Unisa hails RPL success stories

The Department of Tuition Support and Facilitation of Learning (DTSFL) is leading the revision of policies regulating the operations of units in the Tuition Support Division. One of these units is the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Unit, whose policy and procedure manual is due for review.

Back (from left): Dr Phumza Makgato-Khunou, Prof Meahabo Magano, Dr Makhapa Makhafola, Nokuphila Hlela, Joseph Hlatswhayo and Gladwell Marebane Front (from left): Dr Mutambuli Hadji, Eugene Nkhwashu, George Leuta and Dr Mantsose Sethusha

RPL in South Africa is critical to the development of an equitable higher education system that facilitates access, mobility and progression within the Higher Education Sub-Framework (HEQSF).  As part of the wide stakeholder engagements, two workshops were held on the 2^nd and 30^th of June 2023. Dr Makhapa Makhafola, Director in the Management of the HEQSF Directorate of the Council on Higher Education (CHE), was a guest at these.

Language should not be exclusionary

Opening the workshop, the Acting Executive Director of DTSFL, Professor Meahabo Magano, called for the integration of knowledge acquired in African languages as part of Unisa’s Africanisation, indigenisation and curriculum transformation. She emphasised that languages should not be used as means to exclude prospective RPL candidates.

Noting that the RPL policy has been in existence since 2004, it was decided that there was a need to obtain an interpretation and establish the practices of clause 4.2.7 of the CHE RPL policy, which states:

Applicants seeking access to a postgraduate qualification in a particular field or Classification of Education Subject Matter (CESM) category but who do not hold an undergraduate degree in that field or CESM category may be admitted by RPL if they are able to satisfy the requisite RPL criteria. Such applicants may be given advanced standing but without the award of the primary qualification(s). Institutions are required to spell out in detail their assessment criteria for advanced standing, bearing in mind the needs of adult students.

It was resolved by the colleges that this clause makes it possible for candidates who are 23 years old or older, and have at least five years’ relevant experience, to be admitted to postgraduate diplomas, honours, master’s and doctoral qualifications. Elaborating on the possibility opened through RPL, Professor Mary Moleki from the College of Human Sciences recounted a story of a legendary broadcaster, Zama “ZZ” Masondo, affectionately known as “Mr Laduma”, who was admitted to master’s studies without an honours degree, and was able to obtain a Master of Arts in African Languages cum laude. He was admitted on the basis that he held an undergraduate degree majoring in African languages.

Resounding successes

Along similar lines, Advocate Mpho Matlala from College of Law cited a success story of a student who served in the South African Police Service as a psychologist and was admitted through RPL, obtaining a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice. He added: “We were caught napping just a few months ago, as the RPL guidelines of the School of Law had not been developed yet”. The College of Science, Engineering and Technology in turn showcased its students who were admitted to the Master of Science degree in Computing Education.

It was pointed out that caution had to be exercised not to reject RPL applications without recommending a remedy for the shortfall, such as taking non-degree-purpose modules or doing lower qualifications, or recommending that the candidate use RPL for module credit within the qualification. On the positive side, there was an observation that RPL candidates were found to perform better academically, compared to those who were admitted through statutory requirements. For example, in the College of Education an RPL student who only had a National Diploma completed the B.Ed. (Hons.) degree in Early Childhood within two years and obtained the highest mark of 91%.

As part of quality assurance, Dr Makhapa Makhafola recommended that College boards and Senate must note all admissions made via RPL. Owing to the successful implementation of RPL in the Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL), they intend to apply an increment of 10% in RPL admissions for their qualifications.  

Magano observed a low uptake of RPL candidates. As she put it: “The CHE RPL policy, the Unisa Admission, and its RPL policy allow up to 10% of students per qualification to be admitted through RPL, but we are at 1.25%.” She decried the invisibility of RPL admission requirements and also indicated that “we have a project to put RPL admission requirements on all qualifications, and at the advance stage of developing a system [Online RPL Application and Automated Referral System] to effectively manage applications and the assessment of portfolios”.

#Unisa150

* By Dr Mutambuli Hadji, Recognition of Prior Learning Specialist, Directorate Instructional Support and Services