HAQAA TRAININGS

AFRICAN CREDIT TRANSFER SYSTEM

MODULE 1

Academic credits and curricula

Module 1 at a glance

Module 1 focuses on the relationship between academic credit systems and curriculum design, which is the foundational layer on which any mobility and recognition framework must rest. Before credits can be transferred, compared or recognised, they need to mean something coherent: something tied to learning, to workload, and to the academic logic of a programme of study.
This module explores what academic credits are, how they function within curricula, how African and European experiences with credit system reform have evolved, and what all of this means for the practical use of ACTS at the institutional level.

What this Module explores

  • Understanding what academic credits are and what they measure, distinguishing between contact-hour based and workload-based approaches.
  • Recognising how curricula design and learning outcomes interact with credit allocation and transfer.
  • Situating African credit system experiences (ACTS, ACQF, regional frameworks) in relation to global lessons from ECTS and Tuning.
  • Identifying concrete entry points for translating your institution’s curricula into ACTS-compatible structures.

The ACTS credit reference value and its rationale

ACTS establishes that 1 credit represents 20 to 25 hours of total student workload, with the full academic year corresponding to 60 credits (approximately 1,200 to 1,500 hours). This reference value is deliberately aligned with the ECTS standard to facilitate international recognition, particularly under the Addis Convention framework.


The range rather than a fixed value is intentional. It acknowledges:

  • Variation in institutional contexts: different disciplines, delivery modes and student populations may reasonably require different intensity levels within the range.
  • National calibration: individual countries may adopt a specific point within the range for consistency within their NQF.
  • Methodological uncertainty: workload estimation is inherently approximate and depends on assumptions about student preparation and study efficiency.
DOWNLOAD MODULE 1 GUIDELINE

ESSENTIAL READING

Comprehensive mapping of how credit systems and recognition practices currently function across African higher education systems. The conclusions of the study present the revised ACTS proposal

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

VIDEO RECORDINGS

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION ACTIVITY

DOWNLOAD ASSIGNMENT
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LIVE SESSION

This live session is organised by regional cluster and is conceived as a practice-sharing and discussion forum rather than a lecture. Participants will collectively analyse how academic credits and curricula are currently structured and used across different institutional and national contexts, exchange concrete experiences related to mobility and recognition, and discuss the first reflection activities developed under the ACTS Pilot Phase.

JUNE 9 – 9h00-11h00 (GMT) | REGISTER FOR LIVE SESSION – SOUTHERN AFRICAN CLUSTER JUNE 9 – 13h00-15h00 (GMT) | REGISTER FOR LIVE SESSION – ANGLOPHONE CLUSTER