Which Countries Accept Ects Credit Points
The ECTS credit system is used by universities in all 48 member countries of the European Higher Education Area, or EHEA.
The aim of the EHEA is to implement the Bologna Process and to join, states must ratify the European Cultural Convention treaty.
Some other universities outside the EHEA may accept ECTS credits on applications, but they usually will have to translate those credits and grades into their own structure – and will not automatically provide ECTS grades for graduates.
Patrick is an expert on international education. He studied American Studies and Journalism in the UK and the USA. His work has been published in, among others, the London Evening Standard, Euronews, and the PIE News.
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How Do Ects Credits Convert To Study Hours
A year of full-time studies at university level is generally worth 60 ECTS credits, and defined as equal to 1,500 – 1,800 hours of study work. This means 1 ECTS is equal to between 25 to 30 hours . The exact number of hours is different from country to country. A few examples:
- United Kingdom: 60 ECTS = 1,200 study hours 1 ECTS = 20 study hours
- Austria, Ireland, Italy, Malta: 60 ECTS = 1,500 study hours 1 ECTS = 25 study hours
- Finland, Lithuania, Sweden: 60 ECTS = 1,600 study hours 1 ECTS = 27 study hours
- Netherlands, Portugal: 60 ECTS = 1,680 study hours 1 ECTS = 28 study hours
- Germany: 60 ECTS = 1,800 study hours 1 ECTS = 30 study hours
Of course, these values are just a guide. They do not only include contact hours , but also the time you prepare, do homework and so on – so your individual study times could be different.
If you study part-time, the number of ECTS per semester or year will also be lower, reflecting the reduced workload.
If you are only signing up for 20 ECTS worth of lectures in a given semester, you will probably have lots of free time, while more than 30 ECTS will mean you might not see much of your friends.
Evaluating Credits By Logging Hours
Not using a standard textbook as a courses main resource? Maybe you are creating your own course materials or pulling together materials from a variety of sources? Lots of parents do this, especially for electives!
Or perhaps you are using an integrated curriculum that pulls from many different resourcessuch as real books, websites, articles, and primary source documentsto cover several subject areas at once?
Logging hours is a good method to determine the actual high school credit earned in each subject area.
For such courses, you can determine credit by keeping track of the reasonable time your student spends on the course work. For a core course , you will want your teen to log at least 150 hours for 1.0 credit . Logging more than 150 hours does not earn a student more credit; it simply indicates that the threshold of 150 hours has been passed.
For;honors courses;and;Advanced Placement courses, students will log far more than the 150 hours. Generally, honors courses require 810 hours per week for 30+ weeks, and AP courses require 1015 hours per week for 30+ weeks. Even though honors and AP courses demand more hours than a standard high school course, they do not earn more credit when students spend more than 150 hours completing them. Instead, there are GPA rewards to taking these more challenging courses.
For a lab science course, log a minimum of 180 hours; the additional 30+ hours are for required lab work.
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Converting College Credit To High School Credit
Students who take college-level courses while still in high school can simultaneously earn both college and high school credit.;Most states call this dual enrollment .
If your teen completes a 3- to 5-credit college course in one college session , we recommend converting this course to a 1.0 credit high school course on your teens high school transcript.;
There are a few exceptions to this;college-to-high-school credit conversion factor.; And of course as the administrator of your homeschool, you are free to determine how you wish to convert college course credit into high school credit!;
However, most high schools around the country use the conversion outlined above, and we recommend it.
Now that you know how to determine high school course credit, you can go deeper on four-year planning, choosing curriculum, grading, recordkeeping, or transcriptsjust check out the posts below!
How Do Ects Credits Work
ECTS credit points indicate the workload associated with a study module, or number of modules. The great thing about ECTS credits is their versatility: They are used by and accepted by effectively all European universities – and also by many other institutions around the world.
There are three main uses of ECTS:
There are various reasons why youd want to change universities. Perhaps your first university is not quite what you were looking for, or perhaps you want to switch to a subject not offered at your institution. The ECTS framework make this easy, because the credit points show institutions exactly how far someone has got in their studies. This way, you wont have to start over completely.
This means students can more easily transfer between European universities. But its not limited to Europe – some other institutions do accept ECTS credits, because they are uniformed and easy to transfer. For example, 10 ECTS credits are usually equal to 5 US college credits. This way, students coming to Europe just for e.g. a summer school course can still use the credits at home.
This also means that if you plan to pursue further studies, you are not restricted to universities in the same country as the institution where you completed your Bachelors degree.
