1. Recognition of prior learning in Sweden
Tuula Kuosmanen
Recognition of prior learning in Sweden
Thank you for invitiming me to IAAO-conference. It is nice to meet you again, some of you I meet the last time in Toronto. Per and Susanne has asked me to come and make a presentation of how the Swedish Higher Education Institutions and UHR work with Recognition of Prior Learning.

2. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Recognition of prior learning is an assessment process that involves assessment of an individual’s relevant prior learning
including formal,
informal and
non-formal learning
Credits or certificates based on RPL can be used for work placement, admission or transfering of credits.
In this contects I will concentrate on RPL for higher education in Sweden.
I think most of you are familiar with the definitions of Recognition of Prior Learning but I mention them just for having the framwork for the presentation.

3. RPL in the Swedish Higher Education Sector
Recognition of prior learning has been a task for the HEI for admission and for transfering of credits since 2001.
The development has been very slow. There has been different projects and efforts during the time.
There is a low knowledge of what RPL is and how RPL can be assessed among the HEI´s
In a survey UHR conducted in 2016 concerning widening access and widening participation the HEI pointed RPL as an important tool to achieve widening access.
RPL has been a task for the Swedish HEI´s since The development has been very slow. Different projects and effort has been conducted during these years but have never resultated in permanent solutions.

4. Task from the Swedish Government
In 2016 UHR got a task from the Government:
contribute to the establishment of a lasting structure for both the support of higher education institutions' work with the assessment of recognition of prior learning and for cooperation between institutions in relation to this assessment, starting 2016 up to December 2018.
The HEI got Euro for the establishment of structures for recognition of prior learning.
UHR got the task to identify and propose how the lasting structure could be set up and what it should contain. The work should be done in cooperation with the HEI´s.
UHR got Euro for the specific task.

5. Four main fields
UHR in cooperation with HEI identified four main fields for development for establishing a lasting structure:
Information and IT-support system
Organization, Guidelines and Roles
Develop structures for cooperation between the HEI’s within the field of RPL
Recognition of refugees with foreign higher education qualifications lacking documentation for the purpose of labour market
Mapping of the existing information at different websites (HEI`s own sites, the sites for UHR etc.)
Identify the needs for the target groups
Make recommendations
Develop a unified IT-system for handling of applications for RPL for admission and transfering of credits, statistics and used as a knowledge bank of RPL-assessments
Organization, gudielines and roles: Develop and use best practice for an effetive organzation with definied roles for the process of RPL. Develop guidelines
For making long lasting structures it is also necessary for the HEI to work together and make use of what is already done and share assessors.

6. Project proposals For 2017 UHR got 3 000 000 Euro
UHR opened for project applications during the spring 2017
The project applications covers all in all 30 HEI´s
HEI´s have received 2,5 million Euro from UHR.
Prerequisite for obtaining project funds has been how the specific project will contribute for establishment of the long lasting structure
For 2018 UHR will get the same amount of allocation.
The projects will continue during 2018 with funding from UHR.