ANKOM – Anrechnung beruflicher Kompetenzen auf Hochschulstudiengänge

The work of the project monitoring and supporting the federal initiative ANKOM has been prolonged until June 2011. It involves activities in the fields of counselling on and disseminating the results of developing and implementing accreditation of prior learning to promote permeability between VET and higher education.

This site contains following topics referring to the first period of the initiative dating from October 2005 to June 2008 when developing and implementing accreditation procedures:

• Learning Pathways from Vocational Education & Training (VET) to Higher Education (HE): The Accreditation of Prior Learning - A Federal Project Initiative
• Twelve Development Projects
• Scientific Monitoring and Support Project
• The advisory council of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Project Executing Institution: The Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)

Learning Pathways from Vocational Education & Training (VET) to Higher Education (HE): The Accreditation of Prior Learning - A Federal Project Initiative

With the Bologna process, relevant for the European Higher Education Area (HE) and the processes around the Copenhagen Declaration, relevant for the Vocational Education and Training Area (VET), the European Union (EU) is trying to promote the EU priority "Lifelong Learning". Strategies for Lifelong Learning are seen "as essential to promote employability, active citizenship, social inclusion and personal development" (Copenhagen Declaration 2002: 2).

For the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF) the development of well and highly qualified employees is an important issue. In order to enhance individual potentials and competencies, as well as to support the EU priority lifelong learning, the BMBF launched the Initiative "Anrechnung beruflicher Kompetenzen auf Hochschulstudiengänge", which can be translated as "Accreditation of Prior Learning from Vocational Education & Training (VET) and work for Higher Education Programmes".

The BMBF funds twelve so-called development projects and a scientific monitoring project. They are co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF). The "development projects" are scheduled for about 27 months and run until December 2007. The project for scientific monitoring and support is scheduled for 39 months and runs until December 2008.

Goals of the Initiative

The BMBF has launched the Initiative to develop accreditation of prior learning approaches, identify operational good practice and enhance the implementation of accreditation of prior learning procedures, policies and infrastructure in the German higher education system.

The overall goal is to foster learning pathways from VET to Higher Education (HE).

Twelve Development Projects

Starting Positions & Programme

The call for tender is based on a programme guideline
(  Förderrichtlinie ), which stipulates that the main focus shall be on the development of procedures and concepts for the accreditation of prior certificated learning stemming from further education (e.g. master craftsperson, qualified tradesperson, technicians and business manager, nursery teacher, health care manager).

Germany has a well developed dual system in vocational education and training and around 80 state-wide recognized further education certificates (FE-certificates). These state-wide recognized further education certificates are the basis for accreditation.

Approaches to accreditation

Two approaches to accreditation are in the centre of the developing projects, with a strong focus on the first:

1. The accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL) assesses learning outcomes of a "course/qualification" in vocational education and training (VET) and further education (FE). The question is to what extent the learning outcomes of the FE certificates/qualifications are equivalent to the required learning outcomes, competency outcomes or standards in qualification of a specific course or study programme in Higher Education. The main characteristic is that the course or qualification is assessed for equivalence, not the student. APCL can be described as a process, through which previously assessed and certificated learning is considered and, as appropriate, recognised for academic purposes¹.

2. The accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) involves a case-by-case assessment of the individual’s knowledge, skills and competencies which may be derived from a whole range of learning experiences, including workplace learning, life experience, and family and voluntary work or caring for children and the elderly. The main characteristic is that it assesses the individual’s competences. APEL can be described as a process, through which learning achieved outside education or training systems is assessed and, as appropriate, recognised for academic purposes. In other words: it is given recognition and academic value².

Institutional structure of the development projects

The  development projects are located at ten Higher Education (HE) Institutions which work in cooperation with Further Education Providers; one developing project is driven by a FE Provider which cooperates with a HE institution.

The developing projects with their cooperation partners are located in nine out of 16 Federal States: Berlin (1), Bremen (cooperation partner) Hesse (1), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1), Lower-Saxony (3), North Rhine-Westphalia (4), Rhineland-Palatinate (cooperation partner), Saxony-Anhalt (1) and Thuringia (1).

The 12 projects belong to four fields:

• Health and Social Care (4 projects)
• Business (4 projects)
• Information Technology (2 projects) and
• Mechanical Engineering (2 projects).

Types of Higher Education:

• the programme is comprised of eight university programmes and four programmes from universities of applied sciences.

The work of the developing projects is supported by a council of stakeholders (e.g. chambers of industry and commerce, trade unions, professional associations, further education representatives, higher education examination boards, further education examination boards, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) etc.). They constitute a network which tries to bridge the different interests of the vocational education and employer field, and the Higher Education institutions.

Scientific Monitoring and Support Project

As mentioned above, in addition to the developing projects, a project for scientific monitoring and support is funded.

It is assigned to HIS - Higher Education Information Service, Hannover,
( http://www.his.de/english/organization) and VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik, Berlin.
( http://www.vdivde-it.de/eng/eng_wirueberuns.html)

HIS - The Higher Education Information Service supports German institutions of Higher Education (universities and universities of applied sciences) and their administrations as well as higher education policy makers. The project is based in the project centre "Studies on Graduates and Lifelong Learning".

VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (VDI/VDE-IT) is a joint venture of VDI GmbH and VDE (Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies) and is a partner of industry, research and policy makers.

The tasks of the scientific monitoring and support project are

• to provide advice to the developing projects,
• to organise conferences and meetings to enhance the sharing of knowledge and experiences between the developing projects,
• to enhance actions which leads to trust between the stakeholders
• to promote the APCL/APEL discourse and procedures in Germany and
• to assess the project results.

Major goals of the project assessment are

• to identify generic approaches in accreditation of prior learning,
• to identify operational good practice, policies and infrastructure,
• to identify general principles of good practice in assuring and enhancing quality and standards in the accreditation of prior learning.

The scientific monitoring project works closely together with the Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) ( http://www.bibb.de).
For many years, the Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training has strongly supported research on learning pathways and qualification linkages from VET to HE.

The advisory council of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

The BMBF has set up a commission comprising important political bodies, in order to give guidance and advice on how to promote the initiative. The membership is comprised of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the "Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund" as representative for the trade union, the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Board of Trustees of the German Economy for Vocational Education and Training (Kuratorium der Deutschen Wirtschaft für Berufsbildung).

Project Executing Institution: The Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has assigned the Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn to act as project executing institution.

¹ See for example University of Ulster "Guiding Principles and Policy for the accreditation of Prior Learning 2006"S p. 7, and: Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA): Guidelines on the accreditation of prior learning, p. 17.

² Bridging Rhetoric and Reality: Accreditation of prior Experiential Learning (APEL) in the UK (2004), p. 4.