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Edition: 25 November 2000
(J) HOW TO DETERMINE CREDIT VALUES FOR COURSES IN UNIVERSITIES
1. FULL-TIME
EQUIVALENT STUDENTS
A full-time equivalent (FTE)
student total for a course is determined by this formula:
FTE
student enrolments = credit value for course
x head count enrolment for
course
The head count enrolment for a course is the total of students
enrolled for that course on the census day determined by the institution. The credit value of a course is the fraction
it constitutes of a standard full-time curriculum.
This appendix describes the ways
in which credit values are to be determined.
2. MINIMUM
STUDY TIMES
A notion which is fundamental to
the calculation of credit values is that of the minimum study times allocated
to a qualification. In the case of
approved qualifications, these study times are determined by the Minister of
Education. Study times are divided into
three subsets:
minimum
total time, which is the minimum total of
years (to the nearest tenth of a year) of full-time study required for the
completion of the qualification;
minimum
experiential time, which is the minimum number of
years (to the nearest tenth of a year) of full-time study needed to complete
the experiential learning components of the qualification;
minimum
formal time, which is minimum total time less
minimum experiential time.
Some
examples of the approved minimum study times of qualifications:
Degree |
Minimum
total time (years) |
Minimum
experiential time (years) |
Minimum
formal time (years) |
BA |
3 |
0 |
3 |
BA
(Ed.) |
4 |
0 |
4 |
MBChB |
6 |
1.1 |
4.9 |
BArch |
6 |
1 |
5 |
MA
(Clinical Psychology) |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3. STEPS
IN DETERMINING CREDIT VALUES FOR NON-RESEARCH COURSES
The basic steps which have to be taken
in calculating the credit values for non-research courses (undergraduate or
postgraduate which have formal classes and formal examinations as requirements)
are these:
(i) The total credit value for all the courses
taken by a full-time student must be assumed to be equal to 1 per study year.
(ii) The approved minimum total time and the approved minimum
experiential time for the qualification must be used to determine its total of
approved credits. These will be:
total credits =
minimum total time x 1
experiential credits =
minimum experiential time x 1
formal credits =
total credits – experiential credits
(iii) These credits must now be distributed
over the minimum years of full-time study for the qualification, to generate a
credit value pattern of the kind set out in this example:
Year
of study |
Total
credits |
Experiential
credits |
Formal
credits |
First |
1 |
0 |
1.0 |
Second |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Third |
1 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Fourth |
1 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Total |
4 |
1 |
3 |
(iv) The formal credit total for a year of study must now be distributed
between the courses which make up a standard full-time curriculum for that year
in a qualification. This distribution must
be undertaken in such a way that the fraction assigned represents the share or
proportion which the course has of a standard curriculum for that year of
study.
(v) Courses must be assigned distinct credit values for each
qualification in which they occur.
(vi) A test of the formal credit
values determined in the ways described above has to be made each year by the
institution’s external auditors. The
total of credits which graduates “earned” towards a particular qualification
must be calculated, and then divided by the number of students who satisfied
the requirements for that qualification.
If the average obtained differs by more than 2% from the formal credit
total of that qualification, then its formal credit values must be
recalculated.
4. EXAMPLES
OF CALCULATION OF CREDIT VALUES FOR NON-RESEARCH COURSES
4.1 Undergraduate degree with no experiential time and a fixed
curriculum
Suppose that the BPharm degree of a particular university has the following
details approved by the Minister of Education:
Minimum total time = 4
years
Minimum experiential time = 0
years
Minimum formal time = 4 years
The total of formal credits
available for this degree is 4. Since
the minimum total time also equals 4 years, it follows further that the total
of formal credits available for each year of study for this BPharm
degree is simply 1.
