European Credit Transfer System - ECTS

ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) was developed n order to provide inform procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements an transferring them from one institution to another. ECTS credits reflect the quantity of work required to complete a full year of academic studies at the institution that is lectures, practical work, participation in seminars, individual work in the library and at home, and examinations or other assessment activities. ECTS is based on the principle that 60 credits measure the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. The 60 ECTS credits amount to around 1500-1800 hours of workload per academic year, thus one credit corresponds to around 25 to 30 working hours.

Recognition of ECTS credits are obligatory in the case of agreed student mobility when there is a prior Learning Agreement. The ECTS Transcripts of Records and the Diploma Supplement facilitate recognition of ECTS transfer. ECTS credits are awarded upon successful completion of the work required and appropriate assessment of the learning outcomes achieved. Only the courses listed in the Learning Agreement between host/home institutions and the students are recognized for the ECTS transfer.

The ECTS system is based on the principle of mutual trust and confidence between the participating higher education institutions. The few rules of ECTS, concerning Information (on curses available), Agreement (between the home and host institutions) and the Use of Credit Points (to indicate student workload) are set out to reinforce this mutual trust and confidence. Each ECTS institution will describe the courses it offers not only in terms of content but also adding credits to each course.

Students participating in ECTS will receive full credit for all academic work successfully carried out at any of the ECTS partner institutions and they will be able to transfer these academic credit from one participating institution to another on the basis of prior agreement on the content of study programmes abroad between students and the institutions involved.

When the student has successfully completed the study programme previously agreed between the home and the host institutions and returns to the home institution, credit transfer will take place, and the student will continue the study course at the home institution without any loss of time or credit.