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How Do You Calculate College Credit Hours
College credit hours are calculated based on the time students spend in class and studying. One credit hour usually represents three total hours of work per week over a 15-week semester, with one of those three hours consisting of direct classroom instruction and the remaining hours consisting of individual study.
To illustrate the concept of credit hours, consider the example of Cornell University. At Cornell, full-time students typically complete 15 course credits per semester, representing approximately 15 hours of classroom time and 30 hours of individual study time per week.
Some college courses do not lend themselves to the traditional mix of one weekly hour of class time and two weekly hours of study time per credit hour. Laboratory courses, internships and other relevant academic activities may also play into the number of credit hours assigned to certain courses like physical science labs and research seminars.
Are Credit Hours Transferable
Many factors can impact whether a students credits will transferthe question of which credits can transfer and how many depends on the chosen college or university.
If a student is looking to transfer to a new college or university, whether from a community college or a different 4-year college or university, it is crucial to utilize all available resources. While sometimes tedious, transferring credits is worth the extra step as it can save students time and money down the road.
A great place to start is on a college or universitys website. Colleges and universities tend to have valuable information and resources there. For instance, to ensure a smooth process to see how courses will transfer from Illinois colleges and universities, North Central College provides Transferology, as well as Transfer Guides on its website. These documents share insight into which courses meet North Central Colleges requirements in the core curriculum and academic majors and minors.
Additionally, North Central College recommends reaching out to a transfer admission counselor and viewing their transfer credit policy if students have additional questions. Here, students can add more in-depth inquiries such as what grades are needed for a credit to be transferred and the maximum amount of credit hours that can be applied.
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Dsst Exams For College Credit
In addition to CLEP exams, students can earn college credit by taking DSST exams. This program was originally created to grant credit for military experience, but today any student can take DSST exams.
Test takers can take DSST exams in 37 subjects, such as business mathematics, computing and information technology, human resource management, and personal finance. Other testing areas include mathematics, humanities, technology, and education.
DSST exams cost $100 per test. Over 1,500 colleges award credit for DSST scores. Prospective test takers can search the institutions that accept DSST for credit.
How Many Credits Do I Need For A Bachelors Degree
The simple answer: you must complete 120 college credits to earn a bachelors degree. Thats about 40 classes, which most people assume you can complete in 4 years.
But its more complicated than that.
You cant just register for 40 random courses and expect to walk away with a bachelors degree. The kinds of credit you take is very important. Thats what enables you to actually qualify for graduation. And thats what well be talking about in this post.
Lets start with the basics.
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What Is The Relationship Between Contact Course And Credit Hours
The relationship between the different terminologies are :
Contact and Credit hours
Students usually receive credit hours according to the number of contact hours they spend per week in class.
Course and Credit hours
A course hour is typically measured as per the number of credit hours. As per the amount of work given and instruction hours, a course is given certain credit. A basic course in an undergraduate degree would be 1 or 2 Credit. As you go higher it would increase to 3 or 4 Credit.
Graduation Requirements By Level
Requirements for Bachelors Degree
- All General Academic Requirements must be fulfilled.
- Minimum of 120 earned graduation credit hours.
- A cumulative average of not less than 2.00, based on the total number of credits;attempted at Wilkes University.;
- All other items as stated in the undergraduate bulletin:
Requirements for graduate level degree
- All General Academic Requirements must be fulfilled.
- Minimum of 30 earned graduation credit hours, depending upon the program. Some programs require more.
- A cumulative average of not less than 3.00, based on the total number of credits;attempted at Wilkes University. Some programs may require a higher GPA.
- All other items as stated in the graduate bulletin: and within the appropriate program section.
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What Are Credit Hours
To reiterate, credit hours refer are the number of hours you spend in a classroom every week. Thats the short, simple explanation of what credit hours are but its not as straightforward as it seems. Understanding how they are calculated and how they affect your degree is a bit more complicated.
To understand credit hours, you need to first understand contact hours. The number of contact hours you complete will determine the number of credit hours you earn for your program.
First The Big Picture: What You Should Know About High School Credits
When youre creating your teens high school plan, youll want to determine the total credits your student should earn in 9th12th grade, as well as the credit totals in each subject area. This will equip you to plan coursework that meets these totals, and it will help you and your student stay on track through all four years of high school.
Later, youll record on your teens transcript the credits for each completed courseallowing colleges, universities, trade schools, military recruiters, and employers to see at a glance what subjects your student has taken and how deeply they studied each subject.
- In California and Nebraska, a one-year course receives 10.0 credits and a semester course 5.0 credits.
