ACCREDITATION OF PRIOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF HEIs

Although the policy framework of “Lifelong Learning for All” was adopted by OECD Ministers of Education as early as 1996, access to such learning opportunities remains limited and poorly supported in many regions, including the Western Balkans. Defined as a social mandate to ensure adequate and equitable learning opportunities, lifelong learning requires the coordinated functioning of various subsystems within education. This paper explores how higher education institutions (HEIs) in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece can advance lifelong learning through mechanisms such as the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Drawing on qualitative data from institutional self-assessment questionnaires completed by representatives from six HEIs across the three countries, the study reveals a shared structural limitation: none of the national legal frameworks currently permit credit recognition beyond traditional educational pathways. Despite this constraint, the findings - though based on the perspectives of individual academic staff - indicate a strong potential for initiating APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) through policy reforms in higher education. These reforms should aim to create more dynamic, responsive systems aligned with the evolving demands of the labor market. The paper recommends launching structured pilot initiatives, supported by national guidelines, as a first step. A phased implementation - initially allowing APEL for selected diploma types or programs - would help ensure quality assurance and institutional preparedness for broader adoption.