This formal credit value of 1 must
now be distributed between the courses which appear in each year of the
curriculum for this degree. This step
would be a relatively simple one if this degree has a fixed curriculum of the
following kind and if the following curriculum points are quoted for each
course:
Year
One |
Points |
Chemistry
1 |
5 |
Physics
1 |
5 |
Mathematics
1 |
5 |
Biological
Science 1 |
5 |
Total
points |
20 |
Year
Two |
Points |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 2 |
6 |
Pharmaceutics
2 |
5 |
Pharmacology
2 |
6 |
Anatomy
and Physiology |
3 |
Total
points |
20 |
Year
Three |
Points |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 3 |
6 |
Pharmaceutics
3 |
5 |
Pharmacology
3 |
5 |
Pharmacy
management |
4 |
Total
points |
20 |
Year
Four |
Points |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 4 |
7 |
Pharmacology
4 |
7 |
Pharmaceutics
4 |
6 |
Total
points |
20 |
Since the formal credit value for all
courses for a particular year equals 1, the value for each separate course in
this curriculum is easy to calculate:
Year |
Course |
Calculation |
Result |
1 |
Chemistry
1 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
1 |
Physics
1 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
1 |
Mathematics
1 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
1 |
Biological
Sciences 1 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
1 |
Total
Year 1 |
1.00 |
|
2 |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 2 |
6/20
x 1 |
0.3 |
2 |
Pharmacology
2 |
6/20
x1 |
0.3 |
2 |
Pharmaceutics
2 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
2 |
Anatomy
& Physiology |
3/20
x 1 |
0.15 |
2 |
Total
Year 2 |
1.00 |
|
3 |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 3 |
6/20
x 1 |
0.3 |
3 |
Pharmaceutics
3 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
3 |
Pharmacology
3 |
5/20
x 1 |
0.25 |
3 |
Pharmacy
Management |
4/20
x 1 |
0.2 |
3 |
Total
Year 3 |
1.00 |
|
4 |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 4 |
7/20
x 1 |
0.35 |
4 |
Pharmacology
4 |
7/20
x 1 |
0.35 |
4 |
Pharmaceutics
4 |
6/20
x 1 |
0.3 |
4 |
Total
Year 4 |
1.00 |
The credit values for these courses
are in fact preliminary credit values determined by the supposition that the
curriculum set out above is a fixed one and that students do not take more or
less than the 15 courses set out in the standard curriculum. It will, however, be found that students
often do not follow the standard curriculum and that these preliminary credit
values will, as a result, have to be adjusted to satisfy the 2% test described
earlier. For practical reasons, the 2%
test will be applied to the courses in each year of study. For example, suppose that the number of BPharm graduates who fulfilled all the requirements of
their degree by the end of a specific year is N, and that the number of these
graduating students who passed a particular first-year instructional offering i with preliminary credit value ki,
is ni.
If
the final credit value in that year for instructional offering i is aki, where a is
an adjustment factor for first-year courses, then the 2% test requires that the
total formal credits for first-year courses “earned” by these graduating
students should be equal to:
N x 1 = N,
that is:
ak1n1 + ak2n2
+ ak3n3 + … = N
The formula can be rewritten as:
a = N
k1n1 +
k2n2 + k3n3 + …
This equation determines the
adjustment factor a for first-year courses, and the
final credit value in the given year for any first-year course is determined by
simply multiplying its preliminary value by a.
Similar formulae may be derived for the adjustment factors for the
preliminary credit values for second-, third- and fourth-year courses.
To be more specific, suppose that
there were 10 BPharm graduates who completed their
degree by the end of a specific year.
Suppose further that an analysis of their career records reveals that
these graduates passed the following lists of courses, which include some which
do not form part of the standard curriculum:
Course |
Preliminary
credit value ki |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Chemistry
1 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Physics
1 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Mathematics
1 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Biological
Science 1 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Zoology
1 |
0.25 |
5 |
1.25 |
TOTAL |
45 |
11.25 |
Course |
Preliminary
credit value ki |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 2 |
0.30 |
10 |
3.00 |
Pharmaceutics
2 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Pharmacology
2 |
0.30 |
10 |
3.00 |
Anatomy
& Physiology |
0.15 |
10 |
1.50 |
Mathematics
2 |
0.25 |
4 |
1.00 |
TOTAL |
44 |
11.00 |
Course |
Preliminary
credit value ki |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Pharmaceutical.
Chemistry 3 |
0.30 |
10 |
3.00 |
Pharmaceutics
3 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Pharmacology
3 |
0.25 |
10 |
2.50 |
Pharmaceutical.
Management |
0.20 |
10 |
2.00 |
TOTAL |
40 |
10.00 |
Course |
Preliminary
credit value kI |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Pharmaceutical.
