The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard means for comparing academic credits across the European Union and other collaborating European countries. ECTS is a tool of the European Higher Education Area for making studies and courses more transparent, and it helps students to move between countries and to have their academic qualifications and study periods abroad recognized. ECTS credits represent learning based on defined learning outcomes and their associated workload, and one academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits that are normally equivalent to 1500-1800 hours of total workload, irrespective of standard or qualification type. ECTS credits are used to facilitate transfer and progression throughout the Union, and they allow credits taken at one higher education institution to be counted towards a qualification studied for at another. ECTS enhances the flexibility of study programs for students and supports the planning, delivery, and evaluation of higher education programs. The ECTS system has been adopted by countries across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and there are 48 nations signed up to the EHEA, from Portugal in the West to Russia and Kazakhstan in the East. ECTS points, or ECTS credits, indicate the required workload to complete a study program, or a module within a study program, and they only indicate workload; they do not indicate a grade. The most common uses of ECTS include:
- Facilitating transfer and progression throughout the European Union and other collaborating European countries.
- Allowing credits taken at one higher education institution to be counted towards a qualification studied for at another.
- Enhancing the flexibility of study programs for students.
- Supporting the planning, delivery, and evaluation of higher education programs.
- Making international education more easily comparable across borders.
