Construction Law & Practice Masters 

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Application

This policy and procedure statement applies to applicants for programmes leading to the following awards: 

•	Post-graduate Certificate
•	Post-graduate Diploma Construction Law & Practice
•	MSc Construction Law & Practice 
•	LLM in Construction Law & Practice 

Accreditation of Prior Learning

The University of Salford operates an Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) policy which permits the assessment and possible accreditation of prior certificated or experiential learning. The process acknowledges that adults can learn not only by attending programmes but also through paid or unpaid work, and their own self-directed learning.

APL policy is used to:

•	widen access for adults who want to enter postgraduate, professional, undergraduate, Access and other foundation programmes; 
•	award specific credit within modularised programmes at postgraduate, undergraduate or Access level. 
There are a few bits of jargon that it may be helpful to understand:

“Accreditation of Prior Learning” (APL)

A generic term for the process which evaluates, recognises and assigns credit to both certificated and experiential learning. APL can be used to gain entry onto a programme of study and/or to assign credit, which then gives credit for parts of a programme of study. 

“Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning” (APCL) 

A specific term for the process which evaluates, recognises and assigns credit to learning that has already been formally assessed and certificated by another institution with credible academic standing. APCL can be used to gain entry onto a programme of study and/or to give credit for parts of a programme of study. 

“Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning” (APEL)

A specific term for the process which evaluates, recognises and assigns credit to learning which has been acquired through experience in particular contexts such as employment, voluntary work, self-directed learning or through life experience and which has not been previously certificated. APEL can be used to gain entry onto a programme of study and/or to give credit for parts of a programme of study. 

“Advanced Entry”

A term used for entry to a programme of study at the beginning of a level or stage other than the first. The APL process is used to determine what credit can be awarded to the learner for previous certificated learning and/or experiential learning and therefore at what level or stage the learner may enter a programme of study. 

“Advanced Standing”

A term used to determine what credit can be awarded to the learner for previous learning and therefore what credit can be given for an individual module or modules. A learner may enter a programme of study with a combination of advanced entry and advanced standing.

Overview for Construction Law and Practice Masters

Whilst the full range of the University policy may be available in relation to the Construction Law & Practice course in the appropriate circumstances, the commonest issue is that the APL process offers a route for entry onto the course for applicants who do not have the stated entry criteria.  These are:

MSc Entrance requirements	A minimum of a second class honours degree in a cognate discipline will normally be required; or a minimum of a second class honours degree in a non-cognate discipline together with significant relevant work experience within construction or law; or a recognized, appropriate professional qualification.

Appropriately experienced applicants will be considered in line with the University’s APL/APEL procedure.	
LLM Entrance requirements	A minimum of a second class honours degree (or equivalent) in law will normally be required; or a minimum of a second class honours degree in a non-legal discipline together with significant relevant legally related work experience and/or study; or a recognized, appropriate professional legal qualification.

Appropriately experienced applicants will be considered in line with the University’s APL/APEL procedure.	

Entry Procedure

To enable us to evaluate whether the experience and/or certificated learning that you have acquired is sufficient for entry onto the course, you need to provide us with a file which contains the following: 

1.	The APL “Credit for Entry” document, with relevant sections filled in.  The APL “Credit for Entry” document contains details of what learning outcomes you need to demonstrate in order to be accepted onto the course.  The final page of the APL “Credit for Entry” document shows what level of achievement is required.
2.	A 2,000 word essay on the topic:  
“The impact of construction law on the construction professional: A personally contextualised exposition”.  
This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to express yourself clearly, in a methodical manner, and also for you to demonstrate you awareness of some current legal issues which affect you in your professional context. It is vital that your essay is based not only on your own experience, but also on your consideration of third party sources, such as books, periodicals, journals, internet articles, etc, which you must reference in accordance with Harvard conventions as detailed here:
https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/using-and-referencing-information
3.	A Curriculum Vitae. 
4.	Evidence to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes for entry.    This part of the portfolio should also include any evidence of study. This may include certificates, records, notes, handouts etc.  Include written details of courses.  If a college or university delivered your learning, include an academic transcript and a copy of the syllabus. The more recent learning the better, and if you have engaged in no formal learning recently you may need to think of ways to demonstrate how you have kept your knowledge and skills up to date.
5.	A reference from a referee who is able to comment on your academic ability, and your capability of succeeding at post graduate level
It is recognised that you may already have provided some of the indicated above as part of your application, but please note that the APL portfolio that you are asked to submit should be a “stand alone” complete package of information and must contain all evidence on which you rely.

Please DO NOT provide original certificates, and please ensure that you keep a copy of the portfolio yourself, as the one you submit will not be returned to you.

When it is complete, please forward to:

Mr Paul Tracey
University of Salford
School of the Built Environment
Maxwell Building
The Crescent
SALFORD 
M5 4WT

Submission by email is quite acceptable, but if you adopt this route, your portfolio should be submitted either as a single file in pdf format, or in a zip file, with clearly identified filenames, listed in a clear, numbered order.  Submissions should not exceed 5Mb in size.  Email submissions should be sent to p.g.tracey@salford.ac.uk 

June 2018

HOW THE EVIDENCE WILL BE ASSESSED

The evidence you present will be assessed to ensure that this meets all the criteria by assessing whether the evidence is:

1.	Acceptable

This means that the evidence you present should meet all the criteria for entry or learning outcomes for the module(s) you are seeking credit for from a programme of study

2.	Sufficient

This means that the evidence you present provides sufficient proof that the criteria for entry or the learning outcomes have been fully met.  (It is therefore possible that you may need more than one piece of evidence for some criteria/outcomes).

3.	Current

The evidence provided is within the last 3 years and no more than 5 years old.  Where certificated learning is more than 5 years old supplementary evidence must be provided to show how the knowledge or skills have been maintained i.e. how they are still current 

4.	Authentic

The evidence presented must be your own work and you can confirm, where appropriate, that experiential or certificated learning has been endorsed by direct evidence, for example certificates, references or witness statements etc.