ECTS and Measuring Student Workload

ECTS in Brief

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a European system for the transfer and accumulation of study credits and grades. The system has been used for over ten years, initially above all for exchange studies, but it has been widely adopted in Europe only in the recent years.

The purpose of reforming the system has been to create a uniform European higher education area.The ECTS increases the competiveness and attractiveness of European higher education, as compared to other continents, and facilitates student mobility and the comparison of the curricula of different higher education institutions.

The starting point for the ECTS is the student workload needed to achieve the learning outcomes of a degree programme.

Please see further information on the ECTS website of the European Commission

Measuring Student Workload

Student workload in full-time study is 1600 hours per academic year, corresponding to 60 ECTS credits. If the annual hours are allocated to 40 weeks, the workload of each week is 40 hours. Respectively, the total workload of a semester is 800 hours of student work (30 ECTS credits).One ECTS credit is equivalent to about 27 hours of student work. This can consist of contact lessons, online learning, group work, independent study, preparation for exams, exams, etc.

In the competence- and learning-based curricula introduced with new students in the autumn of 2008, the minimum scope of a course is 5 ECTS credits (with some exceptions), in compliance with the recommendations of ECTS. Elective studies may contain courses that are narrower in scope.

ECTS Coordinators

Curricula

Mr. Hannu Ikonen
Education Development Manager
+358 40 528 3762
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi

International Mobility

Ms. Nina Björn
International Relations Manager
+358 40 585 6791
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi

Unit Level

The unit-specific ECTS coordinators of JAMK have been determined at degree programme level. The head of programme acts as its ECTS coordinator, with regard to both credits and international mobility.