A Credit-based Educational System
Posted on March 9, 2010 by Li Feng
Whether you are taking an on-site or an online program at an American university, a fundamental concept that you will be dealing with is “credits.” Although Chinese universities have introduced the concept of credits into their grade reporting system, they have not used this concept as extensively as American universities do.
In Chinese universities, the number of credits for each course does not carry too much weight in a student’s plan of study. In comparison, however, credits play the role of building blocks for American college students in the process of degree completion. In the U.S. college education system, a credit, or a credit hour, refers to one hour of class time per week. In this vein, a 2-credit course requires two hours of class time per week for a semester and a 3-credit course requires three hours of class time for a semester. Students earn two credits after they finish a 2-credit course and three credits after they complete a 3-credit course. In this way, students build their credits each semester. A degree is granted after the required number of credits, along with other requirements, has been achieved. Associate degrees usually require 60-64 credits; bachelor’s degrees usually require 120-128 credits; and master’s degrees usually require around 30 to 37 credits.
Based upon this concept of credits, a common practice in American college education is credit transfer; this is a well-used mechanism by American students, who may start at one university and then move onto 1 or 2 others before completing the degree requirements. This is not unusual at all. American students may also stay at the same university at which they start but take courses from other universities during the summer, for instance. They then take advantage of being able to transfer in these credits from other universities to complete their degrees. During the process of transfer, credits that the student has earned previously can be transferred to the destination major, department, or university. For most Chinese college students, the opposite is true; the university and the major that they put down in their college applications are the same ones from which they will graduate 4 years later. The concept of using credits from another university is very nearly unheard of.
This major difference between practices in the United States and China was reinforced when we introduced UMassOnline programs to Chinese students. One of the things we had to review repeatedly was that American universities, in most cases, accept each other’s credits, especially within the first 90 credits. Consequently, a question that we were frequently asked was, “can you give me a list of universities that will accept the credits that I earn through UMassOnline courses?” Well, there is actually no such list, because most American universities accept UMassOnline credits as because our programs and courses are fully accredited through the UMass campuses.
Another frequently asked question we got was, “How is credit transfer done?” This really is a question for the target university that the student plans to attend or is already attending. The student needs to complete any necessary paperwork required and provide a transcript of the courses taken through UMassOnline. In addition, some universities provide online credit equivalency tools on their websites that students can use as a quick reference.
You may have other questions. We look forward to your thoughts or comments on the topic of credits and credit transfer! Please share with us here!
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