- In New Jersey, a one-year course receives 5.0 credits and a semester course 2.5 credits.
- In Idaho and Indiana, a one-year course receives 2.0 credits and a semester course 1.0 credit.
Are you homeschooling in any one of those five states? If so, you can either follow the public schools lead to determine credits or use the 1.0 and 0.5 system employed in most states. Once you choose a credit system, however, youll need to consistently use the same system through all four years of high school.
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No 2 The Academic Portfolio Option
Some people express themselves better in written form, via papers and essays, than they do on multiple-choice tests. If this sounds like you, consider earning credits for experience by putting together a written academic portfolio.
You might be a good candidate for college credit for work experience through the academic portfolio process if:
- Challenge exams are not offered in your area of expertise
- You enjoy writing papers and reports
- What you know represents applied knowledge, rather than textbook theory
- You have productssuch as artwork, certificates, business plans, articles, software, videos or written reportswhich attest to your competency in selected subject areas.
Colleges that accept portfolios for review often require learners to enroll in a course to learn how to put together an academic portfolio. Your work experience, volunteer experience, and life experience can be organized and presented so you get the credit you deserve.
Learners in the distance learning program at Ohio University, for example, must complete the Life and Career Experiences Analysis course to learn how to compile a portfolio. The homework for this course involves working with an advisor to identify and document college-level knowledge for degree credit.
This course allows you to submit your previous experience; transfer credits from other schools, military experience, professional certifications or create a life learning portfolio demonstrating your experienceall for credit.
Colleges That Have Semesters
The majority of colleges in the USA operate on two 15-week semesters per year; one in the fall and one in the spring. This makes the math extremely simple as . Each course can vary in credit hours, however youll find the majority of courses are 3 credit hours each.
When speaking about a 3 credit hour course, you may find that the course meets 3 times a week for 50 minutes, or 2 times a week for 75 minutes. This is typical and is still considered 3 full credit hours. The 30 minute shortage per week is to account for transition between classes for both professors and students.
Scenario: Its the first semester of your freshmen year and youll be taking 12 credit hours. Given what we learned above, 12 credit hours is the same as 180 contact hours . Given this is a normal 15 week semester, we can expect that the student will be in class for 12 hours per week .
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Calculate Tuition Fees Based On Credit Hours
Now, to find the tuition fees, all you need to know the total credit hours required to complete your degree.
Most Department webpage will list the total number of credit hours required to meet the Degree Requirements for B.S, M.S., and Ph.D.
Once you find that total credit hours, you can navigate to the Tuition Fees Page of the University to estimate your total tuition fees.
Total Tuition Fee = Total Credit Hours Enrolled per Semester + Other Fees
Note: In addition to fees per credit hours, there are other fees, which varies from college to college. The cost of Health Insurance is probably the largest of them all.
This additional fee may add up to a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars. Heres to name a few fees.
- Insurance Fee
- Lab Fees
- Books
Here is an example of total tuition fees based on a total of 30 Credits Per Year from The University of South Dakota.
Whats A Semester Hour And When Is This Term Used
Semester hours refers to the total number of credit hours you are enrolled in and/or have completed during a semester. If you are a full-time student, you would likely need to have a minimum of 12-15 total credit hours for the semester to maintain your full-time status.
Make sure you work with your academic advisor to confirm your schools specific qualifying status for full-time enrollment, as this could change from school to school. You may also need to know it for financial aid and insurance purposes.
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How Many College Credit Hours To Take Per Semester
The average number of credit hours taken per semester is typically 15 for a bachelors degree. This is popular among students as this allows for four years of college at 30 hours per year, allowing for each year to coincide with a new academic standing . This also aligns with 120 hours upon completion of Senior year.
When determining how many credit hours to take, its also important to consider the amount of studying required outside of class. The old-school rule is that a student should study two hours a week, outside of class, for each credit hour enrolled. For a student taking 15 credit hours, this indicates they should spend 30 hours studying, or a total of 45 hours per week focusing on class and studies. The amount doesnt sound too far fetched considering the average American works close to the same. However, this will differ on a week-by-week basis. You may spend 2 hours on a class one week for a quick homework assignment, and 16 hours on it the next week preparing for an exam.
Universities typically put in a cap on the number of credit hours that you can take per semester. The maximum you can usually take is somewhere between 18-20 per semester. This is to ensure that you have appropriate time to study, prioritize, and still have a life outside of class and studying.
Taking 15 hours per semester is the recommended approach, however sometimes its easier said than done. Here are a couple reasons why people take more or less than 15 hours per semester: