International students

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

The European Community promotes inter-university 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 inter-university 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 established within the ERASMUS programme as a means of improving academic recognition for study abroad.

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. The ECTS system is based on three core elements: information (on study programmes and student achievement), mutual agreement (between partner institutions and the student) and the use of ECTS credits (to indicate student workload).

Full academic recognition is a necessary condition for student mobility within the framework of the ERASMUS programme. Full academic recognition means that the study period abroad (including examinations or other forms of assessment) replaces a comparable period of study at the home university (including examinations or other forms of assessment), though the content of the agreed study programme may differ.

Main Components of ECTS

  1. ECTS credits, which are numerical values allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course unit requires in relation to the total quantity of work necessary to complete a full year of academic study at the institution (that is, lectures, seminars, practical work, field work, private study and examinations or other assessment activities). ECTS is thus based on a full student workload and not limited to contact hours only. In ECTS, 60 credits represent the workload of an academic year of study, 30 credits are allotted for one semester and 20 credits for a trimester.Credits can be obtained by completing the courses in a satisfactory way. No ECTS credits are awarded if the performance is unsatisfactory.
  2. The Learning Agreement, which covers the programme of study to be taken and the ECTS credits to be awarded for their satisfactory completion, committing both home and host institutions, as well as the student.
  3. The Transcript of Records, which shows students’ learning achievements in a way which is comprehensive, commonly understood and easily transferable from one institution to another.

ECTS and Glasgow Credits

The University of Glasgow operates a credit system which requires a student to take 120 Glasgow credits (equivalent to 60 ECTS credits) in a full academic year, or 60 Glasgow (equivalent to 30 ECTS credits) credits for one semester.

Transcript of Records

The results each exchange student achieves at The University of Glasgow are summarised in a transcript after the study period.  The original copy is sent directly to the student.

University of Glasgow Grading System

All Courses

Primary verbal descriptors for attainment of
Intended Learning Outcomes

Honours
Class

BDS, BVMS, MBChB

Primary
Grade

Gloss

Secondary
Band*

Aggregation Score

A

Excellent

A1

22

Exemplary range and depth of attainment of intended learning outcomes, secured by discriminating command of a comprehensive range of relevant materials and analyses, and by deployment of considered judgement relating to key issues, concepts and procedures

First

Honours

A2

21

A3

20

A4

19

A5

18

B

 

Very Good

 

B1

17

Conclusive attainment of virtually all intended learning outcomes, clearly grounded on a close familiarity with a wide range of supporting evidence, constructively utilised to reveal appreciable depth of understanding

Upper
Second

Commendation

B2

16

B3

15

C

 

Good

 

C1

14

Clear attainment of most of the intended learning outcomes, some more securely grasped than others, resting on a circumscribed range of evidence and displaying a variable depth of understanding

Lower
Second

Pass

C2

13

C3

12

D

Satisfactory †

D1

11

Acceptable attainment of intended learning outcomes, displaying a qualified familiarity with a minimally sufficient range of relevant materials, and a grasp of the analytical issues and concepts which is generally reasonable, albeit insecure

Third

D2

10

D3

9

E

Weak

E1

8

Attainment deficient in respect of specific intended learning outcomes, with mixed evidence as to the depth of knowledge and weak deployment of arguments or deficient manipulations

Fail

Fail

E2

7

E3

6

F

Poor

F1

5

Attainment of intended learning outcomes appreciably deficient in critical respects, lacking secure basis in relevant factual and analytical dimensions

F2

4

F3

3

G

Very Poor

 

G1

2

Attainment of intended learning outcomes markedly deficient in respect of nearly all intended learning outcomes, with irrelevant use of materials and incomplete and flawed explanation

G2

1

H

 

0

No convincing evidence of attainment of intended learning outcomes, such treatment of the subject as is in evidence being directionless and fragmentary

 

CR

 CREDIT REFUSED

Failure to comply, in the absence of good cause, with the published requirements of the course or programme; and/or a serious breach of regulations

* The Secondary Band indicates the degree to which the work possesses the quality of the corresponding descriptor.
† This gloss is used because it is the lowest grade normally associated with the attainment of an undergraduate award. Postgraduate students should be aware, however, that an average of at least Grade C in taught courses is required for progress to the dissertation at masters level, and students should consult the appropriate degree regulations and course handbooks for the grade they may require to progress to specific awards.