Welcome to the Black Forest! - Hochschule Furtwangen

1.2 ECTS – European Credit Transfer System
ECTS, the European Credit Transfer System (European system for the transfer
and recognition of academic course credit) was introduced by the European
Commission to help foster the mobility of students within Europe. One of the
greatest obstacles to international student mobility was the insufficient
recognition of course credit earned at foreign universities.
The purpose of the ECTS is to help interpret such course credit. A system of
credit points was developed to measure the work load required of a student in a
particular academic course.
The work load of one academic year equals 60 ECTS credit points. The work
required of a full time student in one semester amounts to 30 credits. ECTS
credit is also awarded for internships and preparation of dissertation work, given
that these are part of the academic program a student follows.
Any type of assessment is usually expressed in grades. There are many different
types of grading systems in Europe. That‘s why an ECTS evaluation table was
developed to help an academic institution transfer a foreign grade into one of its
own.
German
Grade
ECTS
Grade
1.0 - 1.5 A
1.6 - 2.3 B
2.4 - 2.9 C
3.0 - 3.5 D
3.6 - 4.0 E
> 4.0 F
Definition
EXCELLENT - outstanding performance
with only minor errors
VERY GOOD - above the average
standard but with some errors
GOOD - generally sound work with
a number of notable errors
SATISFACTORY - fair but with
significant shortcomings
SUFFICIENT - performance meets
the minimum criteria
FAIL - considerable further work is
required
% of successful
students normally
achieving the grade
10
25
30
25
10
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Prior to a student‘s departure to a foreign university, the home and partner
institution reach a so-called learning agreement on the course work the student
is to take at the partner institution. If the student successfully sits examinations at
the foreign partner institution, recognition of the course work is guaranteed by the
home institution.
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