European Credit Transfer System

[Alpha]

I've been doing a little reading about the ECTS and while it's really not that hard to understand the basics, one thing that's not clear to me is if there is built into that system any source(s) of alternative credit such as CLEP, etc. or is it based entirely on standard coursework at universities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_C...ion_System

[SweetsugarNL]

I've been doing a little reading about the ECTS and while it's really not that hard to understand the basics, one thing that's not clear to me is if there is built into that system any source(s) of alternative credit such as CLEP, etc. or is it based entirely on standard coursework at universities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_C...ion_System

In the Netherlands, it is only coursework. When you switch to another university you start with zero. Sometimes are you allowed to transfer 30 ects to put in "free space" or minor when you change.

[rachel83az]

Europe really expects you to stay with the same university throughout your school experience. It makes sense: universities are free/cheap for EU residents so why make things harder than they should be? Not being able to accelerate is, as I understand it, a feature and not a bug.

[ss20ts]

Europe really expects you to stay with the same university throughout your school experience. It makes sense: universities are free/cheap for EU residents so why make things harder than they should be? Not being able to accelerate is, as I understand it, a feature and not a bug.

Man if that was how the US worked, many of us would have completed our degrees YEARS ago! Transferring is a big thing here and then you get squat for credit so it makes no sense. And we pay quite a bit for this goofy system here. 

[rachel83az]

Europe really expects you to stay with the same university throughout your school experience. It makes sense: universities are free/cheap for EU residents so why make things harder than they should be? Not being able to accelerate is, as I understand it, a feature and not a bug.

Man if that was how the US worked, many of us would have completed our degrees YEARS ago! Transferring is a big thing here and then you get squat for credit so it makes no sense. And we pay quite a bit for this goofy system here. 

I think that they are slightly more selective about who they let into their programs. But, yeah, once you're in, the universities are pretty affordable. The biggest expense is usually your housing, AFAIK.

[Johann]

I've been hearing (elsewhere) from some folks who believe that somehow ECTS can be transmuted into credits at the Big 3. The idea is to earn certificates in Europe that carry from maybe 30 to 60 ECTS, then have a Big 3 school accept / declare them as one half that number of credits. I know the math says that 2 ECTS = I US credit (time-wise, etc.) but I thought this "direct -to-credits-at Big 3" interchange was either unlikely or impossible.

There are oodles of these certs, available by DL - offering genuine ECTS and some are INCREDIBLY cheap. I'm no Big 3 expert. Many of you are. What do you think? Can it be done? If so, how? Course by course basis, maybe? If it IS possible - how much would it likely cost? There may be grad and undergrad ECTS involved here.

[ROYISAGIRL]

I've been hearing (elsewhere) from some folks who believe that somehow ECTS can be transmuted into credits at the Big 3. The idea is to earn certificates in Europe that carry from maybe 30 to 60 ECTS, then have a Big 3 school accept / declare them as one half that number of credits. I know the math says that 2 ECTS = I US credit (time-wise, etc.) but I thought this "direct -to-credits-at Big 3" interchange was either unlikely or impossible.

There are oodles of these certs, available by DL - offering genuine ECTS and some are INCREDIBLY cheap. I'm no Big 3 expert. Many of you are. What do you think? Can it be done? If so, how? Course by course basis, maybe? If it IS possible - how much would it likely cost? There may be grad and undergrad ECTS involved here.

It wouldn't be direct. It would have to go through a Company suchas WES that translates the credits

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[rachel83az]

I've been hearing (elsewhere) from some folks who believe that somehow ECTS can be transmuted into credits at the Big 3. The idea is to earn certificates in Europe that carry from maybe 30 to 60 ECTS, then have a Big 3 school accept / declare them as one half that number of credits. I know the math says that 2 ECTS = I US credit (time-wise, etc.) but I thought this "direct -to-credits-at Big 3" interchange was either unlikely or impossible.

There are oodles of these certs, available by DL - offering genuine ECTS and some are INCREDIBLY cheap. I'm no Big 3 expert. Many of you are. What do you think? Can it be done? If so, how? Course by course basis, maybe? If it IS possible - how much would it likely cost? There may be grad and undergrad ECTS involved here.

It wouldn't be direct, as already stated by ROYISAGIRL but ECTS from an actual university should still count as RA credits because the studies were completed at a university. The evaluator tells the American university what the completed studies "mean" and how they should be applied.

What is DL? Is it a university or are the certificates granted by actual universities? If not, they probably wouldn't count as RA credits. XAMK is currently the "best" deal for ECTS at a cost of $0 per ECTS. Unfortunately, the courses they offer wouldn't necessarily apply to any and every degree. Mostly to business or CS degrees.

[Johann]

Rachel83az: It wouldn't be direct, as already stated by ROYISAGIRL but ECTS from an actual university should still count as RA credits because the studies were completed at a university. The evaluator tells the American university what the completed studies "mean" and how they should be applied.

What is DL? Is it a university or are the certificates granted by actual universities? If not, they probably wouldn't count as RA credits. XAMK is currently the "best" deal for ECTS at a cost of $0 per ECTS. Unfortunately, the courses they offer wouldn't necessarily apply to any and every degree. Mostly to business or CS degrees.

Johann: They seem to be a mix. Most are taught by private schools and when completed, certified and awarded by partner universities. ENEB/Isabel 1 type of thing -- with them or some other players. Some directly from the university, I believe - not 100% sure. Thanks for the info. Looks like yes, it's possible but I'm pretty sure course-by course evaluation would likely cost more than some of the certificates. Still, if you could get 60 ECTS points evaluated as 30 credits for say, $300, that would be pretty cheap, even when you add in the cost of the cert. 

As I thought, it's not possible without a recognized evaluation. I got the impression that some (elsewhere) believed it could be done with NO intermediary - but only at the Big 3, by some special process. Not so, obviously..

Thanks, Rachel and Roy, for the info. Really clear.

[ss20ts]

Rachel83az: It wouldn't be direct, as already stated by ROYISAGIRL but ECTS from an actual university should still count as RA credits because the studies were completed at a university. The evaluator tells the American university what the completed studies "mean" and how they should be applied.

What is DL? Is it a university or are the certificates granted by actual universities? If not, they probably wouldn't count as RA credits. XAMK is currently the "best" deal for ECTS at a cost of $0 per ECTS. Unfortunately, the courses they offer wouldn't necessarily apply to any and every degree. Mostly to business or CS degrees.

Johann: They seem to be a mix. Most are taught by private schools and when completed, certified by partner universities. ENEB/Isabel 1 type of thing -- with them or some other players. Some directly from the university, I believe - not 100% sure. Thanks for the info. Looks like yes, it's possible but I'm pretty sure course-by course evaluation would likely cost more than some of the certificates. Still, if you could get 60 ECTS points evaluated as 30 credits for say, $300, that would be pretty cheap, even when you add in the cost of the cert. 

As I thought, it's not possible without a recognized evaluation. I got the impression that some (elsewhere) believed it could be done with NO intermediary - but only at the Big 3. Not so, obviously..

Thanks, Rachel and Roy, for the info. Really clear.

In the US though most colleges/universities require international transcripts to be processed by WES and then sent from WES to the college/university. The evaluators let the school know what the transcripts mean, they don't tell the school how to accept the credits though. That is up to each individual school. Just because something is RA credit does not mean that a college/university has to accept it. Same holds true for all schools in the US. Transfer credits are quite often issues when transferring to traditional B&M schools. They're less of a problem in online programs such as the main ones we talk about on here.