Chemistry 4 |
0.35 |
10 |
3.50 |
Pharmacology
4 |
0.35 |
10 |
3.50 |
Pharmaceutics
4 |
0.30 |
10 |
3.00 |
TOTAL |
30 |
10.00 |
The
adjustment factor for first-year courses, according to the above formula, is
determined by:
a = 10 = 10 = 0.889
2.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 + 1.25 11.25
Thus,
the final credit values for this year for all first-year courses can be
determined by the calculation 0.25 x
0.889 = 0.222. The adjustment
factor for second-year courses is determined by:
a = 10 = 10 = 0.909
3.0 + 2.5 + 3.0 + 1.5 + 1.0 11
The
final credit values for second-year courses will,
therefore be:
Pharmaceutical
Chemistry 2 |
0.273 |
Pharmaceutics
2 |
0.227 |
Pharmacology
2 |
0.273 |
Anatomy
and Physiology |
0.136 |
Mathematics
2 |
0.227 |
The adjustment factors for third-
and fourth-year courses are both equal to 1,
consequently their final credit values are equal to their preliminary credit
values.
It is important that all courses
taken by these graduating students which count towards this particular degree, must be included in the calculations. Even those courses taken by graduating
students which by faculty regulation changes are no longer offered, should be
included. In such cases the original
preliminary credit values for such courses should be used.
4.2 Undergraduate degree with no
experiential time and with a curriculum which is not fixed
Suppose
that a BA degree at a university has the following approved minimum study
times:
Minimum total time = 3
years
Minimum experiential time = 0
years
Minimum formal time = 3 years
These details show that the total
of formal credits for the degree must be equal to 3, and show further that the
total formal credit for each year of study must be equal to 1. Suppose that the faculty regulations at this
university specify that each student is expected to follow this broad
curriculum:
Year 1: 5 courses of equal
weight at first-year level
Year 2: 3 courses of equal
weight at second-year level
Year 3: 2 courses of equal weight at third-year level
The formal credit of 1 for each
year of study can now be divided up in the following preliminary way:
Each first course taken for the BA = 1/5 = 0.2
Each second course taken for the BA = 1/3 = 0.333
Each third course taken for the BA = 1/2 = 0.5
It must be stressed that the
formal credit values above are in fact preliminary ones derived from the as yet
untested hypothesis or assumption that BA students at this university follow no
more and no less than the standard curriculum specified by the degree
regulations. So before these preliminary
credit values can be accepted as definitive ones, the hypothesis must be tested
or checked against the curricula students actually
construct or follow. To determine what
the actual curricula are that BA students at this university follow, an
analysis must be made of the career records of all its BA graduates of the
previous year. Suppose that the courses
listed below, together with their preliminary credit values, are the only ones
that appear in a BA degree at this university, and that 100 BA students
completed their degrees in the previous year.
The number of successful students for each course listed can be derived
from an analysis of the career records of these graduating students.
Course |
Preliminary
credit value kI |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Anthropology
1 |
0.2 |
50 |
10 |
Afrikaans
1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
English
1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
History
1 |
0.2 |
70 |
14 |
Sociology
1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
Psychology
1 |
0.2 |
60 |
12 |
Geography
1 |
0.2 |
30 |
6 |
Politics
1 |
0.2 |
40 |
8 |
Philosophy1 |
0.2 |
50 |
10 |
TOTAL |
600 |
120 |
|
Anthropology
2 |
0.333 |
30 |
10 |
Afrikaans
2 |
0.333 |
60 |
20 |
English
2 |
0.333 |
60 |
20 |
History
2 |
0.333 |
60 |
20 |
Sociology
2 |
0.333 |
60 |
20 |
Psychology
2 |
0.333 |
60 |
20 |
Geography
2 |
0.333 |
30 |
10 |
Politics
2 |
0.333 |
30 |
10 |
Philosophy
2 |
0.333 |
30 |
10 |
TOTAL |
420 |
140 |
|
Anthropology
3 |
0.5 |
20 |
10 |
Afrikaans
3 |
0.5 |
40 |
20 |
English
3 |
0.5 |
40 |
20 |
History
3 |
0.5 |
20 |
10 |
Sociology
3 |
0.5 |
40 |
20 |
Psychology
3 |
0.5 |
20 |
10 |
Geography
3 |
0.5 |
10 |
5 |
Politics
3 |
0.5 |
10 |
5 |
Philosophy
3 |
0.5 |
10 |
5 |
TOTAL |
210 |
105 |
The formula used in the BPharm example permits adjustment factors and final credit
values for these BA courses to be calculated in the following way:
For
first-year courses, the adjustment factor is determined by:
a =
N = 100 = 0.833
k1n1 + k2n2 + k3n3
+ … 120
and the final credit values for all
first-year courses can be determined by the calculation:
0.2 x 0.833 = 0.167.
