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Philippines offers a fascinating alternative to traditional education known as the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation/ETEEAP. This is an educational assessment strategy under the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) that recognizes knowledge, skills, and prior learning through formal, non-formal, and informal training. This comprehensive educational assessment program recognizes and provides equivalencies for knowledge, experiences, achievements, and skills obtained by academic and non-academic work.
Specific higher education institutions in the Philippines are deputized by CHED to offer some select programs through ETEEAP, which is also locally known as prior or adult learning. Higher education institutions must first apply to be able to offer specific programs through ETEEAP, and they must already offer the program(s) through traditional means.
Each higher education institution (HEI) is required to meet certain criteria in order to apply for their program to be deputized: the HEI must be a Center of Excellence or a Center of Development in the program they propose to offer via ETEEAP; the HEI must have autonomous status; the HEI must be accredited at level II by any CHED-approved agency; and the HEI should be in Category A from the CHED Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation Process (CHED IQuAME).
The ETEEAP program has been available since May 1996 via presidential executive order but is now enshrined into law since March 2025. The precursor to ETEEAP was the Alternative Learning System (ALS), which was established in 1987 as an alternative to complete basic education for those who left the formal education system before they were able to graduate from elementary or secondary school.
Both the ALS and ETEEAP programs were created to offer Filipinos the opportunity to complete education through non-traditional means. ALS was created as a parallel learning system for finishing elementary and secondary education, initially K to 10, and now K to 12. ETEEAP was implemented to offer alternative routes to earning higher education degrees for working adults.
ETEEAP is administered by CHED through deputized and qualified higher education institutions that apply to offer specific degree programs through this method. This is the Philippine's primary Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) equivalency program to bridge the gap between professional experience and academic achievement, though the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system also offers RPL that is beyond the scope of this blog post.
Currently, there are approximately 100 public and private higher education institutions deputized to offer more than 350 accredited programs through ETEEAP. Education, medical, and business-related fields are the most common programs offered, though nursing, engineering, psychology, and other fields are available as well.
Some higher education institutions are deputized to offer only one Bachelor degree program via ETEEAP while others may offer a dozen. While ETEEAP’s policy includes graduate degrees, only Bachelor degree programs appear on CHED’s most recent list of Deputized Higher Education Institutions and their approved programs from December 2023.
Bachelor degrees awarded through ETEEAP are legally equivalent to Bachelor degrees in the same field at the same institution, but no information is available about their acceptance into post-graduate degree programs at Philippines universities. ETEEAP is specifically advertised as career enhancement by CHED and many higher education institutions.
ETEEAP was created specifically to allow working adults age 25 and older more routes to earn an accredited Bachelor's and Master's degree from a recognized university. Students must have completed high school or the Philippine Educational Placement Test and show proof of employment for at least five years in the field or industry related to the academic program for which they are trying to obtain an equivalent degree.
Via the ETEEAP program, adults who have completed at least five years of work experience cans use the skills they learned on their jobs to earn school credits that are applied to a degree program. The more professional experience an ETEEAP student demonstrates, the sooner they can earn their Bachelor's degree, usually within only 1-2 semesters at the degree-awarding institution. ETEEAP programs do not follow schedules of traditional undergraduate programs; they are completed via personalized and individualized delivery outside of regular class schedules. Students only need to attend regular classes if they request refresher or enrichment programs or are required to do so.
Bachelor degree programs in the Philippines through traditional coursework typically require 4-5 years of full-time study and approximately 120-200 institutional credits for a 4-year Bachelor, depending on the time period and program. In addition, most institutions also require minimum residency of full-time enrollment for the final year (or two) at the degree-granting institution. Master's degrees normally require 2-3 years may be completed within 2-3 semesters.
Through ETEEAP, students must still meet the minimum credits to earn the degree, but the method of earning them differs. ETEEAP students are awarded credits for their work experience and other non-traditional training when they apply for the equivalency program. ETEEAP student's professional experiences, training, awards, and achievements that are considered relevant are used in exchange for academic credits known as Classroom Learning Credits (CLC). The deputized higher education institution has an Academic Review Board (ARB) that determines how a student's prior experiential learning and work experience can be applied to a specific degree program.
Students apply to the ETEEAP program and complete a comprehensive ETEEAP application form and submit an application fee and supporting documents to the HEI, whose ETEEAP panels of assessors review the student's competency towards the degree programs based on the student's portfolio or documentation of work experience and training. Honors and awards, from academic institutions, community and civic organizations, or work-related citations may also be considered. Many HEIs also require a personal essay and interview.
Academic course equivalencies may be recommended on the basis of the student's participation as a a speaker, organizer, or attendee of seminars, training, or conferences or membership in various organizations. Other methods for crediting coursework include non-formal education such as short courses, skills development training, or online classes, or informal education such as educational radio or television programs, online information, and articles or books read related to the applied course. Extension, outreach, and civic activities may lead to credited courses through community involvement.
Published works, personal research, creative works, and running a business may also lead to learning skills that are credited towards degree coursework. Lifelong learning experiences, such as hobbies and leisure activities, volunteer work, and travel, may also be eligible for academic equivalency through the ETEEAP assessment. There is no standard minimum time or skill requirement for any of these options.
A student's employment record, position or designation, and duties and responsibilities often contribute greatly to the ETEEAP equivalency assessment since their industry experience weighs so heavily. The student details the learning they acquired through specific job tasks with supporting documentation, and the competency assessors apply that to specific courses.
