European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits are a standard means for comparing the "volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload" for higher education across the European Union and other collaborating European countries. For successfully completed studies, ECTS credits are awarded. One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits that are normally equivalent to 1500–1800 hours of total workload, irrespective of standard or qualification type. ECTS credits are used to facilitate transfer and progression throughout the Union. ECTS also includes a standard grading scale, intended to be shown in addition to local (i.e. national) standard grades:
|Country||Credit points per year||Hours per credit point||Credit point name|
|European Union (EU)||60||25-30||ECTS credits|
|EU Member States|
|Austria||60||25||ECTS (also ECTS-Punkte, ECTS credits)|
|Belgium||60||25-30||ECTS (also studiepunten, ECTS)|
|England, Wales and Northern Ireland||120||10||Credits (Open University – points). Two England/Wales/Northern Ireland credits are equivalent to one ECTS credit.|
|Estonia||60||26||ainepunkt (EAP). Currently because many students are still used to the older system the longer name 'euroopa ainepunkt' is more often used for clarity's sake|
|Finland||60||27||opintopiste (op) / studiepoäng (Swedish)|
|Germany||60||25-30||ECTS, Leistungspunkte (LP), Kreditpunkte (KP), Credit Points (CP) or Credits|
|Greece||60||30||ECTS, Credit Points (CP), Μονάδες Φόρτου Εργασίας (Διδακτικές Μονάδες - Δ.Μ) or Credits|
|Italy||60||25||crediti formativi universitari (CFU)|
|Latvia||60||30||ECTS kredītpunkts (equals 1.5 "Latvian" credit points - kredītpunkts (KP))|
|Lithuania||60||~28||kreditai; ECTS kreditai|
|Netherlands||60||28||studiepunten (ECTS or EC)|
|Poland||60||25-30||punkty ECTS, eceteesy|
|Scotland||120||10||SCQF credit points (2 SCQF points equal 1 ECTS point)|
|Sweden||60||26.667||högskolepoäng (Used from July 2007)|
|EFTA Member States|
|Other European Countries|
|Bosnia and Herzegovina||60||25||ECTS bodovi|
|Serbia||60||30||ЕСПБ бодови / ESPB bodovi|
|Turkey||60||25-30||AKTS - kredi|
(*) Note: some Bulgarian universities have put a lesser standard for their students, although there is a particular ordinance by the Ministry of Education and Science. In such universities the hours per credit are ≈13, but this does not include the hours spent on self-study. Moreover, an "academic hour" in a Bulgarian educational institution is 45 minutes long.
- European Commission ECTS information
- European Commission ECTS Users' Guide
- The Official Bologna Process - European Higher Education Area Website 2010-2020
- Erasmus+ website of the European Commission
- European Commission ECVET information
- Systemy Akumulacji i Transferu Osiągnięć Na Przykładzie ECTS I ECVET
- "ECTS Users' Guide" (PDF). Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. p. 10.
- EUROPA - Education and Training - Socrates programme - ECTS - European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
- typical values which can vary between national systems, "academic year" is normative
- "Erasmus Mundus credits" (PDF). University of Salford. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- "Higher education credit framework for England: guidance on academic credit arrangements in higher education in England". Quality Assurance Agency. August 2008.
- "Credit point system". Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "Law of Higher education (in Latvian)". 1 January 1995. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "SCQF Credit Points". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- (PDF) http://scqf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/European-Developments-Explained-FINAL-web-version-April-2012.pdf. Retrieved 8 January 2016. Missing or empty
- "Ordinance 21/30 September 2004 for Application of Credit Transfer and Accumulation System in Higher education institutions, Ministry of education and science, Bulgaria, page 2". Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- "Academic calendar, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Sofia University". Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- "Sofia University - Business Administration (English) - Curriculum". Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- Higher Education Act - Bulgaria, page 12, Promulgated by State Gazette No. 112, December 1995.