Top 6 things new students need to know about training under the credit system

The credit-based training method was born in 1872 at Harvard University, USA and then spread to other countries, firstly Western European countries since the 1960s and is now popular in the world. Around the world. In Vietnam, this form has only been applied in recent years.

Compared with the old training methods, credit training brings advantages such as:

• This form is learner-centered, students can actively build for themselves an appropriate and most effective study plan for themselves, attach importance to the student’s self-study time, learners learn on their own. , self-study and thus promote their initiative and creativity, encouraging their self-discovery and knowledge development.
• Have flexibility and flexibility in subject matter. The design program includes a system of subjects in the knowledge blocks. Each block of knowledge has a larger number of subjects than the required number of subjects, students can refer to it to choose the subjects that are suitable for their career requirements and other conditions.
• The credit-based training method is flexible and flexible in terms of graduation time. Accordingly, students are granted a degree when they have accumulated a full number of credits prescribed by the university.
• Create linkages between domestic and foreign training institutions, encourage student mobility, expand study choices, increase the transparency of the education system, and facilitate comparison between the higher education systems of the world are easier.
• Achieve high efficiency in terms of management and reduce training costs
• The credit-based training method is both a measure of learners’ learning ability and a measure of teachers’ effectiveness and working time.

With the form of credit, students will be the ones who actively seek knowledge, explore and research new knowledge, from which, if you have any questions or concerns, you will raise them in the class to class discussion and finally, the teacher has the role of concluding the problem. Therefore, in order to understand the knowledge as well as grasp the issues in each subject, students need to actively study and research the textbooks and documents before going to class.

During class time, you must take notes, enthusiastically speak, actively learn, and be excited when you are checked by the teacher. If you are not sure, ask the teacher for clarification, if you still do not understand, then discuss again. with the study group. Group discussion is a very important form. Through group discussion, students find out what they are lacking in order to supplement themselves. The issues that have been grasped through group discussion are also confirmed.

For each school, there may be different forms of training for students. It is important for new students to learn and firmly grasp the credit training model at their school so that in the learning process they can promote their own strengths and grasp the strengths of this type of training. this.

At the beginning of each school year, the school must announce the expected study schedule for each program in each semester, the list of required and elective courses expected to be taught, detailed outline, prerequisites for admission. Course registration for each module, test and exam schedule, test and exam form for each module.

Before starting each semester, depending on their ability and learning conditions, each student must register for the courses they plan to study in that semester with the school’s training department. There are 3 forms of registration for the courses to be studied in each semester: early registration, regular registration and late registration. In there:

• Early registration is a form of registration made 2 months before the start of the semester;
• Regular registration is a form of registration made 2 weeks before the start of the semester;
• Late registration is a form of registration made during the first 2 weeks of the main semester or during the first week of a sub-semester for students who want to register for an additional course or register for another course when there are no classes.

Depending on the training conditions of each school, the Principal considers and decides the appropriate forms of registration. In addition, the minimum amount of study that each student must register in each semester is specified as follows:

• 14 credits per semester, excluding the final semester of the course, for students who are ranked in average;
• 10 credits per semester, excluding the final semester of the course, for students who are in a period of low academic standing.
• There is no minimum study load for students in the extra semester.

Students who are in a period of poor academic performance are only allowed to register for a study load of no more than 14 credits per semester. There is no limit to the enrollment volume of students with normal academic standing. The registration of the courses to be studied for each semester must ensure the prerequisites of each module and the learning sequence of each specific program.

The school’s training department only accepts registration of student’s study volume in each semester when it has signed and approved by the academic advisor in the study register or as prescribed by the Principal. The volume of student registration for each semester must be recorded in the registration form kept by the school’s training department.

The TC system will have 2 levels of grading scale, which is a letter scale and a numerical scale.

• Letter scale (used for ranking): includes 5 basic levels A, B, C, D, F, based on the score achieved by the student and then converted according to regulations. Currently, some schools also have different grades such as A+, A, A-, etc. to be able to assess and classify students more accurately.
• Scale 4: If the scale of letters A, B, C, D is used to rank, system 4.0 is used to calculate the average score for students, simple for scholarship consideration, graduation conditions or graduation grading. .
• The relationship between the letter scale and the 4-point scale is calculated as follows:
  • A (8,5 – 10) Good
  • B (7,0 – 8,4) Fair
  • C (5,5 – 6,9) Average
  • D (4,0 – 5,4) Weak Average

It can be said that the 4-point scale is a very beneficial scale for students. Students only need to achieve a course score of 8,5 (scale of 10), then when converted to a 4-point scale, it will be A = 4 (the highest score of the 4-point scale). Besides, students who get a course score of 4,0-4,9 (on a 10-point scale) is a failure for the annual system, but in the credit system, when converted to a 4-point scale, it is D=1. is the score. Students may not need to retake this course or retake it to improve their grades.

In the annual-module training, students who want to have good learning results must achieve a minimum average of 7,0 in all courses, while the HTTC training only needs half. The cumulative number of credits has a 7,0 course score and the remaining half has a 5,5 module score.

Besides the advantages that this form brings, there are still some notable limitations such as:

• The awareness and skills of students about professional training are still limited, most of them are not used to working independently, still thinking of relying on the homeroom teacher and class staff for information about the school. , so do not catch the necessary information in the study plans.
• This form of training requires reducing class time, increasing students’ self-study and self-study time. This is an opportunity for students to study two disciplines at the same time, learn more foreign languages, computer science or get a part-time job. However, this feature can also lead to students not making good use of their time outside of class time and poor academic quality. Teachers cannot convey a large amount of knowledge, so it is very difficult for lazy students to learn.
• It causes difficulties in management, as well as difficulty in creating cohesion among students. Because students in each subject actively register for classes, choose classes, study time and teachers, so students do not focus on their classes and rarely meet, and collective activities become more difficult. more difficult. Most students only play in groups, individualism is highly appreciated, rarely respecting the community.

Training under the credit system (TC) is a training method in which learners are awarded a degree after accumulating all necessary knowledge. The forms of TC accumulation are: Learning in class; Practice, Practice and Self-study. Knowledge in the TC system is structured into Modules, each with about 2 to 3 credits. The training program consists of two types of modules: Compulsory modules and electives, students will be able to choose and register for courses appropriate to their abilities and circuTaxances. The school bases on the needs of students to arrange and arrange appropriate timetables for classes.

A TC will be defined by 15 theoretical lessons, 30 – 45 practical periods, experiments or discussions; 45 – 90 hours of internship at the facility; 45 – 60 hours of writing essays, major assignments or projects, graduation theses. For theoretical or practical courses, experiments, to receive a credit students must spend at least 30 hours of personal preparation. Principals of schools shall specify the number of periods and hours for each subject to suit the characteristics of the school. For programs, the volume of each module has been calculated according to the unit of study, then 1,5 course units are converted into 1 credit. One lesson is equal to 50 minutes.