Education planning and administration handbook - Chapter 14

Credit transfer system

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Important concepts

Credit transfers aim to replace part of a degree with higher education studies completed at other higher education institutions (both in Sweden or abroad), or knowledge and skills attained through previous professional experience. The university assesses whether previous studies or professional experience can be approved for credit transfer. If successful, the students will be able to include the transferred credits in their degree and will not need to take the equivalent course at SLU.

Policy

SLU is to have a generous approach to credit transfer. A credit transfer should also be possible even if there is no similar course or programme at SLU, or if course syllabuses and reading lists from studies abroad do not correspond with those at SLU.

National regulations

The right to credit transfer from previous studies or professional experience is regulated in Chapter 6, Sections 6–8 of the Higher Education Ordinance. However, the right to credit transfer does not apply if there is a substantial difference between these courses or study programmes (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 6, Section 7).

Before an assessment can be made, the student must have been admitted to a course or programme and be carrying out studies at first or second-cycle level at the higher education institution where they have applied for credit transfer.

A credit transfer decision applies at the higher education institution where the decision was taken.

A partial or full appeal regarding a negative credit transfer decision can be submitted, as per the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 12, Section 2, Paragraph 4. In these cases, grounds for the decision must always be stated. A decision must be appealed in writing, see Section 3.16 Appealing a decision.

SLU rules

The overall aim is for the student to be able to obtain a degree and/or final result for a course. Hence, the decision on credit transfer needs to be specified based on the final degree expected upon completion of studies, or the course for which the credit transfer applies. This way, the student can find out which courses they need to study and which credits they can transfer instead. The credit transfer decision will also be used as support when assessing whether the student meets the requirements when they apply for their degree.

Credit transfer for professional qualifications

Courses that are not part of a student’s programme must be credited if they are to be included in a professional qualification. This applies for both courses taken at other higher education institutions (including study abroad) and those taken at SLU (outside the programme).

Credit transfer for general qualifications

Usually, courses completed at other Swedish higher education institutions can be included in general qualifications without a prior decision on credit transfer (see the instructions for degree applications).

Credits from foreign higher education institutions must always be transferred for both general and professional qualifications.

Assessment of credit transfers

The higher education institution where the student took the course(s) must be approved by the educational authority or corresponding organisation in the country in question and must be the equivalent of Swedish university-level courses. For a credit transfer to be approved, students must have passed the course’s summative assessment/examination. Credit transfers are usually made for a degree (general qualification and/or professional qualification). It is also possible to transfer credits from previous studies or professional activities that are the equivalent of a specific course or course component.

An assessment in conjunction with a credit transfer from previous studies includes:

1. Assessment of:

• document authenticity
• the higher education institution’s status
• education cycle (university level)
• course scope
• passing grade
• anything else relevant to the assessment.

2. Academic/subject-based assessment of:

• the courses’ subject area
• level and any specialisation
• any content overlap with other courses
• relevance for the professional qualification
• other specific requirements (e.g., whether compulsory, programme profile, practical skills training etc.).

An assessment for credit transfer from professional or vocational experience includes:

• Decision/certificate for credit transfer from prior learning.

When a credit transfer is assessed for a professional qualification, courses or previous professional or vocational experience will be assessed to determine which components they can replace. Both compulsory and elective courses can be assessed for credit transfer. Credit transfer for compulsory courses is assessed against the intended learning outcomes of the course to be replaced. Credit transfer for elective courses is assessed based on the courses’ relevance to the intended professional qualification. The subject and level of the transferred credits will be specified if this is needed to fulfil the qualification requirements.

When assessing a credit transfer for a general qualification, subject and level are specified if this is needed to fulfil the qualification requirements.

When assessing a credit transfer for a course corresponding to a specific course, or part of a course, the transfer is assessed against the intended learning outcomes for the course, or part of a course, that the credit transfer applies to.

If the content overlaps, the credits cannot be included in the degree.

For foreign higher education institutions that use the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), 1 ECTS = 1 credit. If a foreign higher education institution does not use ECTS, credits will be calculated using standard programme/course length based on the qualification requirements at the higher education institution in question.

Grades from transferred credits are not converted to the SLU grading scale.

A preliminary decision or learning agreement is not a decision on credit transfer. The preliminary decision has the planned study path in mind, hence it is not legally binding, nor can it be appealed. The final assessment of the courses will take place in conjunction with the application for a credit transfer. However, a preliminary decision can act as a supporting document when assessing the credit transfer.

Who is responsible for what?

An administrative officer will take the decision on whether credits from a Swedish and/or foreign course/programme/equivalent from a professional qualification can be transferred. The administrative officer will obtain a statement of opinion from the relevant programme director of studies or subject expert. This statement will form the basis of any decision. Course credits transferred for a professional qualification can also be included in a general qualification. However, if a credit transfer for a general qualification has been approved, it is not possible to convert the transfer so it applies to a professional qualification – a new credit transfer decision must be taken.

At SLU, a decision to transfer credits for study abroad to include them in a general qualification is taken by an administrative officer. If needed, the administrative officer obtains the opinion of a subject expert (e.g. programme director of studies) on subject and level; the decision will be based on this opinion.

A decision to transfer credits for part of a course is taken by an administrative officer after obtaining the opinion of the examiner for the course in question (applies regardless of any future qualification).

Instructions

The student applies for a credit transfer as per the instructions on the student web.

The administrative officer will send out a decision on credit transfer to the student and enter it into the student registry.

SLU’s processing of credit transfers is based on the Administrative Procedure Act (2017:900) and must be quick and easy.

Links

Credit transfer