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ECTS – A common language for academic recognition

The European Community promotes study abroad as a means of improving the quality of academic co-operation, thus bringing benefits to students and higher education institutions. ECTS is a part of the larger reconstruction of the education systems within Europe. The European Commission has developed a European Credit and Accumulation Transfer System (ECTS), which provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements, and transferring them from one institute to another.
The ECTS guarantees full academic recognition and ensures that no time will be lost in completing a degree. This is achieved through the use of a common ECTS credit and a common ECTS grading scale. Already more than 1 200 institutions are using the ECTS for their student exchanges. The few rules of ECTS, concerning Information (on courses available), Agreement (between the home and host institutions) and the Use of ECTS Credits (to indicate student workload) are set out to reinforce this mutual trust and confidence. VAMK is using the ECTS system within all its education.

ECTS documents

ECTS makes use of three important documents:
1) The information package, which provides general information on the host institution as well as detailed descriptions of the degree programmes and courses available.
2) The application form and learning agreement, which in addition to providing personal data on the student describes the study programme and the ECTS credits to be awarded after successful completion.
3) The transcript of records, which shows the learning achievements of the student, both prior to and after the period of study abroad. The transcript indicates all courses taken by the student, the number of ECTS credits completed and the grades awarded to the student.

Benefits of ECTS

For the student the ECTS guarantees academic recognition of studies abroad and enables access to regular courses alongside local students, with the benefit of full participation in the academic life of the host institution. ECTS enables further studies abroad. For the higher education institutions ECTS improves access to information on foreign curricula and provides common procedures for academic recognition. The use of ECTS can also be a catalyst for reflection on course curriculum structures, student workload and learning outcomes. With ECTS the higher education institutions preserve their autonomy and responsibility for all decisions concerning the achievements of the student without amending existing course structures and assessment methods.

ECTS Credits

ECTS Credits are a numerical value allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required in order to complete a full year of academic study at the institution. This includes the lectures, practical work, assignments, seminars, self-study, laboratory work, and exams or other assessment activities.
In ECTS, 60 credits represent the workload of one year of study; normally 30 credits are given for six months (a semester) and 20 credits for a term (a trimester).
Practical placement, thesis work and optional courses, which form an integral part of the course of study, also receive ECTS credits. Non-credit courses can only be mentioned in the transcript of records. ECTS credits are allocated to courses and are awarded to students who successfully complete the courses by passing the exams or other forms of assessment.

The ECTS Grading Scale

Examination and assessment results are usually expressed in grades. There are many different grading systems in Europe. The ECTS grading scale has been developed to help the institutions interpret the grades awarded to exchange students. The ECTS grade provides information on the student’s performance in addition to that provided by the institution’s grade, but does not replace the additional grade.
The following chart describes the dual use of the ECTS grading system.

Finnish Scale	ECTS Scale
5  (4,2-5,0)	A  Excellent
4  (3,4-4,1)	B  Very good
3  (2,6-3,3)	C  Good
2  (1,8-2,5)	D  Satisfactory
1  (1,0-1,7)	E  Sufficient
0	FX  Fail
HYL	F  Fail