International Transfer Credits 101 Peggy Bell Hendrickson Transcript Research peggy@transcriptresearch.com 1
Overview Educational Systems Credits and US Credit Hours 4 Types of Credit Systems Hands-On! 2
Education Systems US: 6+6, leads to high school diploma; Ex: China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan UK: 6+5+2, leads to O levels & A levels (some moved to 12 year); Ex: Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe 3
Educational Systems Cont. France: 6+7, leads to Bacc; Ex: Benin, Cameroon, Canada (Quebec), Morocco, Togo Russia: 4+5+2, leads to Cert of Sec Complete Gen Ed; Ex: Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan 4
Rules for Credits One year of credit = one year of credit One year FT study = 30-32 semester credit 4 year bachelor = 120-128 (maybe up to 144) semester credits Contact Hours: 15 class hours 1 semester hour 45 class hours 3 semester hours 45 lab hours 1 semester hour 6
US Credit Hours Quantifying measure of US post-secondary degree; measures contact/teaching hours Assumes a fixed correlation between classroom instruction and out-of-class preparation & work US higher ed system is designed for 2 hours of outside preparation for each hour of in-class instruction 7
Semester/Quarter Quarter system divides the calendar into 4 quarters of 10-11 weeks 3 quarters = 30 weeks instruction = academic yr Semester system divides the calendar into 2 semesters of 15-16 weeks 2 semesters = 30 weeks instruction = acad yr! 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hour 8
Credit Rules Need to convert indigenous values (credits, hours, marks, coefficients, etc) to comparable US credits (semester/quarter) Calculate total credits for time period, then divide by target (1 year = 30 semester credits) to get conversion factor Divide each indigenous value by conversion factor to get US credit Round up based on institutional policy 9
Credit Systems Credit-Based Credentials Hours-Based Credentials Marks-Based Credentials Subject-Based Credentials 10
Hands-On Training! 11
Credit-Based Credentials Need to convert indigenous credits to comparable US credits (semester/quarter) Calculate total credits for time period, then divide by target (1 year = 30 semester credits) to get conversion factor Examples: ECTS, China, Ghana, Korea, Mexico 12
Hands-On: Credit-Based Calculate total required credits for time period, then divide by target (1 year = 30 credits) Example: applicant earned 47 indigenous credits in 1 year of FT study; convert to 30 US credits 47/30 1.56 (this is your conversion factor) Indigenous credit value of 2 1.28 (2/1.56) Indigenous credit value or 3 1.92 (3/1.56) 13
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Marks-Based Credentials Marks determine both the weight and grade The relative weight of a subject/exam is based on the max value in terms of marks Grades must be calculated as a percentage to compare subjects of different max marks Examples: India, Pakistan, France 17
Hands-On: Marks-Based The relative weight of a subject/exam is based on the maximum value in terms of marks or grades Calculate the hidden weight of each course to determine weight (credits) and to convert grades Ex: applicant earned 60/100 on a theory class and 40/50 on a lab class in one semester 18
Hands-On: Marks-Based Grades: compare by % - divide each subject's earned marks (numerator) by the maximum marks (denominator) to get percentage grade. Credits: Add all possible max marks and divide by target to get conversion factor Ex: 150 possible marks in semester: 150/15 (conversion factor = 10) subject 1: 60/100 60% + 10 credits; subject 2: 40/50 80% + 5 credits 19
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Subject-Based Credentials For some documents, each subject has equal weight To determine credit values, add up total number of subjects and divide by target number (1 year = 30 semester credits) Examples: Australia, India, Italy, UK 23
Hands-On: Subject-Based If no credits, hours, or other unit of weight are on the document, need to research the degree plan If no information is available, then you have to assume each subject has equal weight 24
Hands-On: Subject-Based To determine credit values, add up total number of subjects and divide by target number (1 year = 30 semester credits) Example: student completes 6 subjects in 1 year of full-time study; 30/6 5 US credits per subject 25
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Hours-Based Credentials Need to convert hours to US credits Add up total indigenous hours, then divide by target (1 year = 30 semester credits) to get the conversion factor If theory/lecture and practicals/practice are separate, divide by practicals by 1/2 or 1/3 Examples: Russia, Brazil, Columbia 29
Hands-On: Hours-Based Calculate total hours for time period, then divide by target (1 year = 30 credits) To determine credit values, add up total indigenous hours and divide by target number (4098 hours / target of 150 credits for 5 yrs) Example: student earns 4098 hours for 5 year degree; 4098/150 > 27.3 conversion factor 30
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