ECTS Credit Calculation

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits are based on the workload required for students to complete a course successfully. Student workload includes the total time spent on all learning activities associated with a course. Each course instructor identifies the requirements of the course and determines the corresponding ECTS credits based on the estimated student workload.

At our University, the following activities are taken into consideration when calculating student workload:

• Contact hours (weekly hours × 14 weeks, excluding examination weeks)
• Independent study outside the classroom (weekly hours × 14 weeks)
• Assignments completed during the semester
• Presentations prepared during the semester
• Projects undertaken during the semester
• Laboratory work
• Fieldwork or site studies
• Time spent preparing for midterm examinations
• Time spent preparing for the final examination

The total amount of time spent on these activities throughout the semester is calculated to determine the overall student workload. The resulting workload is then divided by 25 to calculate the ECTS credits allocated to the course.

25 hours of student workload = 1 ECTS credit

Example Calculation

For a hypothetical course:

• If students attend 3 hours of face-to-face instruction per week, including theoretical, practical, and laboratory sessions:
  14 weeks × 3 hours = 42 hours
• If students complete 5 assignments during the semester and spend 2 hours on each assignment:
  5 assignments × 2 hours = 10 hours
• If students spend 1 hour per week reviewing the course material:
  14 weeks × 1 hour = 14 hours
• If students spend 5 hours preparing one presentation at the end of the semester:
  1 presentation × 5 hours = 5 hours
• If students spend 5 hours preparing for one midterm examination:
  1 examination × 5 hours = 5 hours
• If students spend 10 hours preparing for the final examination:
  1 examination × 10 hours = 10 hours

The student's total workload for the course is therefore:

42 + 10 + 14 + 5 + 5 + 10 = 86 hours

According to the formula:

ECTS Credits = Total Student Workload / 25

Therefore:

86 / 25 = 3.44 ECTS credits

Based on this calculation, the ECTS credit allocated to a course should generally reflect its overall student workload rather than only its weekly contact hours.

These calculations can be carried out through the University's BİLSİS information system.

Important Points to Remember

• The total course load for each semester in the curriculum must be 30 ECTS credits.
• Elective courses offered within the same elective group in a semester should be assigned the same number of ECTS credits where applicable.
• ECTS credits should be expressed as whole numbers in accordance with the University's institutional regulations.
• Additional teaching payments for academic staff are calculated on the basis of actual teaching/contact hours, not ECTS credits.
• ECTS credits are based on student workload and should not be determined by the status or prestige of the course or the academic staff member teaching it.
• ECTS credits must be assigned to all compulsory and elective courses, including courses that may carry no credits under the local credit system.
• Students must complete the ECTS credits required by their degree programme in order to graduate. For a four-year undergraduate programme, this is normally 240 ECTS credits. Other programme requirements include 120 ECTS credits for associate degree programmes, 120 ECTS credits for master's programmes, and 180–240 ECTS credits for doctoral programmes, subject to the applicable programme and institutional regulations.

For further information about ECTS, please watch the following video:

ECTS Information Video