Accreditation

Academic credit for course work completed at the Dartmore Institute is awarded through the European Credit Transfer System in affiliation with our partner institution: Jagiellonian University.

What is ECTS?

The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is a system created throughout Europe to create transparency, to build bridges between institutions and to widen academic choices and possibilities available to students. The system makes it easier for institutions inside and outside of Europe to recognize the learning achievements of students. ECTS is based on three core elements: information (on study programs and student achievement), mutual agreement (between the partner institutions and the student) and the use of ECTS credits (to indicate student workload).

These three core elements are made operational using three key documents: the Dartmore Institute’s web site, the application form/learning agreement and the transcript of records. Most of all, ECTS is made operational by students, teachers and institutions that want to make study abroad an integral part of the educational experience.

ECTS & Jagiellonian University in cooperation with the Dartmore Institute

The Dartmore Institute makes ECTS operational for its students through its close cooperation with the European Studies Department at Jagiellonian University, located in Krakow, Poland. The University is one of Europe’s oldest and most respected universities. Presently, Jagiellonian University awards credits for course work completed in the Institute’s programs: Liberal Arts, Jewish Studies, Art & Architecture and Summer Program & Winter Session.

In order to receive credit for courses taken at the Dartmore Institute, students sign a learning agreement between their home institution and Jagiellonian University, with the help of the full-time academic advisor at the Dartmore Institute.  This agreement lists course units or groups of course units that correspond to the home course units for which academic credit will be awarded by Jagiellonian University. 

After completing the learning agreement, all students will know in advance the amount of credit hours they will earn at the Dartmore Institute through Jagiellonian University, and in what areas these credits can be applied to their course of study at their home university.

How are ECTS credits transferred?

Besides signing a joint learning agreement, the student’s home institution and Jagiellonian University prepare and exchange transcripts of records for each student participating in any Dartmore program before and after the period of study. Copies of these transcripts are given to the student for his/her personal file.

The home institution recognizes the amount of credits awarded to their students by Jagiellonian University in respect to specific course units. Credits awarded for the course units passed at the Dartmore Institute replace the credits that would have otherwise been obtained from the home institution. Thus full academic recognition is given.

ECTS Credits and Credits Awarded Through Jagiellonian University

What are ECTS credits?

ECTS credits are a numerical value (between 1 and 60) allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. In ECTS, 30 credits represent the workload of an academic semester of study. These 30 credits include lectures, practical work, seminars, tutorials, fieldwork, and private study - in the library or at home - and examinations or other assessment activities. ECTS is thus based on a full student workload and not limited to contact hours only, such as the credit system in the United States. 

Credits Awarded Through Jagiellonian University:

The Dartmore Institute uses a standard American credit system.  Each credit represents 14 contact hours with a professor.  15 credits represent the workload of an average academic semester at the Institute.

The Institute, in consultation with Jagiellonian University and their ECTS representatives, uses a conversion factor of two to arrive at 30 ECTS credits per semester. This conversion factor is appropriate because the other workload elements  (practical work, seminars, tutorials, fieldwork, and private study) are accounted for.

Dartmore Institute’s Web Site in cooperation with Jagiellonian University

The Dartmore Institute, in cooperation with Jagiellonian University and its ECTS institutional coordinator, has created this informational web site as a guide to its courses, curricula, academic and administrative arrangements for potential partners and students and staff at partner institutions. This web site is intended to facilitate curriculum transparency, to help teachers guide students to choose appropriate programs and plan their studies abroad, and to provide practical information about the Institute, its programs, and its cooperation with Jagiellonian University.

Note: Some information presented on this page was taken from European Commission ECTS USERS' GUIDE 31.03.1998)