International Students ECTS Tables (European Credit Transfer System)

ECTS Tables (European Credit Transfer System)

School of Humanities and Education – Individual Grades Table                                                                    School of Humanities and Education – Final Degree Grades Table

The ECTS tables (European Credit Transfer System) are adopted by universities in the European Higher Education Area and allow for the conversion of grades between different national systems according to criteria agreed at the European level (ECTS - Users’ Guide 2015). They establish clear rules and a uniform approach at university level for:

• Outgoing UNIFI students: ECTS tables allow for the correct interpretation and fair conversion of grades obtained during mobility periods at foreign universities.
• Incoming students: Attached to the Transcript of Records issued to the student at the end of the mobility period, the ECTS table of the Degree Programme in which the majority of exams indicated in the incoming student’s Learning Agreement were taken allows foreign universities to correctly interpret the grades obtained during mobility.

They represent the statistical distribution of passing grades (passes and higher) divided by degree class (Bachelor, Master, and Single-Cycle Master degrees according to DM 270/2004); that is, for each grade, they indicate the percentage of students who actually achieved it.

They include the previous ECTS scale (ECTS - Users’ Guide 2009) structured into 5 levels (A (Excellent) = top 10%; B (Very good) = next 25%; C (Good) = next 30%; D (Satisfactory) = next 25%; E (Passed) = bottom 10%), to facilitate conversion until the new system is adopted by all European universities.

The UNIFI ECTS tables prepared by the University of Florence for each degree class are twofold:

• One relating to the distribution of individual subject grades (scale 18–30 with honours) to be used for converting grades obtained abroad during a mobility period
• One relating to the distribution of final degree grades (scale in one-hundreds). This table is published for completeness of results and purely for transparency purposes.

For conversions of final degree grades obtained abroad, reference should be made to MUR provisions, also reported in the University of Florence Study Regulations, Appendix section – Degrees Obtained Abroad.

Study Regulations

How subject grades are converted under the new system

UNIFI ECTS tables are mandatory for the conversion of grades obtained by students during a mobility period. For the conversion of a grade, the following are required:

• The UNIFI ECTS table corresponding to the student’s Degree Programme (DP) class.
• The Transcript of Records (ToR) issued by the foreign university.

The conversion procedure varies depending on the information reported in the ToR. The following cases apply, in order of priority:

Case 1: Conversion using the cumulative percentage (row “CUMULATIVE %” in the UNIFI ECTS table):

If the ToR reports both the local grade and the grade distribution percentages, the conversion must be carried out by comparing the cumulative percentage in the UNIFI ECTS table (row “CUMULATIVE %”) with the cumulative percentage from the foreign university.

Note: If the ToR reports only the simple percentage (and not the cumulative one), the cumulative percentage of the foreign university must first be calculated before proceeding with the conversion, to compare it with the cumulative percentages of grades in the UNIFI Degree Programme class. See example in Case 1.

Case 2: Conversion using the previous ECTS scale (row “OLD ECTS System” in the UNIFI ECTS table):

If the ToR reports both the local grade and the previous ECTS scale, the conversion must be carried out by comparing the previous ECTS scale provided by the foreign university with the ECTS scale reported in the UNIFI ECTS Table (row “OLD ECTS System”) for the Degree Programme class of the student.

Case 3: Conversion without ECTS references:

If the ToR reports only the local grade, without indicating either the statistical grade distribution or the ECTS scale, the conversion occurs in two stages:

• First stage: convert the foreign local grades into ECTS grades using the generic conversion tables: European Countries and Countries Outside Europe.
• Second stage: apply the conversion procedure described in Case 2, using the “OLD ECTS System” scale from the UNIFI ECTS table corresponding to the student’s Degree Programme class.

If the conversion results in a range of grades, the most favourable grade is assigned to encourage and reward students who take exams abroad.

It should also be noted that:

• Exams marked as “Fail” are not recognised
• Exams marked as “Pass” are recognised as follows:
  • If the ToR contains other graded exams, the grade corresponding to the weighted average of grades obtained abroad is assigned.
  • If the ToR contains no graded exams, the grade corresponding to the weighted average of exams recorded in the student’s academic record is assigned.

ECTS tables are updated every year in November and contain data relating to the previous three academic years.

ECTS tables are used exclusively for the conversion of grades obtained during participation in international mobility programmes.

ECTS tables - Graduation grades

ECTS tables - Exams grades