education in France: The role of CTI
The main mission of CTI is to conduct accreditation of engineering programmes in France. CTI supervises all paths for obtaining an engineering diploma, including VAE. All engineering institutions must include a specific section concerning VAE in their selfassessment report in view of programme accreditation (VAE procedures, number of accreditations issued, number of candidates, cost of the process, type of compensatory measures proposed, etc.).
CTI has developed a set of criteria regarding the way VAE procedures should be conducted. These criteria are gathered in the document Références et Orientations (References and Guidelines- available at www.cti-commission.fr). The quality criteria
applied are coherent with the political goals established at the national level. In consequence, the criteria have been developed under the assumption that VAE is basically a beneficial procedure, with a strong potential to boost employment and social advancement. Engineering institutions in France are sometimes accused of being elitists, and VAE is considered by CTI as one of the devices which can be employed to foster social diversity in this environment.
The legal obligation for all HEIs to establish VAE processes has also had some methodological benefits at the national level, in the sense that it has been a major driver to formalise the competence-based approach within French higher education institutions. Some engineering institutions in France are reluctant to deliver their diplomas through VAE, as they think that the educational value of the VAE is lower than a classical diploma and hence could degrade the value of their academic certificates. Being able to articulate a VAE procedure that ensures the same level of exigency as in the standard path is indeed a crucial issue for CTI.
At the other end of the spectrum, some higher education institutions could take this practice as a business opportunity. The fact that they can deliver a “partial validation” followed by a recommendation on pedagogical complementary elements could encourage engineering institutions to use VAE in order to fill their continuous education programmes. CTI is aware of this potential conflict of interest and tries to be vigilant in order to prevent abuse.
As far as accreditation is concerned, CTI has tried to adopt a balanced position, which respects the specific policies of each institution with regards to VAE but, at the same time, tries to ensure a fair implementation of these recognition processes. The main accreditation criteria applied by CTI are:
• Certification: the diploma delivered must be strictly the same as that delivered through other learning paths.
• Professional outcomes of the programme: engineering institutions must adequately formalise the outcomes of their programmes in a way that they can serve the certification of professional competences. These descriptions must be made public and transmitted to the National Registry of Professional Certifications.
• Evaluation procedures and criteria: the procedures and evaluation criteria must be clear and public. They must guarantee an equitable treatment of all candidates.
The evaluation criteria should be at the same exigency level than the ones used to attribute the diploma through other paths.
• Information and guidance to the candidate: institutions must be transparent and provide sufficient information to possible VAE candidates. They must put in place (or offer) guidance and counselling to the candidates throughout the process.
• Accreditation panel: the VAE panel must include academic and professional members (other than the external lecturers of the programme). It must include some members from the jury that delivers the ordinary diploma in order to ensure a same exigency level, but other than that, the composition must be substantially different and adapted to understand the specific challenges of this track.
Conclusions
Recognition of prior learning is implemented at various levels and with various objectives in the different European countries. Whereas the RPL process in some countries (such as Ireland, Germany or the Netherlands) mainly
involves considering the learner’s prior formal or informal learning in order to gain entry to further study or to gain credit or exemption towards a degree, in other countries, such
as France, RPL is used as a major route to award an academic degree.
The case of France’s VAE is indeed an extreme case. VAE enables the acquisition of a complete academic degree through the exclusive validation of professional experience. The VAE legislation does not limit the number of certifications obtained by a particular person. In France, it is hence possible to get up to the master level without having any formal academic qualification. As an example, we can examine the case of a French citizen, who left school without his secondary education degree and was subsequently able to obtain 6 academic diplomas through VAE (including a bachelor in literary Arabic) up to the master level. This person is currently in charge of VAE processes at a prestigious engineering institution (http://orientactuel.centre-inffo.fr/Hassane-Akka-de-bac-3-a-bac-5-en.html).
The French approach to RPL raised some critical voices among QA colleagues during the ENQA workshop break-out group discussion. Whereas the break-out group participants could easily accept that one can arrive to the same level of professional competence through working experience as via an academic degree, it is more difficult to argue that this path could be equivalent in terms of methodological skills and analytic capacity. There is also an experiential dimension associated to formal higher education which definitely plays a role in building a competence profile.
The case of Hong Kong (http://www.hkqf.gov.hk/guie/HKQF_intro.asp) provides an example of how RPL processes can be established without mixing the notions of level and profile. In Hong Kong the recognition of professional competences is made by a number of specific agencies with close links to industry. Candidates obtain recognition of a certain academic level and the right to be admitted to a higher level of studies, but they do not obtain an academic degree.
However, the French VAE should be understood in the light of the French specific national context, namely a number of urgent structural problems which needed to be addressed in order to improve competitivity and social equity, and the special role played by initial qualifications.
RPL practices are indeed politically sensitive and highly dependent on the context. Agencies must explicitly assume this political dimension in order to define what role to play regarding RPL processes. The following questions should be posed:
• Is RPL an important issue in my specific national and political context? Is it being practiced at a significant level?
• Are there any risks of derive in the way HEIs are implementing these recognition processes?
Depending of the answer to these questions, the quality assurance agency may adopt a more or less active role. In the case of France, RPL practices are politically important and there are indeed certain risks - such as a general resistance of institutions to VAE; conflicts of interest to be avoided; and certain methodological aspects associated to the competences approaches - which justify, as we have seen, an active role from the national accreditation agency.
References
BESSON Eric (2008) ; Valoriser l’acquis de l’expérience : Une évaluation du dispositif de VAE ; Secrétariat d’état chargé de la prospective, de l’évaluation des politiques publiques et du développement de l’économie numérique. CEREQ (Centre d’Études et des Recherches sur les Qualifications - Center for the study and research on qualifications). (www.cereq.fr)
Délégation générale à l’emploi et à la formation professionnelle (DGEFP) (2007) ; La validation des acquis de l’expérience (VAE). Rapport au Parlement en application de l’article 146 de la Loi n°2002-73 du 17 janvier 2002 de modernisation sociale. Law n° 2002-73 du 17 janvier 2002 de modernisation sociale (http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000408905&dateTexte=)
MARCHAL Emmanuelle, RIEUCAU Géraldine (2003) « Candidat de plus de 40 ans non diplômé ou débutant s’abstenir », Connaissance de l’emploi n°11, CEE
MÉHAUT Philippe, LECOURT Anne-Juliette (2007) ; The accreditation of prior learning experience in France : A good start, to be continued ; Discussion paper. Portail national de la validation des acquis de l’expérience (http://www.vae.gouv.fr/)
TRYBY, Emmanuel (2009); Accreditation of prior experiential learning and the development of higher education; European journal of vocational training, Nº 46- 2009/1-ISSN 1977–0219