“Credit where credit is due.” Tim Birtwistle Indianapolis 28 th May

Intentions By the end of the session you will be able to: -Define the key features of ECTS -Compare and contrast ECTS with the Credit Hour -Debate how and why credits reflect learning within the context of accumulation - Place credits in to the context of learning and quality within the frameworks of the DQP and Tuning -Sigh, smile, reflect, move on. 2

What do I know? Very little of course, but: ECTS Counsellor for the UK ECTS Site Visitor Tuning USA participant DQP Core Team UK Bologna Expert (Higher Education Reform) 3

Learners and Learning “4evers”:Whoever Wherever Whenever However Quality has been sought and, rightly, is increasingly demanded by all learners Accumulation of credit required for the 21 st Century learner 4

Contentions Learning is the key Quality assurance (QA) is vital Consistency is needed All learning should be subject to QA All stakeholders are entitled to minimum standards of quality A credential level should be established Some form of accumulation is required (credit) Consistent vocabulary is vital (and is missing) 5

What is a credit? What is credit? Academic credit is a means of quantifying and recognising learning. Most institutions that provide higher education programmes of study in England use credit. What is credit? When is credit awarded? Credit is awarded when you meet a specific set of 'learning outcomes' for a module or programme. The credit value for a module is set before you begin your studies. When is credit awarded? Credit accumulation As you successfully complete modules you will start to gather credit. Accumulating credit may mean you can take a break from studying and return later. You will have to accumulate sufficient credit, as determined by the educational institution with which you are registered, to be awarded a qualification. Credit accumulation Transferring credit Credit may be transferred to another programme at your institution, or to a programme at another institution. Our case study demonstrates how. Transferring credit Credit for other forms of learning Find out how learning that takes place in the workplace or in the voluntary sector may be recognised. Credit for other forms of learning Per QAA England May

And so Credit is used to express learning in terms of volume and, in the UK generally, is linked to intellectual demand by designating the level at which credit is gained. Credit is awarded after a student has successfully completed a block of learning, which may be a module, a unit, or a qualification.level at which credit is gained In the UK and increasingly in Europe, credit systems are based on what the successful student is expected to be able to do at the end of their studies ('learning outcomes') rather than the time taken to complete them. Per HEFCE May

The credit hour per Cracking The Credit Hour, September 2012 NewAmerica.net Amy Laitinen 8

The Carnegie Unit credit hour “one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time”. per CHEA website on the 2010 Final Regulations on Program Integrity and Student Aid, also see NAICU Summary Information ( on credit hour June ) 9

Credit – this could be: Recognition of learning: each student achieving the learning outcomes for a segment of learning. This is demonstrated by summative assessment through assignments of the learning (or by some form of prior learning) and being awarded credits (the number being linked to the volume of learning (time) required by a typical student). 10

And Credit is used in HE to summarise and describe an amount of learning; it can help to identify 'how much' learning was involved and 'how hard' it was. Students are awarded credits after they have successfully completed a 'block of learning'; that 'block' might be called a module, a unit or a qualification. The number of credits awarded to a student is determined by the credit value assigned to a module, a unit or a whole qualification. It is a simple way of indicating, using numbers, the amount of learning expected and how difficult it is. Credit is awarded to students who have shown that they have successfully completed a module, unit or qualification. To do this, they need to meet the specific set of learning outcomes for the unit, module or qualification. Learning outcomes outline what a successful student will know, understand and be able to do. It is the achievement of the learning outcomes that is important for the award of credit, not how or where the learning took place, or how it was assessed, or how long it actually took. 11

What is ECTS? (#1) The principles are the vital components, the allocation of numbers is not and can be highly contextualised. The title (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) reflects its incremental growth (the addition of “accumulation”). ECTS does invert the core essentials – it is about output and not input and learning outcomes are (certainly now) the essence. 12

ECTS (#2) “ECTS is a learner centred system” (users’ guide 3.1) It does sit alongside competencies (Tuning and ECVET) Learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the award of credit are requirements Fully compatible with lifelong learning (LLL) – prior learning in all forms Workload is a major component Pedagogy/andragogy informed by the learning outcomes 13

Allocation of ECTS Number of ECTS Qualifications Framework Learning Outcomes Workload 60 – 120 ECTS for Second cycle 180 ECTS – First cycle 3-year degree 60 ECTS – full time academic year 30 ECTS – semester 20 ECTS – trimester 1 ECTS – 25h workload on average 14

ECTS (#3) Alternative numbers and hours equally fit the model if the principles are adhered to: 30 hours/credit (ECVET) Or change the numbers but use an even distribution around the total workload hours, for example: » 1800 hours workload/academic year » 40 weeks » 72 credits/year » 25 hours/credit » 45 hours/week » Division into modules e.g. » Or play with the numbers (double, half etc..) 15

Development of the module Aims and competences of the module Aims are reflected in the module LO (LO written in a way that they may be tested) Assessment tasks Criteria for grading the assessment Teaching and learning strategy NOTE: Module – a course unit in a system where each course unit carries the same number of credits or a multiple thereof (ECTS ) NOTE:  Small modules – information more specialized but less integrated  Big modules – clearer structure of the programme, better coherence in the studied subject, but more difficult to transfer to other context and compare. 17

Application of ECTS – macro level ECTS Accumulation Transfer Non-formal & informal /experiential learning Recognition Quality assurance Credits from LO only Credits for agreed LO Credits from LO and student workload 18

Application of ECTS at micro level - a study programme perspective Student workload Learning outcomes Credit and its application Transparency and Quality assurance Indication of the time students need to complete all learning activities Statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do after the process of learning 19

20

Tuning meets QF: Macro QF – levels - descriptors Micro Tuning – ratcheting up – all in the verbs 21 LEARNINGLEARNING

Alternatives include Australia – just gave up trying to achieve a common format South Korea – retained “seat time” WGU – “competency unit” – a credit hour by any other name? College for America (quotes the DQP) “Direct assessment” and acquiring compentencies 22

Robert Mendenhall April 30 th : “We don’t award three credit hours when people spend a certain amount of time learning something; we award three competency units when they master learning, independent of time,” says Mendenhall. “If a student can pass 40 competency units in that term, which would be equivalent to 40 credit hours, that’s how much they can earn.” Read more: u-example-shows-chilly-policy-climate-competency- based-education#ixzz2UDp797iV Inside Higher Ed u-example-shows-chilly-policy-climate-competency- based-education#ixzz2UDp797iV 23

Questions remain, amongst others: How do learning outcomes sit with competencies? Is “workload” of any use? What do we mean by “time”? How do frameworks fit together? Credit framework alongside the DQP or “marry” them? Is the credit hour broken? Does ECTS offer anything? 24