Guidelines for Advanced Standing for Professional Experience for Education Students

Students may apply for Advanced Standing for the Professional Experience component of a unit if they are seeking Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) for experience either through previous work experience in an educational setting, educational professional experience at another tertiary educational institution, or credit for previous professional experience while studying at UNE.

Early Childhood and Recognised Prior Experience

Students seeking credit for prior learning or work experience in an Early Childhood setting must note that under the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), course accreditation, and UNE policy, no Advanced Standing is offered based on previous work experience. Only professional experience placements undertaken at university levels equivalent to that of the current unit of study may support Advanced Standing.

To apply for Advanced Standing for units of work completed at another institution for Early Childhood, please visit the Advanced Standing site.

Applying for Advanced Standing

To apply for Advanced Standing, if you have not studied a unit at UNE, please use the Advanced Standing page.

Documentation Requirements

Any application for Advanced Standing must include full documentary evidence, as aforementioned, for it to be assessed.

Units Unable to Be Granted Advanced Standing for Professional Experience

To meet certain accreditation requirements, some units cannot be granted as Advanced Standing.

This list is as follows:

  • Any final graduate placement in an ITE degree
  • EDUC540, EDUC104, or EDUC106
  • EDUC550 (unless the theoretical and practical component can be equally demonstrated as having been previously completed).
  • The practical component of the Bachelor of Education (In-Service Conversion) - PREX304 or PREX304-6
  • All specialisations for languages and English as an Additional Language or Dialect
  • Early Childhood units as described in the section titled Early Childhood and Recognised Prior Experience

The Final Placement and Advanced Standing

UNE, in accordance with the NESA guidelines for professional experience, will not grant Advanced Standing for the final unit of professional experience, as the "final Professional Experience should provide an opportunity for [teacher education students] to consolidate their knowledge of teaching and learning, to demonstrate their capacity to undertake the duties of a teacher and to be assessed as demonstrating all of the relevant Graduate Teacher Standards."

UNE Professional Experience Policy

Previous Work Experience in an Australian School Setting

For credit to be granted towards New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) accredited degrees, such as those offered by UNE, applicants also need to demonstrate that they have developed knowledge and experience relevant to these courses, for example:

  • Current Australian syllabuses were used; and
  • English language was the medium of instruction.

For your application to be assessed, UNE requires the following:

  1. Signed letters from your employer, on business letterhead, stating your role and responsibilities, the syllabus used, and what subjects you were required to teach as part of your everyday workload;
  2. A statement of competence from your employer with regard to (1);
  3. Confirmation that your workload matched that of a full-time teaching load in Australia and that it covers most of the Key Learning Areas for Primary or the relevant subject areas for Secondary;
  4. Confirmation that the number of days taught in a school is equivalent to or greater than the number of days required for professional experience for the unit(s) for which you are applying;
  5. Confirmation that you were not employed as a teacher's aide, paraprofessional or equivalent position in the school;
  6. Confirmation that the experience is no more than five (5) years ago; and
  7. Confirmation you were Conditionally or Provisionally accredited as a teacher in an Australian School setting in Australia for this employment.

Applications for Recognised Prior Learning in a school setting need to be submitted through the Advanced Standing website.

Educational Professional Experience at Another Tertiary Educational Institution

If your Advanced Standing application is based on a professional experience placement undertaken while enrolled at another university or institute, you will need to include professional experience reports demonstrating satisfactory completion and a statement advising the number of days of professional experience (or Practicum) you completed. This documentation must be certified by a Justice of the Peace or other authorised person.

Applications for prior professional experience placements at another tertiary educational institution must be equivalent to or exceed the level of teacher training and match the number of days for the unit for which you are applying. No reduction is given for extra days above UNE's requirements. In line with NESA and UNE policies, no RPL can be granted for the final placement.

Applications for the previous study at another institution or university must be submitted through the Advanced Standing website.

Carry Forward Professional Experience Result

If you have failed an overall unit yet passed its professional experience placement, you may be able to apply for Carry Forward of Marks. The School of Education will assess this application for you.

To apply for Carry Forward of Marks in this instance, the following two conditions must have occurred:

  1. You have previously undertaken a UNE unit with embedded professional experience; and
  2. Satisfactorily completed the placement and failed the theoretical component and wish to have the professional experience placement recognised.

Other Information

Previous Work Experience in an International Educational Setting

Past teaching experience(s) in an international setting may be counted towards Advanced Standing for professional experience units where the applicant can document that they were able to develop knowledge, understanding and skills required to address the needs of students and that this experience aligns with Australian teaching requirements. Eligibility criteria is as follows:

  • Equivalent Australian syllabuses were used; and
  • English language was the medium of instruction.

For your application to be assessed, UNE requires the following:

  1. Signed letters from your international employer, on business letterhead, stating your role and responsibilities, the syllabus used and what subjects you were required to teach as part of the your everyday workload;
  2. A statement of competence from your employer with regard to (1);
  3. Confirmation that your workload matched that of a full-time teaching load in Australia and that it covers most of the Key Learning Areas for Primary or the relevant subject areas for Secondary;
  4. Confirmation that the number of days taught in a school is equivalent to or greater than the number of days required for Professional Experience for the unit for which you are applying;
  5. Confirmation that you were not employed as a teacher's aide, paraprofessional or equivalent position in the school; and,
  6. Confirmation that the experience is no more than five (5) years ago.

This international RPL will likely only count for one placement and will be applied to one of the first placements so the student can demonstrate their proficiency in an Australian school in Australia using the Australian curriculum. In line with NESA and UNE policies, no RPL can be granted for the final placement.

Conditional Accreditation and Advanced Standing

Conditionally accredited teachers who are enrolled in an Initial Teacher Education degree are able to apply for Advanced Standing for the professional experience components of a unit. The final professional experience placement must be completed outside of the current place of employment, without exception. Students may be required to take leave or be unavailable to teach for this to occur.