A credit is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course. The word unit means any of several things: Unit of measurement or physical unit, a fundamental quantity of measurement in science or engineering. ... This article is about the unit of teaching. ...

United States

In the United States, a student in a high school or university earns credits for the successful completion of each course for each academic term. The state or the institution generally sets a minimum number of credits required to graduate. Various systems of credits exist: one per course, one per hour/week in class, one per hour/week devoted to the course (including homework), etc. Main article: Secondary education in Japan The Japanese word for a high school is kōtōgakkō (高等学校; literally high school), or kōkō (高校) in short. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... This article is about the unit of teaching. ... An academic term is a division of a school year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. ... Academic procession during the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony. ... Homework is work assigned by a teacher, school or other educational institution, to be completed by the student at home or while not attending class. ...

Europe

In Europe a common credit system has been introduced. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is in some European countries used as the principal credit and grading system in universities while other countries use the ECTS as a secondary credit system for exchange students. In ECTS a full study-year normally consists of 60 credits. Grades are given in the A-E range, where F is fail. Schools are also allowed to use a pass/fail evaluation in the ECTS system. A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... European credit transfer system (ECTS) is a method that is used to compare the marks (US: grade) given in education across European Union. ...

Similar systems are widely used elsewhere. Often the word "unit" is used for the same concept.

See also

• Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
• National Qualifications Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland