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► Credit Restructuring
Full Text from the Consultation Document
18. Credit Structure and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)
18.1 The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) was developed in 1989 to promote the international recognition of qualifications and student mobility within Europe. Many UK higher education institutions make use of ECTS credit to support student mobility in Europe and more recently there are UK universities that have moved to using ECTS credit only, or are in the process of doing so, including Russell Group institutions such as Imperial College London and the University of Southampton. We believe that the curriculum review is an opportune point to move to a credit structure that is compatible with ECTS credit. Since it is likely that more UK institutions will do likewise, we need to ensure that we do not fall behind our competitors in the UK and Europe (and indeed in other parts of the world).
18.2 ECTS credits are attached to workload and the associate learning outcomes and the system works on the notion that one credit corresponds to 25 to 30 hours of work. The UK credit system that we currently use equates one credit to 10 hours of work. In practical terms, it is generally agreed that 2 UK credits equates to 1 ECTS, and the Burgess committee recommends that for UG programmes we adopt this equivalence. It is recommended however that all M level modules should work on the assumption that 2 credits requires 25-30 hours of student work; they are also recommended to work on the assumption that the student works a 60 hour week during the period of preparation of the dissertation. Both of these adjustments are necessary to make our PGT programmes Bologna-compliant; neither adjustment assumes any increase in teaching time.
18.3 To facilitate the move to ECTS, all programmes (PGT and undergraduate) will need to be restructured such that the credit value of all modules will be multiples of 10; that the majority of modules will be 20 credits, but with the flexibility to allow modules of 30 credits and more, up to a maximum of 60 credits. This will mean that most of the current 15 credit modules will need to be restructured to 20 credit modules, with some 10 credit modules where appropriate. It is expected that in undergraduate programmes, final year dissertations/projects will remain as 30 credit modules, or up to 60 credits in integrated master’s programmes. The PGT dissertation/project will remain as a 60 credit module. These credit values will relate to ECTS as follows:
· 10 credits = 5 ECTS
· 20 credits = 10 ECTS
· 30 credits = 15 ECTS
· 60 credits = 30 ETCS
18.4 The major reason for moving to such a system is to prepare the University for ECTS compliance, but the change would be beneficial in other ways. Crucially, moving to mainly 20 credit modules will reduce the number of modules required for each year of study and enable more efficient management of staff teaching time; this of course supports the general aim of freeing up staff time for research. In principle this should not interfere with the coherence of the student experience, but it is absolutely essential that any move that reduces teaching time is accompanied, as described elsewhere in this document, by a distinctive and research-led curriculum with an broadened international perspective, by an enhancement of the range of learning, teaching and assessment approaches that every student experiences, by a greater focus in students’ studies on their future employability and on the research & learning skills they need in order to succeed, and by an improved opportunity for all students to find satisfying employment once their studies are completed (as well as by improved speed and quality of feedback for course-work).
18.5 If approved, though, these changes to the credit structure will require the University’s frameworks for undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes to be revised and will impact on the current system of classification of undergraduate degrees. These changes will be progressed once the outcome of this consultation is known.
18.6 It is proposed that UG and PGT programmes, apart from clinical programmes in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, be restructured around 10, 20 credit structure that can be more readily represented as ECTS credit and are more consistent with ECTS.
LGoS Believes:
- Perhaps the most complicated part of the proposals, however it is important to mention that there would be no increase in workload for students as all modules in each year would still have to add up to 120 for Undergraduate Students.
- These proposals will make it easier for students to go overseas to Europe, which is positive.
- In addition, it is more than likely that these proposals, as part of the Bologna Process, will be forced upon UK Universities in the New Year anyway.
- However, this will probably result in less module options for students, which may be a key concern.
- It is important to note that although there will generally be a reduction in choice:
- for some programmes this will actually mean an increase!
- the modules will be larger - meaning a much richer learning experience, and opportunity for wider range of assessments
More smaller modules (current 15 credits) or relatively fewer, bigger modules?
Is there anything else you would like to add about this proposal? E-Mail: Edward.Moloney@liv.ac.uk
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