AVRUPA KREDİ TRANSFER SİSTEMİ
EUROPEAN CREDIT TRANSFER SYSTEM (ECTS) (ENG.)
Another activity area supported within the framework of the Socrates-Erasmus, the European Credit Transfer System, constitutes an academic equivalence system with the primary goal of ensuring that the results of courses taken by exchange students in different countries' educational institutions are mutually recognized by the relevant institutions as fairly as possible. The long-term aim of this system is to standardize credit and grading across Europe, thus strengthening the educational dimension of European integration. In this respect, the European Credit Transfer System is described as a globally valid 'common language' in higher education across Europe.
ECTS was developed by the European Union in the late 1980s to facilitate student mobility and guarantee the recognition of the education received abroad by students in their home countries.
•ECTS was initially established under the ERASMUS Program in 1988.
•Following the success of a 6-year pilot implementation, ECTS was integrated into ERASMUS (1995-1999).
•In early 1998, the European Credit Transfer System Guidance Network was established
•Institutions implementing the system are visited by two international ECTS experts to observe the system in action.
•These experts, after identifying successful implementations, evaluate and provide recommendations, ensuring the stable development of the system across all EU institutions.
•Considering that 200,000 students are in circulation each year under the Socrates program, the necessity of ECTS becomes more apparent.
Key Features of ECTS:
•Students studying abroad within the ECTS framework can stay at the host institution not only for a specific period but also until they complete their programs if they wish.
•Students can transfer horizontally to a third higher education institution if they wish.
•Acceptance of such requests, determination of diploma or horizontal transfer conditions, success of the visiting student, are all under the authority of the relevant higher education institutions.
•Institutions apply all courses and exams taken by their own students to guest students without making any changes to the existing course structures and assessment methods.
•The first step for a student deciding to study abroad within the ECTS framework is to determine the higher education institutions that offer the program they are following.
•For this purpose, the Guide (information package) prepared by participating institutions, providing information about the structure of both the institution and the course curriculum, is used.
•Once the host institution is determined, the student fills out the application form and a trilateral agreement (learning agreement) is made between the student, the student's home institution, and the institution abroad to guarantee academic recognition.
•Due to differences in education and grading systems between countries, it is mandatory to use a kind of "common language" in determining the course loads and transferring grades of students.
•For this purpose, ECTS credits are assigned for each course, and the grades received are converted to letter grades using the ECTS grading scale.
What is ECTS Credit?
ECTS credit is a unit that represents all the work a student needs to successfully complete a course (theoretical lessons, practice, seminars, individual study, exams, assignments, etc.).
ECTS is a student-centered system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a program. Learning outcomes and competencies should be stated when explaining the objectives of a program.
Learning Outcomes (LO) = Set of Skills: A list that indicates what the student will know, understand, and be able to do after completing the learning process.
Student Workload: The load given by considering the time required to complete the planned learning activities. This load consists of the total time of attending the course (theoretical lessons), laboratory work, practice, seminar, independent or special study, project preparation, and exam periods.
In ECTS, 60 credits are given for one academic year (two terms), and 30 credits are given for one term (semester). In institutions with a 3-term (trimester) system per academic year, 20 ECTS credits are given for each term.
•In institutions with a three-term system within one academic year, 20 ECTS credits are allocated for each term.
•Students graduate by accumulating a total of 240 ECTS credits over four years of education.
•For the creation of 60 ECTS in one year, 1 ECTS is considered equivalent to 25-30 working hours (assuming a student works 8 hours a day).
•This corresponds to an annual workload of 1500-1800 hours (37.5-45 weeks/year).
•The ideal calculation method involves measuring the total time students spend on any given course.
•Thus, the total workload for each course that students must take in a semester is calculated separately, assuming 30 ECTS (the credit amount for one term), and the ECTS corresponding to each course is determined within the total workload.
•It is crucial to involve students' participation in surveys when calculating the total workload of courses.
•In short, ECTS credits are a number indicating the total study time required to complete one academic year at a higher education institution on a full-time basis, based on the workload associated with each relevant course.
Determining ECTS Credits for Courses
It is mandatory that the total credits for all courses to be taken in one academic year add up to 60.
•The correct approach to assigning ECTS credits: The workload of an average student should be realistically estimated to reach the specified Learning Outcomes (LO) for each course.
•ECTS credits should not be assigned based on the number of course hours. There is no linear relationship between course hours and credits. While a one-hour course may require three hours of independent study, a three-hour seminar may require a week of preparation.
•ECTS credits should not be given based on status or prestige. The prestige of the instructor or the status of the course cannot be used to determine credits.
•When assigning ECTS credits, it is appropriate to first allocate credits to common courses at the university (Foreign Language, History of Revolution, etc.), then to common courses in faculties (Mathematics, etc.), and finally to department courses taught in departments.
Conversion of the 10-point Grading System
Grade | Letter Grade |
10 | AA (Mükemmel) |
9 | BA (Çok İyi) |
8 | BB (İyi) |
7 | CB (Orta) |
6 | CC (Başarılı) |
5 | FD (Başarısız) |
4 | FF (Başarısız) |
3 | FG (Başarısız) Yarıyıl/yılsonu sınavına girmedi |
2 | DZ (Başarısız) Devamsız |
1 | K (Kaldı) |
5-Point Grading System Conversion
Grade | Explanation | Letter Grade |
5 | Excellent | AA |
4 | Good | BA,BB |
3 | Satisfactory | CB |
2 | Passed | CC |
1 | Failed | FD |
ECTS Grade Conversion
Grade | Explanation | Letter Grade |
A | Excellent | AA (Mükemmel) |
B | Very Good | BA (Çok İyi) |
C | Good | BB (İyi) |
D | Satisfactory | CB (Orta) |
E | Sufficient | CC (Başarılı) |
FX | Fail | FD (Başarısız) |
F | Fail | FF (Başarısız) |
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