To comply with QQI requirements, RPL must be considered for any student who wishes to access the programme. UniHaven College must also comply with Irish study visa requirements for Level 5 (NFQ) programmes as set out by the Irish Department of Justice where students must study in class for at least 15 hours a week with an attendance rate of a minimum of 85%. UniHaven College must also make sure that students successfully complete the programme with 120 FET credits to be eligible for the QQI Level 5 (NFQ) Certificate in International Foundation Studies award that in turn facilitates progression to year one of the HEI partner undergraduate degree programmes. With these contexts in mind, the College will discuss RPL with partner HEIs to explore the extent, if any, to which RPL applies to a given applicant's request but such RPL will be conditional on the student passing the programme and complying with the above visa requirements. In the case of the English language, RPL will not be available due to the need for students to satisfy the minimum in-class hours of 15 per week which is not possible if students are not studying the English language modules. An example of permitted RPL might be where the HEI partner deems an applicant’s Physics score to be sufficient to study an Engineering degree but, to successfully complete the College programme in a visa compliant way, the student may need to study Biology instead, it is a complementary alternative module for the degree to which the applicant wishes to study at the partner HEI.
All student requests for RPL must be submitted in writing to the Academic Director at the admissions stage and will be considered in the context of this policy and subsequently decided on by the Academic Director in conjunction with the HEI partner on a case-by-case basis. If an applicant chooses to appeal an admissions RPL decision, they are entitled to do so. All admissions appeals must be made by email to the Academic Director within five working days of the decision being communicated. The admissions appeal procedure is outlined in Section 7.6 of UniHaven Quality Assurance Manual.
A student can transfer internally from one programme pathway stream to another if the modules of study and the completion of same allow in the context of both the learning the student has already completed to date and the entry requirements of the HEI degree they seek to progress to. Pathway stream transfers must be requested in the first four weeks of the programme to reduce the potential for negative impacts and allow for a natural transfer opportunity. In exceptional cases, a pathway stream transfer will be considered after the first 4 weeks. The stream transfer request would normally only be considered where a natural transfer opportunity occurs, i.e., at the end of a term or a semester. Pathway stream transfers are dealt with as per the UniHaven Access, Transfer and Progression Policy. Transfers from and to similar level 5 Specific Purpose Certificate in International Foundation Studies programmes may be considered. Students should discuss such requests with the Academic Director.