Validation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes (LOs) is linked to mechanisms that are in place in formal education. 

The 2030 Integrated Skills Strategy (see Chapter 1.5 National qualifications framework and and 7.2 ‘Developments and current policy priorities’) is expected to contribute to more effective assessment, validation and certification of LOs, regardless of the setting in which they have been achieved. The document also addresses the development of guidance for validation and recognition of prior learning (RPL) at the national, regional and local levels.

Validation

Validation is an important mechanism within the IQS. The term ‘validation’ was introduced by the afore-mentioned Act on the Integrated Qualifications System. This is a process of checking whether a person applying for the award of a particular qualification has achieved – regardless of their learning path – a specific part or all of the LOs required for a given qualification. 

Validation helps learners to verify information on the skills that are necessary to obtain a given qualification or its specific part and a certificate which is recognisable in EU countries, and provides employers with reliable confirmation of employees’ or job applicants’ skills.(Integrated Qualifications Register; last accessed September 2024).

The validation process consists of the following elements:

• identification of LOs: identifying and analysing the knowledge, skills and social competences that the applicant has acquired;

• documentation of LOs: collecting evidence of the achievement of selected LOs (e.g. certificates, practical placement certificates, examples of work, video recordings, references, a description of the job/work performed by the applicant, etc.);

• assessment: checking through appropriate methods whether the applicant has achieved specific LOs, and validating the assessed LOs.

When the outcome of the validation process is favourable, the applicant receives a certificate confirming that he/she has acquired a qualification listed in the IQS. Certification is a process through which a successful applicant obtains a document conferring the qualification from the authorised certifying entity. It should be noted that only certifying entities may issue certificates with the graphic symbol of the PQF and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The EQF symbol increases the recognition and credibility of a certificate, also on the international labour market. 

Poland does not have yet a single coherent system for the validation of LOs achieved in non-formal and informal learning, but the work to improve validation procedures and tools is underway. Between 2021 and 2023, the Educational Research Institute published studies (in Polish) on the development of validation tools, and scenarios and tools for market qualifications. 

Existing mechanisms in this area are applied in various sectors and related to various validation practices and processes. Some of them have been in place for many years, other are innovations adopted from abroad, and still other have been introduced on a pilot basis. 

Further information about validation in Poland is available in the report ‘European inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning 2023 update: Poland’, published on the Cedefop website (last accessed September 2024).  

Extramural examinations

Extramural or external exams (which adults take as externals), conducted by the Regional Examination Boards, are one of the methods of validating LOs achieved outside the formal education system. They enable the validation of LOs achieved by adults who choose to prepare independently for exams. 

There are two types of exams: 

• Extramural exams at the level of primary and post-primary schools (4-year general secondary schools for adults, and stage I and II sectoral vocational schools) cover the requirements set in the national core curriculum for general education. 

• Vocational exams enable an exam taker to obtain a vocational qualification certificate for a given qualification or a vocational diploma if they obtained vocational qualification certificates for all qualifications identified within a given occupation and completed education at a required level. 

It is worth noting that an extramural vocational exam is not conducted for all occupations for which pupils or learners are trained in the school education system. The occupations that are not covered by such exams are listed in the legislation (Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 30 August 2019 on extramural exams, as subsequently amended / Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 30 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie egzaminów eksternistycznych, z późn. zm.). 

Recognition of learning outcomes in higher education

The Act of 20 July 2018, The Law on Higher Education and Science, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 20 lipca 2018 r. – Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce, z późn. zm.) sets out general conditions and arrangements for the recognition of prior learning or validation of learning outcomes (LOs). Within this framework, higher education institutions (HEIs) establish their own detailed procedures.

Pursuant to the Act, an HEI which meets certain requirements may validate LOs achieved outside the higher education system, in non-formal or informal learning, for individuals applying for admission to a degree programme. The validation process does not apply to the programmes that are based on the national standards set by the minister responsible for higher education; these include programmes for initial education for the following professions: doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife, bio-medical analyst, physiotherapist, paramedic, veterinary surgeon, and architect. 

An HEI is authorised to validate non-formal or informal LOs if it meets one of the following conditions: 

• the programme concerned has received a ‘positive rating’ from the Polish Accreditation Committee based on a programme evaluation; or 

• the HEI has the A+, A or B+ scientific category (one of the three highest categories), awarded by the Science Evaluation Committee as an outcome of a research evaluation, in the discipline to which the field of study concerned is assigned. 

LOs can be validated for applicants who meet the following conditions:

• for admission to a first- or long-cycle programme: they have a maturity certificate or an equivalent document and at least 5 years of work experience;

• for admission to a first- or long-cycle programme: they have a full qualification at PQF Level 5 (for example, a vocational diploma awarded upon completion of education in a post-secondary school; a college diploma; a chartered specialist certificate) or a qualification awarded within a foreign higher education system which corresponds to Level 5 of the EQF;

• for admission to a second-cycle programme: they have a full qualification at PQF Level 6 (a first-cycle diploma/degree) and at least 3 years of work experience gained after completion of a first-cycle programme;

• for admission to an additional first-, second-, or long-cycle programme: they have a full qualification at PQF Level 7 (a second-cycle degree/diploma) and at least 2 years of work experience gained after completion of a second- or long-cycle programme.

LOs are validated to the extent to which they are covered by a curriculum for a given programme. As a result of the validation process, an HEI may recognise up to 50% of the ECTS credits allocated to classes (courses or groups of courses) covered by a curriculum. The validation process enables students to shorten the duration of studies or reduce study intensity (for example, thanks to a smaller number of classes where student attendance is required or reduced workload required to complete a programme), and makes it easier to reconcile study and work. 

Students enrolled on the basis of a validation process may represent up to 20% of all students enrolled on a given programme.