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ECTS Credits and Exam

How to Calculate ECTS Credits – Rules Adopted in July 2014

To better align with the European Community rules of ECTS attribution, and to ensure clarity and coherence within SIB and between SIB and its partner universities, we have defined the following internal rules:

  • A 1-day SIB workshop/course is worth 0.25 ECTS. Workshops/courses spanning 2, 3, or 4 days are worth 0.5, 0.75, or 1 ECTS respectively. If substantial extra work is required (post-reports, preparing reading material, exercises, etc.), the equivalent workload will be calculated and indicated accordingly.
  • A 5-day SIB workshop/course is worth 1.5 ECTS (5 x 0.25, plus 0.25 for self-study during that week). With substantial extra work, it can be worth 2 ECTS.

Credits are recommended after successful assessment, validation, or recognition of the learning outcomes by the trainers.

Without an evaluation or assessment, SIB awards a certificate of attendance indicating the workload (number of hours, types of activities). With an evaluation or assessment, SIB awards a certificate of “successfully passing” indicating the workload and recommending the number of ECTS.

Exam Guidelines

Exams are an optional but beneficial step in our courses, enhancing our image as reliable partners and providing value to students and their universities.

To recap, 1 ECTS in Switzerland, and most European countries, is worth 25-30 hours of effort, based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.

In a regular day of course at SIB, we start at 9h and end around 17h. Removing 1 hour for lunch and 30 minutes for coffee breaks, we count 6.5 hours in total. Dividing by 25-30 hours, we get a range of 0.26-0.21 ECTS, simplified to 0.25 ECTS per day of course. This margin accounts for exam time.

The minimum requirement for awarding 0.25 ECTS is participant attendance. We also check if participants 1) “listened”, and 2) achieved the learning outcomes during the course. We aim to be good teachers and reliable partners but do not exceed 0.25 ECTS per day of teaching/workload.

Exams should not exceed 30 minutes per day of course (7 hours / 25 = 0.28; 7 hours / 30 = 0.23).

Exam Corrections

  • Longer exams take more time for learners to complete and trainers to correct, delaying the entire process (Admin and Participants waiting for certificates).

Other Rules

  • For participants: Exams should not take more than 30 minutes per day of course. Keep it simple!
  • For participants: Exams should be returned to teachers within 2 - 7 days after the course ended.
  • For trainers: Results should be sent back to the manager and admin within a resonable short time period.
  • Certificates should be sent to participants within 2 weeks after the course ends.

Types of Exams

Discussed with trainers:

  • Multiple-choice: Suitable for courses with some theory and repeated often.
  • Extra-exercise/activity: Should be quick to correct.
  • Collaborative correction: Trainers may correct exercises with students interested in credits, including follow-up and oral questions.
  • Oral exam: Conducted at the end of the course.

With or Without ECTS Credits – Who Decides

It is not mandatory for a SIB course to have ECTS credits. It is recommended but not mandatory. Providing ECTS requires extra work from the trainer, who has the right to decide if the course will have ECTS.

Who Validates the ECTS Credits for Participants

For SIB courses with an evaluation, we deliver certificates with the number of ECTS credits for those who succeeded in the assessment. Participants can then ask their university or PhD program to validate these credits according to their rules.