RPL for Access, Success and Inclusivity in Higher Education

The West Cork Dairy Farmers’ RPL Case Study

Title (eng)
RPL for Access, Success and Inclusivity in Higher Education
The West Cork Dairy Farmers’ RPL Case Study
Author
Ciara Staunton
Author
Belinda Gascoigne
Author
Seamus Ó Tuama
Description (eng)
This chapter presents a case study of engagement between a University and a Multinational Company that highlights the mutual benefits of RPL for employers and learners. The chapter will describe in detail the development and implementation of a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) cohort method. The University worked with Carbery, a global company owned by the farmers of west Cork, with a goal to create delicious and nutritious products for customers in 50 countries worldwide. Carbery had commenced the Carbery Greener Dairy Farms Project (CGDF) with the purpose of identifying as many practical means by which farmers, who supply dairy ingredients to Carbery, could improve their sustainability and lead to long term reductions in green-house gas emissions as well as improve the financial gains of the farmers in a measurable way. The aim of this case study was to use RPL as a way of validating the experiential learning of the farmers that could provide them with access to a university award while also granting exemptions to them on the basis of demonstrated learning that had occurred through their participation in the CGDF. The award was the Diploma in Environmental Science and Social Policy, a 60 ECTS credits, NFQ Level 7 two-year part-time course offered through Adult Continuing Education (ACE) at University College Cork (UCC). The RPL method developed consisted of five steps which were consistent with standard RPL process in terms of identification, documentation, assessment and certification: Mapping the Learning Outcomes; The Traffic Light System; Weighting the Learning Outcomes; The Learning Outcome Portfolio; Assessment and Validation of Evidence. Through the use of qualitative data, this chapter also provides a learner perspective on the process which is largely absent in the literature. The case study is presented as a potential cohort approach to RPL that could have widespread impact for industry engagement.
Keywords (eng)
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)experiential learningcohort approachaccessUniversity
Type (eng)
book part
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://door.donau-uni.ac.at/o:5501
Is contained in
Title
Anerkennung und Validierung non-formalen und informellen Lernens an Hochschulen
Orientierungen in einem komplexen Feld
ISBN
978-3-8309-4995-4
Series
Title
Studienreihe Hochschulforschung Österreich
Volume
7
Issued
2025
ISSN
2628–6432
Publication
Waxmann
Date issued
2025
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International