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188
European journal of vocational training
No 42/43 – 2007/3 2008/1
This table needs to be complemented by a more nuanced consideration.
The European Qualifications Framework serves as a reference point to make
the individual National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) or qualifications comparable
with one another (bilaterally and multilaterally). The NQFs or qualifications
of different systems are compared with each other by means of the
EQF meta-framework, which facilitates their transfer to other systems. The
EQF operates as a passive instrument in this sense. The key role of the EQF
in the implementation of the European Union’s overall education strategy finds
expression in particular through its links with other instruments of transparency
(the European Higher Education Area Qualifications Framework, Europass,
ECTS, ECVET, principles for the validation of non-formal and informal learning
(Schneeberger, 2006)).
Credit systems are devised as instruments which are broadly and directly
applicable in a mobility context, by way of ‘all-in-one’ or ‘ready-made’ solutions,
even though they may develop further over the years, as ECTS has
done. Credit systems serve a number of general purposes:
transfer of learning outcomes within and between education systems, or
of learning outcomes acquired in formal and informal settings;
accumulation and mutual recognition of learning activities or partial qualifications
until the qualifications are completed;
cooperation between VET providers across national borders;
transparency of learning processes and learning outcomes through joint
adherence to the EQF;
flexible accreditation of study periods, study programmes and curricula by
independent decision of the competent (national) bodies;
as far as possible, simplification and activation of certification and validation
procedures at all levels (Cedefop; Le Mouillour, 2005).
ECTS relates to the higher education sector, while ECVET is intended for
VET (in particular initial training) in the first instance; both will also be applied
in the field of lifelong learning at a later stage (European Commission, 2004;
European Commission, 2006b). For the time being, ECTS and ECVET differ
in scope and coverage. This becomes clear when one examines their respective
definitions:
The ECTS was conceived on the basis of the following definition: ‘A credit
system is a systematic way of describing an educational programme by
attaching credits to its components’ (European Commission, 2004, p. 1);
ECVET is ‘a mechanism designed to facilitate learners’ mobility by supporting
cooperation among partner organisations in the international ac-