Bologna Process Tools
ECTS credits
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a Bologna process tool for making studies and courses more transparent and easier to transfer thus helping to enhance the quality of higher education.
ECTS credits express the volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.
60 ECTS credits are allocated to the learning outcomes and associated workload of a full-time academic year.
Workload is an estimation of the time needed to complete all learning activities such as lectures, seminars, projects, practical work, work placements and individual study required to achieve the defined learning outcomes in formal learning environments.
Normally, a full-time academic year workload ranges from 1,500 to 1,800 hrs, which means that one credit corresponds to 25 to 30 hours of work.
Allocation of ECTS credits is the process of assigning a number of credits to qualifications, degree programmes or single educational components.
Credits are allocated to educational components, such as:
- course units
- dissertations
- work-based learning
- work placements
Credits are allocated according to the estimated workload required to achieve the defined learning outcomes for each component.
60 ECTS credits per full-time academic
Awarding credits in ECTS is the act of formally granting students the credits after they have completed the required learning activities and achieved the defined learning outcomes, as evidenced by appropriate assessment.
Accumulation of credits in ECTS is the process of collecting credits awarded for achieving the learning outcomes of educational components. A student can accumulate credits in order to:
- obtain qualifications
- document personal achievements for lifelong learning purposes.
Transfer of credits is the process of having credits awarded in one context (programme, institution) recognised in another formal context for the purpose of obtaining a qualification.
ECTS Course Catalogue
ECTS Grading Table
ESG
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) promote a shared understanding of quality assurance in learning and teaching across countries and stakeholders. They have significantly influenced—and will continue to shape—the development of national and institutional quality assurance systems.
Institutions and quality assurance agencies use the ESG as a foundational reference for both internal and external quality assurance processes in higher education. Additionally, the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) which is responsible for the register of quality assurance agencies that comply with the ESG.
The ESG primarily address quality assurance in learning and teaching, including the learning environment and its connections to research and innovation. ESG also acknowledge that institutions should maintain policies and procedures to uphold the quality of other core activities, such as research and governance.
Download the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)