Recognition, Validation and Accreditation (RVA) of all forms of learning outcomes is a practice that makes visible and values the full range of competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) that individuals have obtained in various contexts, and through various means in different phases of their lives.
- Recognition is a process of granting official status to learning outcomes and/or competence, which can lead to the acknowledgement of their value in society.
- Validation is the confirmation by an officially approved body that learning outcomes or competences required by an individual have been assessed against reference points or standards through pre-defined assessment methodologies.
- Accreditation is a process by which an officially approved body, on the basis of assessment of learning outcomes and/or competences according to different purposes and methods, awards qualifications (certificates, diplomas or titles), or grants equivalences, credit units or exemptions, or issues documents such as portfolios of competences. In some cases, the term accreditation applies to the evaluation of the quality of an institution or a programme as a whole.