Recognition of competencies means providing an official approval of the student’s competencies. The competencies may have been gained before or during the studies and irrespective of place.
Before recognition of competencies, the competencies must be identified. The student is entitled to apply for the accreditation (recognition) of their competencies if their competencies correspond to the learning goals of the Degree Programme or the single course.
The starting point for the recognition process is the student’s active role. The student appraises their own competencies in relation to the learning goals of the course, plans, based on a self-assessment, what competencies they aim to have identified, applies for recognition, and provides the required evidence of their competencies.
The RC process is closely linked with the preparation of the student’s personal curriculum. In accordance with the Degree Regulation, the student prepares at the beginning of their studies a personal curriculum, which is approved by the Head of Degree Programme or another person authorized to do that. The personal curriculum is updated during personal counselling discussions.
Accreditation means the integration of previous studies, practical training, work experience or other competencies as part of a Degree or course. The acquired competencies are mainly verified and accredited based on a diploma or another document.
Accreditation may consist of substitution of studies or integration as part of studies.
In the case of substitution, studies of a Degree Programme are substituted with studies with similar content completed elsewhere.
In the case of integration, studies completed elsewhere are integrated as part of the Degree, e.g. as alternative or free elective studies.
Accreditation may have effects on the Student Financial Aid. Accredited previous studies are not taken into account in the monitoring of the progress of studies by Kela.
In employment-integrated learning, the student proposes that competencies gained by them when working while studying be accredited to complete a course. The competencies may also be related to voluntary work or hobbies.
Employment-integrated learning can also take place when part of a course or an entire course are implemented as a customer order or project as part of an RDI project.
A demonstration of competencies is a tool for recognition of prior learning and/or of competencies acquired through employment-integrated learning.
Apart from a diploma, it may consist of an exam, written task, portfolio, interview, demonstration of skills, competency diary, description of competencies, or different documents.
At SeAMK, there are also specific dates for demonstrations of competencies when competencies acquired before can also be demonstrated through group-based demonstration tasks. See “Demonstrations”.