For
second-year courses, the adjustment factor is determined by:
a =
N = 100 = 0.714
k1n1 +
k2n2 + k3n3 + … 140
Thus
the final credit values for all second-year courses are calculated to be:
0.333 x 0.714 =
0.238.
For
third-year courses, the adjustment factor is determined by:
a =
N = 100 = 0.952
k1n1 +
k2n2 + k3n3 + … 105
and the final credit value for all
third-year courses can be determined by the calculation:
0.5 x 0.952 =
0.476.
4.3 B.Com. Degree
Suppose
that the Commerce Faculty regulations at a university specify that each B.Com. student must satisfy the following requirements:
Year
1: 5 courses at first-year level
Year
2: 2 courses at second-year level
and
2 courses at first-year level
or
3 courses at second-year
level and
1 course at first-year level
Year
3: 1 course at third-year level
and
1 course at second-year level
and
1 course at first-year level
or
2 course at third-year level
and
1 course at first-year level
In such cases as these, the
hypothetical curriculum must be constructed according to faculty regulations
and in such a way that this hypothetical curriculum contains the maximum number
of third-year courses, and once this condition has been met, the maximum number
of second-year courses.
The hypothetical curriculum
for the B.Com. degree
used for the calculation would be:
B Com. Students would take 5
first-year courses in year 1, 3 second-year courses and 1 first-year course in
year 2, and 2 third-year courses and 1 first-year course in year 3.
This
hypothesis would lead to the following preliminary credit values being set up
for the B.Com. degree:
Each first course
taken for the B.Com. = 1/5 =
0.200
Each second course
taken for the B.Com. = 1/3 x (1-0.2) = 0.267
Each third course taken for the B.Com = 1/2
x (1-0.2) = 0.400
The formal credit values above
must be measured against the curricula students actually construct or follow, and in particular against the
curricula actually constructed by B.Com. graduates of
the previous year. Suppose that the
courses listed below, together with their preliminary credit values, are the
only ones that appear in a B.Com degree at this university, and that 100 B.Com.
students completed their degrees in the previous
year. The number of successful students
for each course listed can be derived from an analysis of the career records of
these graduating students.
Course |
Preliminary
credit value ki |
Number
ni of successful students |
ki x ni |
Business
Administration 1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
Accounting
1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
Mercantile
Law 1 |
0.2 |
70 |
14 |
Economics
1 |
0.2 |
100 |
20 |
Mathematics
1 |
0.2 |
50 |
10 |
Afrikaans
1 |
0.2 |
80 |
16 |
English
1 |
0.2 |
80 |
16 |
Latin
1 |
0.2 |
50 |
10 |
Psychology
1 |
0.2 |
90 |
18 |
TOTAL |
720 |
144 |
|
Business
Administration 2 |
0.267 |
80 |
21.36 |
Accounting
2 |
0.267 |
80 |
21.36 |
Mercantile
Law 2 |
0.267 |
40 |
10.68 |
Economics
2 |
0.267 |
80 |
21.36 |
Mathematics
2 |
0.267 |
30 |
8.01 |
Psychology
2 |
0.267 |
40 |
10.68 |
TOTAL |
350 |
93.45 |
|
Business
Administration 3 |
0.4 |
50 |
20 |
Accounting
3 |
0.4 |
50 |
20 |
Economics
3 |
0.4 |
50 |
20 |
TOTAL |
150 |
60 |
The formula for the adjustment factor
for the preliminary credit values for these B.Com. courses
are to be calculated in the following way:
For first-year courses, the
adjustment factor is determined by:
a = 1.4 x N = 1.4 x 100 = 0.972
k1n1 +
k2n2 + k3n3 + …
144
and the
final credit values for all first-year courses can be determined by the
calculation:
0.2 x 0.972 = 0.194
For second-year courses, the
adjustment factor is determined by:
a = 0.801 x N = 0.801 x 100 = 0.857
k1n1
+ k2n2 + k3n3 + … 93.45
Thus the final credit values for
all second-year courses are calculated to be:
0.267 x 0.857 = 0.229
For third-year courses, the
adjustment factor is determined by:
a = 0.8 x N = 0.8 x 100 = 1.333
k1n1 +
k2n2 + k3n3 + … 60
and the
final credit value for all third-year courses can be determined by the
calculation:
0.4 x 1.333 = 0.533
4.4 Postgraduate non-research degree
Suppose
that a masters degree at a university has the following
approved study times:
Minimum total time = 2
years
Minimum experiential time = 1
year
Minimum formal time = 1 year
Suppose that faculty regulations
specify that this degree requires 3 years of study, and that the experiential
time has to be served in equal proportions in years 2 and 3. Since the formal credit total for the degree
is 1 (the formal credit total = formal time), the distribution of credits will
be:
Year 1: 0.5 formal credits
Year 2: 0.25 formal credits
Year 3: 0.25 formal credits
Total: 1
formal credit
Suppose that the regulations
specify that the curriculum for the degree is made up in this way:
Year 1: A 500
B 500
C 500
D 500
Year 2: E 500
F 500
Year 3: G 500
If the courses in each year carry equal
weightings, the preliminary credit values will be:
A500, B500, C500, D500 = 0.5 = 0.125
4
E500, F500 = 0.25 = 0.125
2
G500 = 0.25 = 0.25
1
Before this list of preliminary
formal credit values can finally be accepted, it will have to be subjected to
the 2% test used in earlier examples.
