The 21 st century has witnessed the emergence of a framework for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as a supplementary assessment strategy. The aim of this study is to report on the research that explored the knowledge assessed through Mature Age Entry (MAE) admission tests in Namibian institutions of higher learning. The transformative model was used to discuss the knowledge that was being assessed through these tests. The data were collected through interviews with the MAE examiners and through documentation of MAE papers. The findings suggest that despite work experience being the main requirement to qualify for MAE admission tests, the knowledge assessed during the tests is purely academic, conforming to Mode 1 knowledge. The study also found that the examiners of MAE admission tests did not understand the practice of the RPL. This scenario may have influenced assessment tools used during these tests. There is a need to distinguish between prior certificated learning and prior non-certificated learning in the MAE assessments. Therefore, the assessors at Namibian institutions of higher learning need adhere to RPL policy by accommodating certificated and prior non-certificated learning in MAE assessments.

Internship is practice-based learning that forges a close relationship between universities and workplaces. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges and measures for internship among fourth-year education students in the Department of Lifelong Learning and Community Education (DLLCE) at the University of Namibia (UNAM). The study embraced a mixed methods approach because it sequentially employs quantitative and qualitative research procedures. According to the interns, academic challenges that they face are the lack of support from the internship agency and lack of materials to do assignments from the academic supervisors. The logistical challenges pertain to lack of transport and accommodation facilities. Interns expressed need to develop their skills for writing, leadership and management skills as some of the measures to make internship an effective learning path. They also put forward four categories of measures that can be applied to ensure that internship becomes a valuable path of learning for students in the DLLCE. The categories relate to the orientation of students, enhancing student knowledge, developing agreements with agencies and procedures relating to the internship process. Based on the testimonies of the interns, it is recommended that fourthyear students be adequately orientated before they enter an internship and that the internship process be made explicit. Moreover, according to these testimonies, there is a need to give assignments that integrate how to transfer learning pertaining to leadership and management skills into places where student interns undertake their internship and that lecturers must teach the skills of minute taking, report writing, formal letter writing and proposal writing. Finally, the DLLCE should use the UNAM's office of External and International Relations to enter into formal agreements with the agencies of attachment. This would help students to identify the agencies that relate to the DLLCE and hence have enough time to address the academic and logistical issues of interns.

The assessment of experiential learning is the process of identification, articulation and legitimization of learning gained from years of work experience. The aim of this paper is to explore the utilization of level descriptors as criteria for assessing the prior experiential learning of candidates who aspire to access higher education. The recognition of the prior learning (RPL) concept has been embraced in education policies around the world as a process that assesses and recognises non-formal and informal learning attained by an individual, to determine the level of competency achieved. However, the implementation of the concept by higher education institutions remains insignificant. Some reasons cited relate to the method used to assess learning in admission tests, such as the recall of subject knowledge. It is argued in this paper that the alignment of individuals' learning evidence with the National Qualifications Framework's level descriptors is critical as an alternative route of assessment. The assessment method based on alignment of level descriptors allows for self-exploration and deeper reflection of own learning, giving insight not only into the self but also for the benefit of the host institution. Host institutions benefit from RPL, not only by choosing qualified candidates to enter their programmes, but also by having candidates who lived the experience and have understanding of the field of study. The alignment method is perceived to be a reflective strategy of assessing experiential learning and is born out of the transformative process which encourages deep learning and portrays the quality of potential candidates. Studies have shown no significant differences between the performances of students who accessed higher learning through Grade twelve certificates and those who accessed through RPL. Therefore, when an appropriate and robust method is adopted, RPL is feasible and beneficial to all involved. BackgroundIt is feasible to access educational programmes through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), provided that diverse, reliable and valid methods of assessment are devised. RPL is an assessment strategy in which knowledge and skills acquired through non-formal ways of learning or through experiential events can be identified, acknowledged, assessed and validated [1]. The strategy could be beneficial to employees who have been out of the education system for a long time and who want to return to the higher education system. One of the strengths of RPL is the potential to challenge traditional procedures for admitting candidates to higher education which tend to be based solely on certification. Even where work experience is a requirement for eligibility to admission tests to access higher education, in most cases admission tests require that candidates recall prior formal knowledge [2]. RPL is critical in widening access by providing an opportunity to candidates to use prior learning to articulate non-certificated knowledge, skills and competences acquired and to acknowledge th...

The University of Namibia (UNAM) has developed and approved a policy on the recognition of prior learning (RPL), but the implementation thereof is dormant. The purpose of this paper is to present potential challenges and opportunities that can influence the implementation of RPL at UNAM. The paper used a qualitative approach and the phenomenological design to solicit participants' views, perceptions and experiences concerning RPL at UNAM. Semi-structured interview schedules were employed to collect data from 12 staff members of UNAM who were purposively chosen based on their positions that are key to providing information to answer the research questions. The findings reveal opportunities such as the availability of political will to implement RPL at the institution, the availability of expertise, capability in terms of technology and infrastructure, the availability of RPL policy, quality assurance and the assessment policy of the institution. Challenges identified are lack of ontological knowledge of what counts as RPL, how it is assessed and its validity and integrity. The data reveal high demands regarding training on issues of assessment and raising awareness of RPL at the institution. The paper recommends that the Ministry of Education, the Namibia Qualifications Authority and the National Council of Higher Learning spearhead a campaign to raise awareness and sensitize the nation as to the significance of RPL. It also recommends that RPL be perceived as an assessment strategy of which the outcomes bring about admission, but is not by itself an admission issue.