RELATE
Title: RELATE – Promoting the REcognizability of Learning outcomes from vocAtional educaTion to higher Education
Project type: LLP / LdV – Transfer of Innovation
Ref. no.: DE/13/LLP-LdV/TOI/147 640
Promoter /Coordinator: Akademie für berufliche Bildung gGmbH (AFBB), DE
Duration: 01.10.2013 - 30.09.2015
Total value of the grant: 297.395,94 Euro
Grant value for the Group for European Integration: 51.316,53 Euro
Summary:
One of the priorities for ECVET development in 2013 is to “support a coherent approach of the interrelated European tools and to address specifically the compatibility and complementarity of ECVET and ECTS”. This is necessary to facilitate transitions between different education and training pathways. The project will increase the social dimension of higher education (HE), by reducing inequalities and providing adequate student support, counselling and guidance, flexible learning paths and alternative access routes by the recognition of learning outcomes of vocational education and training (VET). The project will help to fill in the gap between the provided and the needed qualified staff in the field of health and social care.
Main results of the project will be: summarizing key issues of recognition processes, implemented and tested methodologies and instruments that are transferable as well as recommendations and guides for students, VET and HE institutions and other VET and HE stakeholders. The project will ensure the dissemination and exploitation by using common instruments of public relations, delivering trainings, providing the results via different media as well as at an international final conference.
The consortium consists of 6 partners. From every country, one VET institution and one HE institution are included, that are already experienced with ECVET and/or the recognition of learning outcomes of VET programmes towards HE study programmes. All of them have reliable national and international networks and experiences in LLP-projects. Tangible outcomes will be the actual implemented recognition procedures of the learners/students as well as the implemented methodologies and instruments. Intangible outcomes will be the increased sensibility towards this topic as well as the increased awareness of the need to focus on activity-oriented learning outcomes in all educational systems and on providing flexible learning pathways.
The envisaged long term impact of the project is: to involve about 500 learners and students as well as 50 VET and HE institutions.
Objectives:
The project’s objective is to promote the vertical permeability between vocational education and training and higher education study programmes within the field of health and social care by supporting the recognition of VET learning outcomes for HE study programmes.
The main aims of the project are to transfer existing experiences in recognition of learning outcomes of VET towards HE within the participating countries: Germany, Romania and Estonia, to develop common methodologies and instruments for its implementation as well as to implement and to test them within the participating institutions.
This will be done under the focus of providing guidance and support for students, VET institutions and HE institutions to implement their own recognition procedures as well as to sensitize VET and HE stakeholders in Europe for this important topic.
Outcomes:
- Investigation of the legal framework and state of implementation of RPL from VET to HE in Romania, Estonia and Germany (Saxony);
- Criteria for improving recognizability of VET diplomas on national level;
- Criteria for recognition of VET diplomas at international level;
- Criteria for HE admission for non-traditional target groups;
- Process model for the cooperation between VET and HE institutions;
- Methodologies for recognition of learning outcomes from VET to HE adapted to German, Estonian and Romanian context, including methodologies for portfolio method and blanket RPL;
- Common portfolio of additional supporting framework and instruments to support non-traditional target groups in (entering) HE (preparatory courses, admission examinations, target-group specific counselling);
- Common methodology for quality assurance (of the documentation) of learning outcomes in VET on the basis of ECVET);
- Research on opportunities and methods of transfer between the credit systems ECVET and ECTS;
- Evaluation report;
- White Paper on the recognizability of VET diplomas;
- Suggestions for a counselling system in Higher Education;
- Recommendation for cooperation in curriculum development;
- RPL Guide for Students;
- Guide for improving RPL opportunities for graduates;
- Guide on the implementation of RPL processes;
- Model of agreement (“Memorandum of Understanding”) between VET and HE institution for simplified RPL;
- Completed agreements between VET and HE institutions to shape future cooperation in simplified RPL from VET to HE;
- Training for VET and HE providers on RPL;
- Providing support for VET and HE institutions interested in RPL;
- Project Website;
- Press releases, publications and other instruments of PR;
- Final Conference.
Partnership:
- Akademie für berufilche Bildung gGmbH, DE (coordinator)
- Fachhochschule Dresden - Private Fachhochsch, DE
- Tallinn University Haapsalu College, EE
- Kuressaare Regional Training Centre, EE
- Group for European Integration, RO
- University of Piteşti, RO