4.5 Postgraduate research degrees
The
formal credit total for a research degree must be determined in the normal
way. This formal credit total will be
the approved minimum formal time (the approved minimum total time less the
approved minimum experiential time) x 1.
Some points which must be noted are these:
* The
approved minimum total time for an ordinary doctorate is 2 years. Since it would not normally involve experiential
time, the formal credit total for an ordinary doctorate would be 2.
* The
approved minimum total and formal time for a senior doctorate is 1 year.
The
approved minimum total time for most masters degrees
is 1 year. This minimum total time can,
however, be increased to a maximum of 2
years, if the faculty regulations
of the university require more than one year of full-time study for the completion of the degree. The maximum formal credit total for such a masters degree will thus be 2 if it involves no approved
experiential training.
* If
a masters degree has a formal credit total of more
than 1, then this total must be divided between at least two course
levels. The courses on the highest
course level can be awarded a maximum of 1 formal credit. The difference between the formal credit
total and 1 must be distributed to the lower course levels. Suppose that a masters
degree has a formal credit total of 2 and that its maximum course level
classification is intermediate postgraduate (research). In such a case, 1 formal credit would be
assigned to intermediate postgraduate (research) and 1 formal credit to lower
postgraduate. If a masters degree has a
formal credit total of 1.5 and if its maximum course level is lower
postgraduate (eg as with an MBA), then 1 formal
credit must be assigned to lower postgraduate and 0.5 to preparatory
postgraduate.
An
important calculation for research degrees must now be made. The records of all successful graduates over
a 3-year period must be analysed. The
credit value for the degree will be determined by the following formula:
credit value = k
x (x1
+ x2 +x3)
(y1
+ y2 + y3)
where
k = the approved formal time for the degree, x1 – x3 the
number of graduates in the 3 year period and y1 – y3 the
number of years for which they registered.
Two examples should make clear
what is involved in the calculation of the credit value for a particular year
for a research degree.
(a) Masters degrees
Suppose that the formal credit value
for year n for the degree of MSc at a particular university has to be
calculated, and:
* Minimum total time = 1 year
* Minimum experiential time = 0 year
* By the end of year n-1, a total of 21 students registered in that year had
satisfied the requirements of the MSc.
The total number of years for which they were registered is equal to 46.
* By the end of n-2, a total of 27 students registered in that year had
satisfied the requirements of the MSc and were registered for a total of 51
years.
* By the end of n-3, a total of 13 students registered in that year had
satisfied the requirements of the MSc and were registered for a total of 29
years.
This
information, together with the formula above, permits the following calculation
to be made of a credit value for this masters degree:
formal credit
value = k x (x1 + x2 +x3)
(y1
+ y2 + y3)
= 1 x (21 + 27 + 13)
(46
+ 51+ 29)
= 0.484
(b) Doctoral degrees
Suppose that the formal credit value
for year n for the PhD degree at a particular university has to be
calculated. To make this calculation,
the following information about the PhD degree is needed:
* Formal credit total = formal time x 1 =
2
* The
22 year n-1 PhD graduates were registered for a total of 105 years; the 31 n-2
PhD graduates were registered for a total of 147 years; and the 16 n-3 PhD
graduates were registered for a total of 67 years.
The year n formal credit value for the
PhD is simply given by:
formal
credit value = k x (x1 + x2 +x3)
(y1
+ y2 + y3)
= 2 x (22 + 31 + 16)
(105
+ 147+ 67)
= 0.433