United States
In the United States, a student in a high school or university earns credits for the successful completion of each course for each academic term. The state or the institution generally sets a minimum number of credits required to graduate.
Various systems of credits exist: one per course, one per hour/week in
class, one per hour/week devoted to the course (including homework), etc.
In high schools, where all courses are usually the same number of hours, often meeting every day, students often get a half credit per course per semester. This is formally known as a Carnegie Unit. After a typical four-year run, the student needs 24 to 28 credits to graduate (an average of 5 1/4 to 6 courses per quarter). Some U.S. states have only three years, with 16 to 18 credits required.
In college or university, students typically receive credit hours
based on the number of "contact hours" per week in class, for one term;
formally, Semester Credit Hours. Regardless of the duration of the
course (i.e. a short semester like summer or intersession) and depending
on the state or jurisdiction, a semester credit hour (SCH) is 15-16
contact hours per semester. Most college and university courses are 3
Semester Credit Hours SCH or 45-48 contact hours. To provide students
with the minimum 45-48 contact hours while accounting for holidays,
college start dates, etc., many courses will have 50 or more contact
hours. Otherwise, a Monday (or Monday/Wednesday/Friday) course may have
only 42 contact hours, while a Tuesday (or Tuesday/Thursday) course may
have 48 contact hours.
Because students are generally expected to spend three hours outside
class studying and doing homework for every hour spent in class, 15 SCH
is a full course load. Many colleges consider 12 SCH a minimum full time
load for financial aid and other purposes. Some schools set a flat rate
for full-time students, such that a student taking over 12 or 15 credit
hours will pay the same amount as a student taking exactly 12 (or 15). A
part-time student taking less than 12 hours pays per credit hour, on
top of matriculation and student fees.
Credit for laboratory and studio courses as well as physical
education courses, internships and practicums is usually less than for
lecture - typically one credit for every two to three hours spent in lab
or studio, depending on the amount of actual instruction necessary
prior to lab.
College and university faculty typically teach 4 courses or 12 SCH.
This varies however, with technical and community college faculty loads
sometimes higher. University faculty with a heavier emphasis on research
frequently receive reduced course loads in lieu of research, in the
form of "course releases" or "load lifts." While faculty workloads are
almost universally based on the number of SCH taught, faculty teaching
in technical "clock hour" programs in technical and community colleges
have workloads that more closely resemble high school teaching.
To figure a grade-point average (GPA), the grade received in each course is subject to weighting, by multiplying
it by the number of credit hours. Thus, a "B" (three grade points) in a
four-credit class yields 12 "quality points". It is these which are
added together, then divided by the total number of credits a student
has taken, to get the GPA. Transfer credits may not be counted in the
GPA.
Some courses may require a grade higher than that which is considered
passing. In this case, a grade of "D" will still add to the total
number of credits earned (unlike an "F"), but the course will not be
counted toward graduation requirements until it is retaken and completed
with at least a "C".
Credit by examination is a way of receiving course credit without taking the course. This grade often shows as a "K" on a transcript,
however it carries no credit hours, and therefore has no effect on the
GPA. This also means that a student often must take other classes
instead, to meet minimum hour requirements. (This still benefits the
student, because he or she can learn something new and useful, instead
of repeating what is already known.)
Various types of student aid require students to take and complete a minimum number of course credits each term. Schools often require a minimum number or percentage of credits be taken at the school to qualify for a diploma from that school—this is known as a residency requirement.
Europe
In Europe a common credit system has been introduced. The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
(ECTS) is in some European countries used as the principal credit and
grading system in universities, while other countries use the ECTS as a
secondary credit system for exchange students. In ECTS, a full study-year normally consists of 60 credits. ECTS grades are given in the A-E range, where F is failing. Schools are also allowed to use a pass/fail evaluation in the ECTS system.
Similar systems are widely used elsewhere. Often the word "unit" is used for the same concept.
Latin America
There is no an unified academic credit system in Brazil. The
regulating bodies of the Ministry of Education and the legislation count
the hours of instruction. A full time year of higher education takes
between 800 and 1200 instruction-hours in Brazil, which would be
equivalent to 30 US credits and 60 European ECTS. In Uruguay's University of the Republic,
a credit stands for 20 hours of work, including classes, personaly
studiying and task activities. Since semesters last 20 weeks, a credit
corresponds to one hour of work a week.
India
In India, most engineering colleges follow the course credit system.
The number of 'Contact Hours' in a week of a particular course,
determines its credit value. Typically, courses vary from 2-5 credits.
The GPA
is calculated on a 10 point scale, with weighted average of the grades
received in the respective course. The grades awarded are;
A+,A,B+,B,C+,C,D & E(Fail). This GPA is also known as
CGPA(Cumulative Grade Point Average). The thesis submitted at the end of
the four year degree is generally given 20 credits. On an average,
students in India need to complete 195-200 credits after their 4-year
engineering course to be awarded the degree B.Tech/B.E. with a summer
internship(6 weeks minimum) & a one year long thesis project.
