Prior Learning Assessment Course

Lesson 1 • Stakeholders and Their Roles

Identifies every actor involved in a PLV process and their responsibilities. Helps practitioners understand accountability and communication flows.

Lesson 2 • Ethical Principles in PLV

Introduces fairness, transparency, and integrity as non-negotiable PLV values. Grounds practitioners in ethical obligations before they engage with assessment methods.

Lesson 3 • PLV Within Credentialing Systems

Positions PLV relative to qualifications frameworks and credential ecosystems. Shows how validated learning translates into recognized outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Historical Development of PLV

Traces PLV's evolution from early credit-for-experience models to modern frameworks. Contextualizes current practices within their historical roots.

Lesson 1 • Staying Current with Policy Changes

Equips practitioners with strategies for monitoring and responding to evolving regulations. Ensures long-term compliance beyond initial training.

Lesson 2 • Key Policy Drivers for PLV

Examines workforce, social inclusion, and lifelong learning policies that mandate or incentivize PLV. Connects policy intent to on-the-ground implementation.

Lesson 3 • Regulatory Bodies and Their Functions

Describes the types of bodies that oversee PLV quality and compliance. Clarifies how practitioners interact with oversight structures.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Sector Policy Variations

Highlights how PLV rules differ across education, healthcare, trades, and corporate sectors. Prepares practitioners to adapt processes to sector-specific contexts.

Lesson 1 • Mapping Learning to Outcomes

Demonstrates techniques for linking informal and non-formal learning to formal outcome descriptors. Bridges the gap between lived experience and credentialed standards.

Lesson 2 • Writing Competency Statements

Teaches how to write precise, measurable competency statements for PLV purposes. Ensures assessors and candidates share a common performance language.

Lesson 3 • Validating Competency Maps with Stakeholders

Covers the process of reviewing and confirming competency maps with employers, faculty, and sector bodies. Ensures maps reflect real-world performance expectations.

Lesson 4 • Understanding Competency Frameworks

Explains the structure and purpose of competency frameworks used in PLV. Builds the analytical lens needed to interpret and apply them accurately.

Lesson 1 • Workplace and Performance Evidence

Covers evidence drawn from actual job performance, including observations and work products. Connects workplace reality to formal competency requirements.

Lesson 2 • Formal and Non-Formal Learning Records

Addresses transcripts, certificates, training records, and self-directed learning logs as evidence. Guides practitioners in verifying and contextualizing these records.

Lesson 3 • Coaching Candidates in Evidence Preparation

Equips practitioners with coaching techniques to help candidates identify and articulate their evidence. Reduces common candidate errors before formal assessment begins.

Lesson 4 • Types of Evidence in PLV

Categorizes direct, indirect, and supplementary evidence and explains when each is appropriate. Establishes a shared vocabulary for evidence discussions with candidates.

Lesson 1 • Selecting Assessment Methods

Compares portfolio review, challenge exams, interviews, simulations, and observation as PLV tools. Guides method selection based on competency type and candidate context.

Lesson 2 • Principles of Valid PLV Assessment

Defines validity, reliability, fairness, and sufficiency as the four pillars of PLV assessment design. Anchors all subsequent design decisions in these principles.

Lesson 3 • Planning the Assessment Process

Covers scheduling, logistics, and communication planning for a complete PLV assessment cycle. Reduces administrative errors that undermine assessment integrity.

Lesson 4 • Accommodations and Flexible Assessment

Addresses how to adapt assessment design for candidates with disabilities or language barriers. Maintains rigor while ensuring equitable access to the process.

Lesson 1 • Evaluating Portfolio Evidence

Applies rubric-based judgment to portfolio artifacts and reflective narratives. Develops the analytical skill to distinguish sufficient from insufficient evidence.

Lesson 2 • Preparing for the Assessment Event

Covers assessor preparation, material review, and candidate briefing before assessment begins. Prevents procedural errors that compromise judgment quality.

Lesson 3 • Making and Recording Judgments

Guides assessors through the decision-making process from evidence to competency judgment. Produces clear, auditable records that support quality assurance review.

Lesson 4 • Managing Assessor Bias

Identifies common cognitive biases that distort PLV judgments and provides mitigation strategies. Strengthens the consistency and fairness of assessment outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Communicating Assessment Decisions

Covers written and verbal communication of competent and not-yet-competent outcomes. Ensures candidates understand decisions and their implications clearly.

Lesson 2 • Supporting Unsuccessful Candidates

Provides strategies for guiding candidates who did not achieve competency toward reassessment. Turns a negative outcome into a constructive development pathway.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Effective Feedback

Establishes what makes feedback useful, specific, and actionable in a PLV context. Connects feedback quality to candidate development and process credibility.

Lesson 4 • Managing the Appeals Process

Explains the grounds, procedures, and documentation requirements for PLV appeals. Equips practitioners to handle appeals fairly and within policy boundaries.

Lesson 1 • Quality Assurance Frameworks for PLV

Introduces internal and external quality assurance models applicable to PLV programs. Provides the structural vocabulary for designing a compliant QA system.

Lesson 2 • Assessor Recruitment and Development

Covers criteria for selecting qualified assessors and building their ongoing competence. Ensures the assessor pool maintains consistent standards over time.

Lesson 3 • Standardization and Moderation

Explains standardization meetings, moderation sampling, and inter-rater reliability checks. Reduces judgment variability across the assessor team.

Lesson 4 • Program Documentation and Records Management

Establishes documentation standards for all PLV program records, from applications to certificates. Supports auditability, data protection, and institutional accountability.