Government has agreed that Tertiary Education Institutions with awarding powers be requested to :

1. Offer Foundation Programmes as part of their curriculum. The minimum criteria for the Foundation Programmes at Tertiary level as developed by TEC.
2. Admit students on the basis of a clearly predefined and transparent system of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The RPL system and the procedures for admission through that system should be within the RPL framework defined by TEC.
3. Admit mature students as per the framework evolved by TEC.

The minimum criteria for Foundation Programmes, Frameworks for Recognition of Prior Learning and Mature students are as follows:

Minimum Criteria For Admission To Foundation Programmes At Tertiary Level

1. The Entry requirements for the Foundation Programmes shall be:
   • A Cambridge SC with at least 4 credits including English and
   • One ‘A’ level at the Higher School Certificate.
2. The duration of the programme is 1 year (Full-Time) with 2 semesters of 15 weeks each;
3. All modules shall be deemed to be core modules. Learners would have to accumulate 25 credits. No self study or independent study will be allowed.
4. All modules would be assessed on at least ONE class test (30 %) and Continuous Assessment (70 %). The pass mark for both class test and continuous assessment will be 40 %.
5. Students must pass all modules to be eligible to join existing degree programmes;
6. The Foundation Programmes should have a specific focus on preparation for tertiary studies in fields related to:
   1. Humanities and Social Sciences;
   2. Economics and Business/Marketing/Human Resource Management;
   3. Science and Technology.
7. Students who have passed the Foundation Programmes will join the first year of the appropriate degree programme.
8. A student who has been admitted to the Foundation Programmes should be made aware that such admission should not be substituted for the basic academic qualifications entry requirements.

Framework For Recognition of Prior Learning

1. RPL entrants to the Foundation programme should have a Cambridge School Certificate with at least 4 credits including English and at least three years of relevant working experience.
2. RPL entrants to other levels of the programme or seeking exemptions from some modules of a programme should have a Cambridge School Certificate with at least 4 credits including English and at least three years relevant working experience together with any other formal or informal learning/training supported by testimonials.
3. RPL entrants may gain access to first year or second year of an undergraduate programme offered by PSEIs or be exempted from some modules of the programme.
4. There will be no exemption to final year of the undergraduate programme.
5. Exemptions based on RPL for taught postgraduate programmes should not exceed 50% of the number of modules of that programme.
6. The procedure and evaluation of the RPL should be pre-defined, transparent, fair,legitimate and documented. This is left to the discretion of the PSEIs and may differ from case to case or programme to programme. The procedure should include an assessment of a Portfolio. Guidelines for preparation of a portfolio is at Annex I.
7. The final decision to accept an RPL student rests solely with the institution.
8. The prospectus of the institution must clearly specify the latest date of acceptance of applications from RPL students and the date for communication of the outcomes of their applications.
9. An RPL student who has been admitted to Higher Education through this route should be made aware that such admission should not be substituted for the basis academic qualifications entry requirements.
10. The PSEIs must have an appeal procedure for students not satisfy with the outcome of their applications

Framework for Admission of Mature Students

1. The institution admitting mature students shall have a foundation programme.
2. Mature students will join the foundation programme of the institution.
3. Mature students will be of a minimum of 25 years old at the time of their applications.
4. Mature students shall have a minimum qualification of a Cambridge School Certificate with credits in at least four subjects including English or have equivalent qualification.
5. The final decision to accept a mature student will rest solely with the institution.
6. A mature student who has been admitted to Higher Education through this route should be made aware that such admission should not be substituted for the basic academic qualifications entry requirements.

Guidelines for Preparation of Portfolio