Widening access and participation
Currently, certain groups in the community are under-represented within Swedish higher education. So that the mix of students at the University of Gothenburg reflects the wider community, the University is working with widening access and participation, validation and recognition of prior learning in higher education. Education is a human right and therefore our work on this is important.
Contact us for a collaboration!
Currently, we are working long-term on several different projects with a number of external actors, all of which are part of our efforts to broaden the recruitment of students admitted to the University. Please contact Sofia Vilelind if you would like to initiate a partnership with us.
Find out more about our work in the Policy for Widening Access and Participation at the University of Gothenburg (pdf)
Ongoing collaborations
The work on widening access and participation aims to make the University of Gothenburg inclusive, open and accessible to everyone regardless of background. Since 2002, the Higher Education Act has required Swedish higher education institutions to actively promote and broaden recruitment to higher education. In order to fulfill our mission, we are dependent on collaboration both within and outside the university. This means that we have joint initiatives at university, faculty and department level.
The University's collaboration projects target people with prior academic education from other countries, adults without prior academic studies, secondary school students and children who first need to complete primary school in order to move on to higher education.
Collaborations with external partners
Collaborations within the university
Validation and recognition of prior learning
Another way of widening access and participation among students is our work with validation and recognition of prior learning.
What does the recognition of prior learning involve?
If a person lacks some or all of the formal entry requirements for a course or study programme, but has equivalent knowledge from for example work experience, that person can apply to have their prior learning assessed. Prior learning can give a person entry to a course or study programme. It is also possible to apply for recognition of prior learning to get advanced standing in parts of a study programme.
- Application for recognition or prior learning (external site, only available in Swedish)
- Can my previous qualifications be included in the degree?
What is validation?
Validation is the method or process used to assess and recognise a person’s prior learning, regardless of how that person has acquired it. A quality-assured and structured validation process at the University of Gothenburg consists of the following components: identification, documentation, assessment and certification.
How validation is done can differ from case to case because it is based on the individual. For example, validation might include interviews, tests, or written assignments.
Cooperation within validation and recognition of prior learning
- The University of Gothenburg is part of a validation network for Western Sweden (Valideringsnätverk Väst, VnV), which is working to harmonise the methods used for validation and assessment of prior learning so that they will be more similar at the participating universities and university colleges.
- The University of Gothenburg is an active representative in the National Validation Network, (Nationella valideringsnätverket, NvN), where the country's other regional validation networks are also represented.
- The University of Gothenburg is a member of the European RPL Network, which is an association of national networks and higher education institutions in Europe working on the recognition of prior learning. European RPL Network website
