When do you give a credit transfer?
ASQA, the National regulatory of Registered Training Organisations (RTO), note Credit Transfers (CT) under Clause 3.5 as
The RTO accepts and provides credit to learners for units of competency and/or modules (unless licensing or regulatory requirements prevent this) where these are evidenced by:
- AQF certification documentation issued by any other RTO or AQF authorised issuing organisation, or
- authenticated VET transcripts issued by the Registrar
The big issues here is that RTO's are to recognise other formal and recognised training and assessment and not disadvantage a possible student. There are also other implications of possible funding problems ( double dipping). The other side is to protect the RTO so there are processes aligned with CT that are related to authentication of competency.
The Biggest Question however is WHEN do you process a Credit Transfer - is it only be given if the codes of a unit is the same?
I have had this discussion recently with a client about the changes to the RII package as the following issue was discussed.
For Example
A Student holds RIIMPO320D can they be given a credit transfer to RIIMPO320F?
Usage recommendation for RIIMPO320D- Conduct civil construction excavator operations notes it has been Superseded by RIIMPO320E.
So what about the current F version?
The tricky part is this - although the notes in Training.gov.au have noted that the, D and E version are equivalent AND E and F version are equivalent there are additional notes of change - Minor updates (have been noted) to reflect changes to operator maintenance and relocation activities, and attachments assessment requirements.
So is D- F still equivant?
It is very important that the RTO has a process in place to deal with the variations in the situation. It is also really helpful if the process of checking the differences between unit changes, and the assessment tools that make this judegment of a students competency, is very quick so decisions can be made accurately and efficiently. Our Prickly2sweet system can help you do this in seconds.
The site training.gov.au and the implementation guide for the training package state which units are equivalent and in this example although these are noted as equivalent they aren't directly. Here are 3 points to consider:
1 - If exactly the same code and noted as equivalent the ACTION = Credit Transfer
2 - If the code is in sequential order i.e.. D – E – then check equivalency (training package identification first and then check for notes- i.e. superseded and replaced) ACTION = RPL and gap training - NOT Credit Transfer
3 - If the code is NOT in sequential order i.e.. D - F then ACTION = then RPL and Gap training because of the variation of versions.
Also NOT Credit Transfer
More information can be found on the AVETMISS website - factsheet.
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