Credit recognition

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is the standardized framework that allows academic credits earned at one European institution to be recognized at another. One ECTS credit represents approximately 25 to 30 hours of student workload, including lectures, self-study, and assessment. A standard full-time semester in Europe carries 30 ECTS credits.

ECTS is not just a counting system. It is a common language between institutions. When your home university and a host university both operate within the Bologna Process framework (which applies across all EU member states and many associated countries), credits can be compared, converted, and recognized using this shared standard. A 6-credit course at Rennes School of Business and a 6-credit course at Universidad Pablo de Olavide are comparable units even though the content, teaching style, and grading system may differ significantly.

For non-European destinations, ECTS does not apply directly. US universities use credit hours, Australian universities use their own unit systems, and Korean universities have their own frameworks. Credit transfer from these destinations is still possible, but it requires a conversion step. Most European home universities have established conversion tables for common non-EU credit systems: typically, one US semester credit hour converts to approximately 2 ECTS, and one full US 3-credit course converts to roughly 6 ECTS. Your home university’s international office should have a reference conversion table. If they do not, ask them to establish one before you depart, not after you return.

The learning agreement is the foundational document of your semester abroad. It is a formal written agreement between three parties: you, your home university, and your host university. Its purpose is to establish, before your departure, exactly which courses you will take abroad and how they will be recognized when you return.

What it contains: The learning agreement consists of two core tables. The first (often called Table A) lists the courses you will take at the host institution, including their names, course codes, and ECTS credits. The second (Table B) lists the equivalent courses at your home institution that these will replace, or confirms that the credits will be recognized as elective credits toward your degree. Both tables must be completed and agreed upon by all three parties before you leave.

Why it must be signed before departure: The learning agreement is not a formality you can handle after your free mover semester abroad. It is a pre-commitment. If you leave without a signed learning agreement and attempt to have credits recognized on return, your home university has no prior obligation to accept them. Some institutions will process late requests; many will not. So, the lesson is clear here: do not leave without a signed learning agreement if credit recognition matters to you.

How to draft it: Start with the host university’s course catalogue for the semester you will attend. You will usually find it under the application pages on wearefreemovers, after logging in. Select courses that match as closely as possible to courses in your home curriculum, either exact equivalents or courses your home university will accept as electives. Vague matches and sharp deviations from your field of study are the most common reason home universities refuse to sign. A mathematics student taking exclusively marketing courses will face resistance. A mathematics student taking statistics, data analysis, and one economics elective will generally not.

Submit the draft to your home university coordinator for review before sending it to the host institution. Home university approval is the harder step. Once they have confirmed the course selection is acceptable, send it to the host university’s international office for countersignature.

The learning agreement can be modified after your arrival at the host institution, typically within the first five weeks of the semester. This is formally called a “Changes to the Learning Agreement” addendum and follows the same three-party approval process as the original. Changes are necessary when a course you planned to take is cancelled, fully booked, or unavailable to visiting students. Keep the changes minimal and within your original subject area. Significant deviations at this stage can trigger re-evaluation from your home coordinator.

Many European institutions now use the digital Online Learning Agreement platform, which streamlines the signing process across institutions. If your home university and host university both participate, the entire agreement can be completed, reviewed, and signed digitally without printing or posting documents. Check with both institutions before departure to confirm which system they use.

The Academic Transcript, formally called the Transcript of Records in European university terminology, is the official record of your academic history. It serves two distinct purposes in the free mover process: one before your semester begins and one after it ends.

Before mobility: Your Academic Transcript is submitted to the host university as part of your application through wearefreemovers. It demonstrates your background, your GPA, and the courses you have completed. The host university uses it to verify that you meet their entry requirements and that your academic level is appropriate for the courses you have selected.

This document should be the most official version available to you. Most universities allow students to download a certified digital version from their student portal, or to request an officially stamped paper version from their academic office. Screenshots, partial records, or unofficial printouts are not acceptable. If your transcript is not in English, an official translation is required. This is a common source of delay for students from institutions where documentation is issued only in the national language.

