Insights for working learners

Short guides from the University on experience, credit hours and studying alongside a full-time job.

Guide

What is the assessment of prior learning?

People learn at work. The assessment of prior learning is the process a university uses to find out how much.

The idea is simple. A course has learning outcomes: the things a student should know and be able to do by the end. If you can already show those outcomes, because you have done the work for years, it makes little sense to sit through the course. It makes a great deal of sense to be tested on it.

What a sound assessment looks like

  • It is done course by course, never as a single judgment about a whole career.
  • It measures what you know, and treats job titles and years of service only as a starting point.
  • It ends in a recorded result, with the evidence kept on file.
  • It has a limit, so that every graduate has also studied with the institution.

At Berkshire each claimed course is tested after an identity check, and the result is the grade on your transcript. Read how our assessment works.

Guide

How to document your work experience

A strong application shows what you did, with proof. A long one that only lists job titles does not.

Gather these before you apply

  • An up-to-date CV, with dates, employers and your main responsibilities in each role.
  • Employment letters or contracts that confirm the roles and dates.
  • Certificates from training courses, with the hours and the provider.
  • Examples of your own work that you are free to share: reports, plans, designs, procedures.
  • Any professional licences or memberships you hold.

Describe results, in numbers where you can

"Managed a warehouse" says little. "Managed a warehouse of twelve staff and reduced stock losses over two years" tells an assessor which courses to look at. Write what you were responsible for, what you changed, and what happened.

Only send documents that are genuine and that you have the right to share. Remove confidential details about your employer or its customers.

Guide

Credit hours, explained

A credit hour is a measure of learning time. It is how universities make sure that a degree means roughly the same amount of work everywhere.

  • One credit hourAbout 45 hours of learning in total, including lessons, practice and independent work.
  • A typical course3 credit hours, or about 135 hours of learning.
  • A bachelor's degree120 credit hours, normally 40 courses.

When a course is met through assessed experience, the credit hours stay the same. What changes is how you show the learning: through a test of what you already know, instead of months of study.

See how a course is organised →

Next step

Ready to see where you stand?

Send us your CV for a first reading of your record.

Register your interest →