Understanding how your degree and tier progress is calculated is essential for tracking your academic journey effectively. Here's a clear explanation of the process:
Degree Progress Calculation
- Sum of Tier Progresses: Degree progress is the cumulative sum of all individual tier progresses. Each tier's progress contributes to the overall degree progress.
- Degree Workload Limit: The total degree progress cannot exceed the predefined degree workload, which is the maximum workload required to complete the degree.
- Not Based on Total Course Completion: Degree progress is not simply a measure of completing all coursework. It's structured around tier-specific achievements.
Tier Progress Calculation
- Sum of Passed Courses' Workload: Tier progress is calculated based on the total workload of the courses you have passed within that tier.
- Tier Workload Limit: The total workload considered for tier progress cannot exceed the specific tier workload.
- Compulsory Courses: If a tier includes compulsory courses, their workload is always allocated first. This ensures these essential courses are given priority in your progress calculation.
General Rules
- Recalculation Triggers: Degree progress is recalculated when a student completes a course or when there are changes in the degree structure or general workload.
- Course Allocation: If a course is listed in multiple tiers in a degree structure, it is allocated to the tier where it can bring the most value to student progress, i.e., close a tier faster. Its workload is calculated only once and contributes only to the tier it's allocated to.
- Course Reallocation: Courses can be reallocated to different tiers after each new course completion, depending on where they can contribute the most to student progress. This ensures that each course brings maximum value to completing your degree. Don't be surprised if a course initially shown under Tier 1 moves to Tier 2 after you complete a few new courses. This happens because the course is listed in both tiers in the degree structure. We allocate the course to the tier where it maximizes your degree progress, depending on your current situation.
- Compulsory Courses: Students must complete compulsory courses to finish tiers and their degree. Without completing compulsory courses, tier and degree progress is halted.
- Workload Allocation: Once any course is completed, its workload is added to the general degree progress, but the sum of courses' workload inside a particular tier cannot exceed the required tier cap.
Example Case
1 ECTS = 25 hours
Tier 1
- Requirements: The student needs to complete 3 courses, which is equivalent to 15 ECTS (5 ECTS per course).
- Student's Completion: The student has completed 4 courses, equating to 20 ECTS.
- Calculation: Only the required 3 courses (15 ECTS) are considered, not the 20 ECTS completed.
- Earned: 15 ECTS (3 courses * 5 ECTS each)
Tier 2
- Requirements: The student needs to complete 9 courses, which is equivalent to 45 ECTS (5 ECTS per course).
- Student's Completion: The student has completed 8 courses, resulting in 40 ECTS.
- Calculation: The student has earned 40 ECTS in Tier 2.
- Earned: 40 ECTS (8 courses * 5 ECTS each)
Tier 3
- Requirements: The student needs to complete 30 ECTS in Tier 3, including one compulsory course worth 10 ECTS.
- Student's Completion: The student's dashboard shows:
- Completed Courses: 5 courses (5 ECTS per course)
- Completed Hours: 500 hours
Here's how these numbers are derived:
- The student has completed 5 courses, each with a workload of 125 hours. Therefore, the total hours for these courses should be 625 hours (5 courses * 125 hours).
- Tier 3 includes a compulsory course with a workload of 250 hours (10 ECTS). This workload is automatically allocated to the tier progress.
- The total tier workload is 750 hours. After allocating 250 hours to the compulsory course, the remaining workload that can be fulfilled by other courses is 500 hours (750 hours - 250 hours).
Despite completing 625 hours of coursework, only 500 hours are considered due to the compulsory course allocation. Thus, the student's tier progress is calculated as 66% (500 hours / 750 hours).
Degree Progress Summary
- Completed Hours: 1875 hours out of 2250 required.
- Degree Progress: 83%
Despite the simple sum of the completed courses' workload being 2125 hours (95% of the degree workload), the actual degree progress is 1875 hours (83%) due to the constraints and rules applied to tier progress calculations.