After mobility: At the end of your semester abroad, the host university issues you a Transcript of Records documenting every course you completed, the credits assigned, and the grade you received in the host institution’s grading system. This is the document you bring back to your home university to trigger credit recognition.

The host transcript must match the learning agreement. The courses listed on your Transcript of Records must be the same courses listed on your learning agreement (or the amended version if changes were made). If there are discrepancies, your home university will flag them. Keep both documents together and verify the match before submitting anything.

Grade conversion: Grades on your host transcript will be expressed in the host institution’s grading system, which may differ significantly from your home system. Your home university is responsible for applying a conversion when recognizing grades. Most institutions have standard conversion tables. Our grading conversion tool gives you a reference for common international grading scales so you can understand what your host grades represent before submitting them for recognition.

Credit recognition is not a single event. It is the outcome of a sequence that begins before your application and ends after your return. Every step depends on the one before it.

Step 1: Draft your learning agreement before finalizing your course selection at the host institution. Match courses to your home curriculum and get informal confirmation from your home coordinator that the selection is acceptable.

Step 2: Get your home university to sign the learning agreement. This is the critical step. Home coordinator approval must happen before departure. If your coordinator is slow or unresponsive, escalate to the international office or department head. Do not leave this until the last week before departure.

Step 3: Get the host university to countersign. Once your home university has approved, send the document to the host institution’s international office. In most cases this happens as part of the standard application process.

Step 4: Attend and complete the agreed courses. You must complete and pass the courses listed on the learning agreement. Courses you attend but do not pass will appear on the host transcript but cannot be recognized at home. Plan your semester workload accordingly.

Step 5: Request your host Transcript of Records. This is typically issued automatically at the end of the semester, but some institutions require a formal request. Confirm the process with your host university’s registrar’s office before the semester ends. Allow two to six weeks for processing after grades are confirmed.

Step 6: Submit them to your home university. Bring both your learning agreement and your host transcript to your home university’s international office or academic registrar. They will process the recognition and update your academic record. Keep digital copies of both documents permanently.

Most credit recognition processes complete without significant problems when the learning agreement is properly drafted and signed before departure. The cases where it fails typically follow predictable patterns.

This is usually because the course selection does not align with your home curriculum, or because your faculty has internal restrictions on free mover mobility. The solution is to revise the course selection to bring it closer to your home program, or to seek approval from the specific faculty member who oversees your curriculum rather than the general international office. We cover this situation in detail in our guide on what to do if your home university is not free mover friendly.

This happens when course catalogues change between application and arrival, or when popular courses fill up before you can enroll. Use the “Changes to Learning Agreement” process within the first five weeks to substitute comparable courses. Do not simply switch courses without updating the learning agreement, as your home university will see the discrepancy when the host transcript arrives.

Some institutions take longer than expected to issue final transcripts. If you are in a time-sensitive situation at home (end of degree, scholarship deadline), request a provisional grade confirmation from the host institution’s registrar and submit it alongside a note that the official transcript is pending. Most home universities will accept this as an interim solution.

This is a consequence of grading system differences and is generally not contestable if the conversion table is applied correctly. If you believe the conversion is being applied incorrectly, request the specific conversion table your home university is using and verify the calculation.

For semester abroad at partner universities outside the European ECTS framework, such as in the United States, Australia, Canada, South Korea, or New Zealand, the learning agreement and transcript process still applies in principle, but with additional conversion steps.

The learning agreement for non-EU destinations should specify both the host institution’s native credit units and their approximate ECTS equivalent. Many non-EU universities are familiar with this requirement and can provide ECTS conversions for their courses on request.

Grading systems outside Europe vary significantly. The US letter grade system, the Australian High Distinction/Distinction/Credit/Pass scale, and the Korean letter grade system all require conversion. The practical advice for non-EU destinations is to confirm with your home university’s international office that they have an established procedure for recognizing credits from that country before you depart.