Are you familiar with the Recognition of Prior Learning?

At all universities, earning a degree is not solely a matter of time spent in class.

Individual experience and backgroundare given significant consideration when admitting students to a training program or granting certification.

Thus, in the higher education sector, there are three ways to recognize professional experience:

1-LaVAE(Validation of Prior Learning and Experience)

This programinvolves earning all or part of a degreewithouttaking the courses, but by demonstrating one’s skills and experience before a panel of faculty members and professionals.

2-LaVAPP(Validation of Prior Learning and Personal and Professional Experience)

It, in turn, providesaccess to a university education withoutthe degree that is normally required.

3- Finally, for those who have completed higher education abroad, the VES(Validation of Higher Education) also allows them to have all or part of a French degree recognized by a panel of faculty members.

The best-known of these programs, the VAE (Validation of Prior Learning and Experience), is enshrined in the Labor Code and constitutes a genuine individual right regardless of employment status (whether employed or not).

At the University of Montpellier, this program extends beyond the individual and is widely used by companies and their employees. Nearly 100 companies support their employees each year in the process of obtaining a certification through the recognition of prior learning (VAE).

As an HR management tool, companies incorporate VAE into mandatory individual performance reviews and use it as part of their skills development strategy (GPEC) and to facilitate career progression in certain roles.

Here are a few examples of what can be achieved through the recognition of prior learning:

• Establish a specific support program for a group of employees (COLLECTIVE VAE) to help them earn a degree (through distance learning or in-person classes)
• Help students choose the most suitable degree program (a wide range, with more than 600 degree programs at UM)
• Combine VAE with a short training program (taking a TOEIC test during evening classes and receiving support for the oral exam)

Portal for the Recognition of Prior Learning