Constitutive Elements and Framework Specifications

Module (unit of study)

Thematically determined unit of teaching and learning.

Unit for which the typical time spent studying, including preparation and follow-up time (workload), is shown in advance in credits.

Unit for which a performance assessment is carried out.

For each module (unit of study), a performance evaluation is made with at least "pass" or "fail".

Modules (study units) can be individual courses, block seminars, internships or, in particular, links between individual courses.

Preliminary information on the individual modules (study units) forms the description of the module (study unit); it is published in the annotated directories and in the online course catalog.

It should be bilingual (German/English).

Credits

Quantitative unit of measurement for the student's study effort. One credit denotes x hours of successful study. The amount of teaching and studying is not measured according to the effort of the lecturers (semester hours per week), as was previously the case, but according to the average amount of work that the students have to do in total for attending courses, for self-study and for any certificates of achievement (see study effort / workload). Credits are not grades; credits provide information about the amount of study work done, but not about the assessment/evaluation of the study workload. The term "credits" should be used without the addition of "points" or "points", since the term is used internationally and in this form it does not allow any confusion with a German grading point system. Certificate of a module (unit of study) Certificates of modules (units of study) and credits should contain not only the core information of a credit system (name of the unit of study and number of credits) and the data important for information (person, university, subject, etc.), but also other usual information that is important for assessing the quality of the service provided. This is because this information can be decisive for crediting or grading. Certificates of modules with credits initially contain the same information as the performance records of exercises, seminars, etc., which have been customary up to now. In addition, however, they provide information about the study effort planned for the study unit and not only about the number of course hours taken. The certificate should include the modes of teaching and study (lecture, exercise, seminar, laboratory, thesis, etc.) and the modes of examination (written examination, term paper, oral examination, etc.). Also the grading is to be mentioned on the certificate. This can be in the form of a scalar (very good, good, etc.), dichotomous (pass/fail), or textual evaluation, as has been the practice in the past. (The use of this information is not decided by the logic of the credit system, but by the individual study and examination regulations or procedures established in some other way. Since in Germany the scalar assessment is the one most widely used and the one most likely to secure credit in the mobility case, it follows that even if a credit system is introduced, credit in the mobility case will still be most likely if the assessment is made according to the usual assessment scale and the assessment scale is explained on the certificate). Information is also required on the position of the unit of study in the context of the progression of studies, either as a sequence of subject areas (Mathematics I; II) or as a temporal sequence of studies (e.g., first year, undergraduate, graduate, etc.). These indications should also be retained for the time being, since they will not lose their importance when the old system is replaced by a credit system. Grades Grading of Achievements. In addition to the grade based on the German grading scale of 1 to 5 (with English translation, if necessary), the final grade should also show a relative grade according to the following ECTS grading scale:

Workload

The number of hours usually spent by students to earn one credit. The workload includes preparation time, attendance time, and follow-up time for a course; study time also includes writing a term paper, research paper, or project paper and preparing for examinations; study time also includes practice time and its preparation and follow-up.

Examination during studies

With the introduction of credits, the majority of the required overall study achievements should be examined during the course of study. The examinations are graded with pass / fail. No credits will be awarded for failed examinations. Grades are assigned as the grade (see Grades). Grades are awarded independently of credits.

Transcript of Records

Semester-by-semester certificate of all completed units of study. Provides expanded information on successfully completed units of study to ensure a qualitative evaluation of the course work completed outside of the department/college.

Diploma Supplement

Standardized supplement to the degree certificate in English. Provides information on the content of the degree program and is intended to strengthen the recognition and appropriate evaluation of German degrees and diplomas abroad.

Requirements for study and examination regulations and other documents

Study and examination regulations for degree programs in which modularization and credits are introduced must be specified in four aspects; they must provide information on:

• the division of the overall study program into study units (courses and self-study; the information must be supplemented, if necessary, with information on the type and level of individual courses and lecturers),
• the number of credits associated with each study unit,
• the number of credits required for the study program as a whole; if applicable, also for the different thematic areas, levels of study, as well as for the assignment of credits to examinations,
• the calculation of the overall grade upon completion of the program.

In any case, the existing study and examination regulations should be reviewed to determine whether they already provide the necessary transparency for the recognition of credits. Excessive regulatory density should be avoided, and the existing study and examination regulations should be reviewed to see whether their regulatory density can be reduced. In view of the diversity of possible mobility movements and the different regulations of the subject, university and country of origin, flexibility is indispensable for proper credit transfer. The introduction of a credit system naturally also requires the adaptation of further documents for the information of students. This applies in particular to the course catalogs. Likewise, the interpretation and recognition of credits could be facilitated if the university / the departments were to prepare brief overviews of the courses of study, on the basis of which it would be possible to classify the study units in the individual study planning (differentiated course catalog or collected brief study regulations).

On 08.02.2006 the Senate passed further regulations for the awarding of credits for modules and practical courses.