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Table 4: Calculation and allocation of credits in ECTS and ECVET ECTS ECVET Value Numerical value Numerical value Assignment to Any type of course of study Units of learning outcomes Calculation The amount of work required of the student for each course of study must be described ⇒ workload Allocation Per course of study, in relation to the total learning effort required for successful completion of an entire academic year Responsible for assignment and award Qualifications frameworks and credit systems: a toolkit for education in Europe Torsten Dunkel, Isabelle Le Mouillour Left open, not specified Per unit. Qualifications to be grouped into units as appropriate. Universities Body/bodies responsible for national VET system Assessment Abroad: local grading Abroad: local grading The ECTS grading scale (from A to F*) ranks the students on a statistical basis Source: European Commission, 2006b; European Commission, 2004. * A = excellent – the best 10 % of the student cohort; F = fail – considerable further work required A convention concluded between the main national players in the relevant educational sectors generally lies behind a credit system. In the field of higher education, institutional and organisational aspects of the educational programmes underpin the calculation of ECTS credits. ECTS is based on the principle, enshrined in a European convention, that 60 credits measure the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. The student workload of a full-time study programme in Europe amounts in most cases to around 1 500-1 800 hours per year, and in those cases one credit stands for around 25-30 working hours (European Commission, 2004). Student workload in ECTS consists of the time required to complete all planned learning activities such as attending lectures, seminars, independent and private study, preparation of projects, examinations, and so forth (European Commission 2004, p. 1). Two main calculation bases are used in the higher education sector: workload and notional learning time. ‘Notional learning time’ means the time needed by an ‘average’ learner to achieve the learning outcomes of a qualification or study programme. This period of time is only intended as a guide, how- – 195
196 European journal of vocational training No 42/43 – 2007/3 2008/1 ever, and credit points are not deducted or added if more time or less is taken (see SCQF 2003). The problem of defining credit points nevertheless becomes apparent when one examines the implementation of ECTS in the higher education sector. Reichert and Tauch (2005) point out in their survey that higher education establishments still have difficulty with workload-based calculations. Furthermore, the calculation of credits on the basis of study programmes can in some cases lead to a variation in the number of credit points for one and the same course of study. The proposed method of calculating credits in the ECVET con<strong>text</strong> states that ‘120 ECVET credit points on average could be associated to the learning outcomes achieved by an individual in a year in a formal full time VET con<strong>text</strong>’ (European Commission, 2006b, p. 14). However, several methods are possible at national level for determining the number of credit points to be allocated: ‘the number of credit points allocated to a qualification and units can be determined on the base of the following criteria: the contents of a qualification in terms of range and/or volume of knowledge, skills and wider competences to be acquired; with reference to a notional average length of programme leading to such a qualification; by the amount of notional learning activities and workload necessary for a learner to attain the set of learning outcomes corresponding to a part or whole qualification (e.g. regarding a typical training programme or a training programme of reference)’ (European Commission, 2005a, p. 14). The difficulty of making the two credit systems compatible becomes palpable with respect to the composition, calculation and allocation of credits. The fundamental difference between ECTS and ECVET lies in their primary orientation: ECVET units and credits are defined in relation to qualifications and the associated learning outcomes; ECTS on the other hand is oriented according to study programmes. Concerning their secondary orientation, ECVET relies for example on training regulations or overall curricula, whereas in ECTS learning outcomes are associated with the definition of learning objectives. This distinction is clarified in the following diagram.
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