METHODOLOGY USED AT INS ILLA DELS BANYOLS TO ALLOCATE CREDITS TO THE DIFFERENT COURSE UNITS
The VET Upper Courses are part of higher education in the educational system, allowing our participation in EU programmes so far reserved to the university. Similarly, the European Commission created the ‘European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System’ (ECTS) that provides a way to measure and compare academic results, and transfer them from one institution to another in an effective way. In Spain, the ECTS is regulated by the Royal Decree 1125/2003 of September 5.
The ECTS system assigns a number of credits to the different course units, depending on the academic work required to complete them. The Royal Decree 1125/2003 estimates 60 ECTS credits for a full course. Each credit consists of a number of hours between 25 and 30, as specified in article No. 3 of the Decree. Our official VET Upper Courses consist of 2,000 total hours, which correspond to 120 ECTS. Each course lasts two years. In the first year, students take 60 ECTS (20 per trimester) and in the second, the remainder 60 ECTS (20 per trimester).
Our institution will ensure the efficient recognition of credits gained abroad through effective quality assurance, consistent use of ECTS and the EUROPASS DIPLOMA SUPPLEMENT, and by linking qualifications to the European Qualifications Framework. Regarding educational courses, our institution will certify the number of credits undertaken with an official certificate (Transcript of Records) containing an accurate record of the modules they have attended and achieved at the end of the mobility period, recognized by both the Spanish system and the ECTS system.
Concerning the mobility of traineeships in enterprises, each course taught in our institution provides with a 360-hour module for vocational training, which is recognized with 22 ECTS credits. The in-company mentor will evaluate the student’s achievements through a report that will be then presented to our institution for approval. The approval of this work placement will entail the recognition of the training module.
Below there are the EUROPASS DIPLOMA SUPPLEMENT corresponding to the VET Upper Courses taught at our institution: