ECTS Grading Tables

An ECTS Grading Table gives the statistical distribution of all passing grades and above (5.5-10) awarded to students of a specified field of study over a specified period. The purpose of the ECTS Grading Table is to provide insight into the grading culture of a degree programme, a school or an institution.

Descriptions of a (national) grading system provide general information on how grades should be interpreted. The Dutch grading system runs from 1 to 10. The passing grades range from 6 (satisfactory) to 10 (outstanding). The grades 1 to 3 are hardly used and grade 10 is rarely awarded.

Dutch Grading Scale:

10 = Outstanding
9 = Very good
8 = Good 
7 = More than satisfactory 
6 = Satisfactory
5.5 = Pass 
5 – 1 = Fail

However, this does not explain how the system is used in practice. How often are students given a 10 and how often a 6? Which are the most frequently awarded grades? The ECTS Grading Table does give this type of insight.

How is an ECTS Grading Table made?

An ECTS Grading Table can be made at different levels: at the level of an individual degree programme, at faculty or school level, or at institutional level. Hanze UAS has chosen for all Bachelor degree programmes to make ECTS Grading Tables at School level.  

The reference group per school consists of all main-phase students in (one of) the full-time Bachelor programmes of a school. Each ECTS Grading Table is made on the basis of:

• all pass grades (and above) (5.5-10)
• awarded in the academic years 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023
  (1 September 2020 – 1 September 2023).
• Many degree programmes not only give grades: sometimes student work is assessed by awarding either a V (voldoende – pass) or O (onvoldoende – fail). Students may also be granted exemptions, without a grade. That is why we have decided to provide additional information on the distribution of these three types of results. This does not reflect on the reliability of the ECTS Grading Table as such, but it does explain that the analysis is based on (only) part of the study results.

What use is an ECTS Grading Table?  

The purpose of an ECTS Grading Table is to provide international students, colleagues, partner institutions, future employers and work placement providers insight into a grading culture of a programme/school/institution. ECTS Grading Tables of Dutch HE institutions reveal that the majority of students are awarded a 6 or a 7 and that the highest grade, 10, is rarely given. This is highly relevant information for HE institutions in other countries, e.g. when students are seeking admission to a Master programme abroad, or for international employers.

An ECTS Grading Table is specifically meant to simplify the conversion of grades which students have obtained during a study abroad period with one of the international partner institutions into an institution’s ‘own’ grades. How this is done, is explained in the ECTS Users’ Guide (pp. 80-81).