Credits & Grading system

The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

• was developed by the European Commission of the European Union in order to provide common procedures that guarantee academic recognition of courses completed abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements, and of transferring these achievements from one institution to the other.
• improves access to information on foreign curricula. The ECTS system is based on the principle of mutual trust and confidence between the participating higher education institutions.
• European credits (EC’s) are values allocated to course units to describe the students’ workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required to complete a full year of academic study at the institution, i.e. the sum of lectures, practical work, seminars, private work - either in the library or at home - as well as examinations and/or other assessment activities.
• All classes and courses carry a number of European Credits. In the course descriptions the credits for each course are listed. Credits are only awarded when a student passes the exam.
  

1 European Credit equals 28 hours of work (including attendance at lessons)

1 year of full time study = 60 European credits

1 semester of full time study = 30 European credits

Grading system

The Dutch grading scale runs from 1 to 10. The passing grades range from 6 (pass) to 10 (outstanding).

10 = outstanding
9 = excellent
8 = very good
7 = satisfactory/good pass
6 = pass/sufficient
5-1 = fail

Please note:

● in Groningen the mark 10 is hardly ever given;
● in general, Groningen Law Faculty does not award high grades very easily;
● in the Netherlands, grades are given on an absolute basis. We do not use a comparative system or curve for grading, but an absolute grading scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest mark (though the mark 10 is hardly ever given) and 6 being the passing grade. Results of exams will hardly ever be adjusted to a curve;
● Groningen Law Faculty does not use the “pass by compensation” system – so a high grade in one exam cannot be used to compensate an insufficient grade obtained for any other exam.