ECTS credits are awarded on the basis of the student workload required to achieve certain previously defined learning objectives within a course of study. There are three key elements to implementing a system for recognizing academic achievement: information, mutual agreement between the parties involved and the documentation of learning achievements. To this end three fundamental tools were developed that ensure that the ECTS functions both as an accumulation system within a single institution and as a credit transfer system between institutions.

• The Information Package
• The Learning Agreement
• The Transcript of Records

More detailed information on the system is available in the "Users Guide".

This is the central document that students can refer to in order to learn about the courses and study programmes offered by a university or institution of higher education. The information package thus plays an important role in helping students decide where to study, either for a short-term study period abroad or for a complete degree course. The information package contains information on the university, the home town or city, the modules that make up a course of study and the associated ECTS credits. Information packages can be compiled for the entire university, for specific faculties or even individual degree programmes or courses of study. The information should also be available via the internet.

The learning agreement sets out the type and number of courses that an exchange student will take while studying at the host institution. The agreement is a three-way contract between the student, the home university and the host university and ensures clarity about the number of credits that will be awarded when specific learning objectives are attained. It also commits the student to complete a defined programme of study.

The learning agreement details all the planned courses and the corresponding number of ECTS credits.

The transcript of records was developed so that exchange students could document their academic progress or achievements at their home institution. The host university uses the transcript to certify the courses completed and the ECTS credits attained by the student, thus enabling the student’s academic achievements to be transferred to the study programme at the home institution.

As the ECTS has become a generally accepted system for recording a student’s accumulated academic achievements, it is now possible to compile a transcript of records for “home” students at any time during their course of study. Students planning to study abroad (outgoing students) can therefore be issued with a transcript of records at the required time. The host university can then integrate these students more easily into its study programmes.

Another important document within the ECTS is the diploma supplement (DS), which was developed particularly in response to the introduction of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. The diploma supplement can be regarded as an extension of the transcript of records for an entire degree programme. The diploma supplement summarizes the holder’s academic achievements and the content of courses successfully completed. The aim of the DS is to improve transparency and to enable graduates to apply for jobs or post-graduate study in the international market.