Career enhancement courses, certificates, leadership programs, and work experiences may be applied to a wide array of academic coursework. Equivalencies may also be granted for vocational National Certificates or Certificates of Competency issued by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which further extends their ladderized system.
The Philippines also introduced a Ladderized Education Program (LEP), which allows students in technical-vocational training courses to complete different tiers of education. This methodology allows students to enter and exit the country's educational system while learning the skills and competencies to reach successively higher jobs. Ladderized education allows learners to progress between technical-vocational education and academic study. In a ladderized education program, students begin with technical-vocational courses that are creditable towards a college or university diploma or degree.
If needed, when conducting the student’s ETEEAP equivalency assessment, the HEI may recommend a different program based on the student's experience if they feel a different major would be a better fit for the student’s background. Of course, this major must also be approved by the institution to offer via the ETEEAP program.
Upon approval of the competency evaluation, the student complies with any enrichment courses or learning packages required by the university. The coursework required at the university is usually offered as alternative learning nodes/modular sessions administered by assigned faculty to fulfill competency standards. Students enrolled via ETEEAP typically do not register for traditional classes. This allows the student to complete sometimes huge numbers of course credits in only 1-2 semesters.
The student’s transcript typically does not make it clear how the student was awarded grades and credits for the subjects listed under the ETEEAP heading on the transcript. There is no standard process for how HEIs should report them, so it depends on the institution’s own policy. While the transcript will typically indicate “ETEEAP” or “Accreditation and Equivalency,” each transcript handles it differently.
Some transcripts do specify that a particular subject was credited on the basis of certain named activities, most transcripts simply report the subjects and grades, usually within only one or two semesters. The transcripts usually report it similarly to how students enrolled in traditional coursework would earn grades and credits, but the small statement of ETEEAP or the sheer number of courses under a single semester makes it clear this is not the norm.
While some HEIs award only Pass grades for coursework obtained via ETEEAP, most HEIs assign a standard grade on that institution’s grading scale. Unfortunately, t is unclear if the grades are assigned due to ETEEAP assessment, ETEEAP comprehensive examinations, written assessment, competency interviews, oral exams, enrichment courses, accelerated ETEEAP coursework, placement or assessment examinations, oral review, or other mechanisms.
In most cases, no mention of ETEEAP is listed on the degree certificate, only the transcripts themselves. This makes it imperative to require the transcripts, even for general degree equivalency evaluations, for those students who obtained degrees from deputized HEIs.
While a graduate from an ETEEAP program has been awarded a degree from accredited program from a recognized, degree-granting university, very little of the program may be awarded through completion of traditional academic coursework. Instead, the degree is earned through a combination of possible transfer credit, traditional coursework, experiential learning, lifelong learning, and work experience.
Resources:
An Act Institutionalizing the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program and Appropriating Funds Therefor. Official Gazette, Congress of the Philippines, 2025. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2025/03/03/republic-act-no-12124/
Alternative Learning System, Department of Education. https://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/inclusive-education/about-alternative-learning-system/ and https://www.deped.gov.ph/about-als/
Assessment and Certificate: The Key to Credit Transfer System. Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority, 3rd Edition. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pathways-and-Equivalency_3rd-ed.pdf
Case Study: Recognizing Life and Workplace Skills through the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP). UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2023. https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/articles/case-study-recognizing-life-and-workplace-skills-through-expanded-tertiary-education-equivalency-and
Citizen's Charter, 3rd Edition. Commission on Higher Education, 2023. https://chedro3.ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CHED-Citizen_s-Charter_Brochure.pdf
Deputized Higher Education Institutions as of December 2023. Commission of Higher Education. https://ched.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/ETEEAP-HEIs-as-of-Dec-18-2023-1.pdf?appgw_azwaf_jsc=ak0RmhsxL7JhrT8Gy090YPePljxkt0xfgy6YmpGz-vo
ETEEAP Philippines: https://eteeap.org/ and https://eteeap.org/what/ and https://eteeap.org/dhei-2022/ and https://eteeap.org/appform/ and https://eteeap.org/resources/ched/CMO-No-29-S-2021.pdf and https://eteeap.org/eteeap-and-als/
ETEEAP or Expanded Tertiary Education, Equivalency and Accreditation program. Philippines Information Agency, 2025. https://pia.gov.ph/eteeap-or-expanded-tertiary-education-equivalency-and-accreditation-program/
The Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP): A Pathway for Professional Degree Completion. International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability and Excellence, Volume 2, Issue 3, 2025. https://risejournals.org/index.php/imjrise/article/download/989/1339/2969
Global Perspectives on Recognizing Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Why Recognition Matters. UNESCO/Springer Open, 2015.
Implementing Guidelines on the Recognition of Prior Learning in TVET (RPL-TVET). Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, 2021. https://intranet.tesda.gov.ph/RMIS_images/TESDA%20Circular%20No.%20090-2021%20.pdf
New Law Institutionalizes ETEEAP, Recognizes Work Experience to Get College Degree. EDCom2: the Second Congressional Commission on Education, 2025. https://edcom2.gov.ph/new-law-institutionalizes-eteeap-recognizes-work-experience-to-get-college-degree/
The Philippine Education and Training System: Overview of Philippine Education. Philippine Qualifications Framework. https://pqf.gov.ph/Home/Details/16
Programs and Projects: Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation (ETEEAP). Commission of Higher Education. https://ched.gov.ph/programs-and-projects/?appgw_azwaf_jsc=tXu77Pzg7PHfVTdsopAOr4xJm4PuoD58We5AWGZtxpc
Recognition, Validation and Accreditation in Philippines. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2023. https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/articles/recognition-validation-and-accreditation-philippines