What is ECTS? 
INTRODUCTION
The European Community promotes interuniversity cooperation as a means of improving the quality of
education for the benefit of students and higher education institutions, and student mobility is a
predominant element of that interuniversity cooperation. The Erasmus programme clearly demonstrates
that studying abroad can be a particularly valuable experience as it is not only the best way to
learn about other countries, ideas, languages and cultures; increasingly it is also an important
element in academic and professional career development.
The recognition of studies and diplomas is a prerequisite for the creation of an Open European area
of education and training where students and teachers can move without obstacles. That is why the
European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) was developed in a pilot scheme established within the
Erasmus programme as a means of improving academic recognition for study abroad. The external
evaluation of ECTS has demonstrated the potential of the system and the European Commission has
decided to include ECTS in its proposal for the Socrates programme, in particular in Chapter I on
higher education (Erasmus). ECTS is now moving from its restricted pilot stage towards a much wider
use as an element of the European dimension in higher education.
ECTS provides an instrument to create transparency, to build bridges between institutions and to
widen the choices available to students. The system makes it easier for institutions to recognise
the learning achievements of students through the use of commonly understood measurements - credits
and grades - and it also provides a means to interpret national systems of higher education. ECTS is
based on three core elements: information (on study programmes and student achievement), mutual
agreement (between the partner institutions and the student) and the use of ECTS credits (to
indicate student workload).
This Guide has been designed to help potential users of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
to implement the system in practice. The principal elements of ECTS are presented briefly as they
have been developed, thoroughly tested and refined in the pilot scheme by 145 European universities
from all Member States and EEA countries.Last Edited: 28 October 2003
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