4 ECTS- a Common Language of Academic Recognition within the EU

ECTS, The European Credit Transfer System, was developed by the Commission of the European Communities in order to provide common procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements, and transferring them from one institution to another. This achievement through the use of a common ECTS credit unit and a common ECTS grading scale. ECTS also improves access to information on foreign curricula. ECTS makes use of two important documents: the information package, which provides general information on the host institution, as well as detailed descriptions of the Degree Programmes and courses available; and the transcript of records, which shows the learning achievements of the student prior to and after the period of study abroad. The transcript records every course taken by the student and includes the number of ECTS credits completed, as well as the grade awarded according to the local grading scale and the ECTS grading scale.

4.1 ECTS Credits

ECTS credits are assigned to course units to describe the student workload to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required to complete a full year of academic study at the institution, that is, lectures, practical placements, seminars, independent work, examinations or other assessments.

4.2 The ECTS Grading Scale

Examination and assessment results are usually expressed in grades. There are many different grading systems in Europe. To help institutions interpret the grades awarded to ECTS students, the ECTS grading scale was developed by the institutions participating in the pilot scheme. The ECTS grade provides additional information on the student's performance to that provided by the institution's grade, but does not replace the local grade. ECTS grades: A excellent B very good C good D satisfactory E sufficient F/FX fail

4.3 ECTS Students

The students participating in Exchange Programmes involving ECTS will receive full credit for all academic work successfully carried out at any of the ECTS partner institutions and will be able to transfer these academic credits 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 institution 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. Most students participating in ECTS will go to one single host institution, study there for a limited period and then return to their home institution. Some may decide to stay at the host institution, possible to gain a degree. Some may also decide to proceed to a third institution to continue their studies. In each of these three cases, students will be required to comply with the legal and institutional requirements of the country and institution where they take their degree. Students selected by each institution to participate in Socrates/Erasmus Exchange Programme may only be awarded a student mobility grant, if they fulfil the general conditions of eligibility for the ERASMUS grant. These are:  The students must be citizens of one of the EU Member States or citizens of one of the EFTA countries or citizens of one of the Associated Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) or Cyprus, Turkey or Malta. As to EFTA nationals, students will be eligible provided they are moving within the framework of Erasmus from the respective EFTA home country to an EU Member State. EFTA nationals registered as students in ECTS participating institutions in other EFTA countries or in Community Member States are only eligible for participation in ECTS, if they have established a right of permanent residence.  The students shall not be required to pay tuition fees at the host institution. The student may, however, be required to continue to pay his/her normal tuition fees to the home institutions during the study period abroad.  The national grant/load to which a student may be entitled for study at his/her institution may not be discontinued, interrupted or reduced while that student is studying in another Member State and is receiving an ERASMUS grant.  One study period abroad should not last less than three months or more than twelve months; students in the first year of their studies are not eligible to receive ERASMUS grants.

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