Section 3. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms are hereby defined:

1. Articulation refers to a process which allows students to make the smooth transition from one (1) course, program or educational level to the next without experiencing duplication of learning. The guiding principle of articulation is that no student should repeat the same course content for which credit has already been received, even if elsewhere or from another institution. In general, articulated programs provide multiple entry and exit points and ladders of learning opportunities and allows a student to move from a technical-vocational course to a college degree program, using the principle of credit transfer;

2. Credit refers to the value given to a particular course or subject, based on competencies and learning outcomes;

3. Credit transfer refers to a credit conversion established to promote student mobility by ensuring that units earned from different modalities are credited by the institutions;

4. Embedded TVET Qualification in a Ladderized Degree Program refers to the process of determining the TVET competencies or qualifications that lead to job platforms in the relevant higher education or bachelor’s degree program. Full TVET qualification can still be earned even if a student of a ladderized degree program chooses to exit from the program and get a job;

5. Equivalency refers to a process that involves assigning equivalent academic credits to the competencies demonstrated by a student through assessment tests, thereby providing entry points to the next higher level qualification, the purpose of which is to provide opportunities to the student to continue to learn and to re-enter the educational program at a higher level without having to unnecessarily retake courses on which a student has already demonstrated competence and knowledge;

6. Job platform refers to the gateway in the ladderized curriculum which one reaches upon acquiring enough skills and knowledge to seek and find employment;

7. Ladderized education refers to the harmonization of all education and training mechanisms that allow students and workers to progress between technical-vocational and higher education programs, or vice-versa. It opens opportunities for career and educational advancement to students and workers. It creates a seamless and borderless education and training system that will allow transfers in terms of flexible entry and exit between technical-vocational and higher education programs in the post-secondary school educational system;

8. Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) is a national policy which describes the levels of educational qualifications and sets the standards for qualifications outcomes. It is a quality assured national system for the development, recognition and award of qualifications based on standards of knowledge, skills and values acquired in different ways and methods by learners and workers of a certain country;

9. Qualification refers to a formal certification that a person has successfully achieved specific learning outcomes relevant to the identified academic, industry or community requirements; and

10. Recognition of prior learning refers to the acknowledgment of a person’s skills and knowledge through previous training, work or life experience, which may be used to grant status or credit for acquired competencies.