Analysis and Insights from Case Study of Credit Transfer in Higher Education in China

YIN Shuangxu   YAO Wenjian

(Fund project: This thesis is a phased research achievement of the 2011 OUC key project “Comparative Study on Credit Transfer Against the Background of University Internationalization” (Project No. G11AQ0012Z)).

About the Authors

YIN Shuangxu, deputy chief, Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition Center;  assistant researcher, Research Institute of Open and Distance Education, the Open University of China (OUC)  (Contact Information: Mobile phone: 13683346171, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
YAO Wenjian, assistant researcher, Development and Planning Office, the OUC

Abstract: Credit transfer is not only a major part of credit bank construction but also a primary index with which to judge the academic vitality of an institute of higher education. This thesis examines practical cases of credit transfer in Beijing College & University Teaching Community College Rd. Zone (CTCCR), cooperative higher education institutions in southwest Shanghai, and students’ cross-institution course selection in Zhejiang Higher Education Park. It summarizes common models of credit transfer presently existing in China, including cross-institution course selection, cooperative offering of minors (optional courses) and intercollegiate student exchange, and analyzes problems in credit transfer so as to provide a practical reference for credit bank construction at China's open universities.

Key Words: credit transfer; credit bank; higher education

The majority of China’s higher education institutions (HEIs) have been in a state of natural isolation and seclusion. They develop independently with little cooperation and communication. Even if there is cooperation, it is very limited. This kind of closed development model not only limits academic integration and development but also seriously hinders students' interschool mobility. If a student wishes to transfer to another school, he has almost no choice but to drop out to take another college entrance examination. With the internationalization of higher education, credit transfer has been initiated at many HEIs in China, giving students more opportunity for academic exchange and communication. The establishment of a credit transfer system not only facilitates the sharing of quality higher education resources, decreases the dropout rate and promotes students’ mobility between HEIs, but also increases the availability of higher education, thus promoting lifelong learning for all members of society.

It was explicitly stated in the National Outline for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) (abbreviated as “Education Outline” below) that “the establishment of a credit accumulation and transfer system for continuing education and the connection of different types of learning results” represent an important way to “formulate a lifelong education system” and to “build the ‘flyover’ of lifelong learning”. In implementing the Education Outline, the “credit bank system with the functions of accreditation, transfer and access” is an important component in the construction of open universities at the national and local levels, and credit transfer is an important aspect of credit bank construction.

This thesis introduces and analyzes representative cases of credit transfer in China, compares models and standards of implementing credit transfer, and discusses existing problems and countermeasures to provide a practical reference for credit bank construction at open universities in China.

I. Definition of relevant concepts

The English term “credit transfer” is called “mutual credit recognition” “credit conversion” and “credit transfer” in China. The term may be defined as having the following two meanings:

First, credit transfer generally refers to a system of credit management in which participating HEIs can mutually recognize and transfer students’ credits. It means that students of participating HEIs can obtain required credits not only by studying courses in their own schools, but also by studying relevant courses that are jointly operated or offered by other HEIs through agreements. So long as the students pass the said courses with satisfactory marks, the credits (or courses, etc.) obtained can be recognized by participating universities and colleges.

Second, the so-called university credit transfer means that students can study relevant courses offered by other schools in addition to their own schools' courses, and the credits obtained can be transferred to their own schools' credits. At the same time, the credits obtained in their own schools are also recognized by other schools. This smooth transfer of credits makes it possible for students to move from one school to another (that is, to transfer schools).

The above definitions, although expressed somewhat differently, are fundamentally consistent in meaning. Hence, credit transfer can be defined as follows: A system of credit management in which students’ credits can be recognized or transferred between participating HEIs, i.e., how to scientifically transfer credits previously obtained at various nationally accredited schools into currently relevant academic credits.

The term “mutual credit recognition” in this study is broadly equivalent to credit conversion or credit transfer, meaning that the credits acquired through study in one institution can be recognized by another institution. The practice of credit transfer is not limited to credit transfer between domestic educational institutions, but also includes credit transfer between different countries and regions internationally. In order to avoid confusion due to different terms, this thesis uses “credit transfer” (which is well-recognized around the world) as the term encompassing all the meanings mentioned above.

II. Representative cases of credit transfer in higher education in China

Credit transfer that has been implemented internationally mainly falls into the two categories among HEIs of the same level and among HEIs at different levels. Though the two are not exactly the same, they have the same primary functions and goals. Both of them adopt flexible credit transfer systems to ensure that the credits that students acquire in different HEIs can be transferred and accumulated. Both promote a normal level of student mobility, and encourage and assist students to finish their scheduled studies in a relatively short period of time or without extending studying time.

The most representative of credit transfer among HEIs of the same level is the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It adopts a flexible credit system to ensure that credits can be transferred and accumulated among different institutions, and offers a simplified, easy-to-read and comparative qualification framework system for higher education institutions that each institution should reference when implementing credit transfer. As for credit transfer among HEIs at different levels, a representative system is the one used by community colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The implementation of this system facilitates the smooth connection of two-year community education with four-year university education.

In contrast to the large-scale implementation of credit transfer abroad, China's implementation is limited to credit transfer within small leagues of universities. This thesis selects a few representative cases and presents their background, development status and implementation results.

1. Beijing College & University Teaching Community College Rd. Zone

1.1 Background

College Road (Xueyuan Lu) is a famous road less than three kilometers long in the northwest of Beijing, and more than 10 famous HEIs are situated next to each other on both sides of it. Most of them, including eight famous universities, are high-level professional universities established after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and have contributed greatly to the development of the country in the past 60+ years and cultivated a vast number of talented professionals. Individually, the universities feature specialty disciplines that rank among the top in the nation; as a whole, they offer a complete set of disciplines with outstanding advantages. In order to meet China’s growing demand for talented professionals, raise the quality of education,  and fully utilize the advantages of having HEIs concentrated in the College Road zone with rich teaching resources and a complete set of disciplines, 13 HEIs including Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics (now Beihang University) and University of Science & Technology Beijing, jointly set up Beijing College & University Teaching Community College Rd. Zone (CTCCR) in 1999 with the support of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education. With two extensions in 2002 and 2010, CTCCR has become a teaching community of 20 members (19 HEIs and Beijing Municipal Commission of Education)¹, carrying out a full range of intercollegiate cooperative teaching activities.

CTCCR pools together the advantages of all its members, enhances the guiding philosophy in cultivating the overall quality of its students, integrates the national need for human resource development with students' personal development needs and Beijing's socio-economic development needs, and through resource sharing gives impetus to the individual construction and development of member institutions as well as to their integration and development as a whole.