In the framework of the creation and development of a European Higher Education Area, endorsed by the signing of the Bologna Declaration, the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) was proposed as a reference point for collaboration between European universities.  

The adoption of the ECTS credit system implied a conceptual reorganisation of education systems to adapt to new training models centred on student work and learning.

The system's basic elements are: 

• The use of 60 ECTS credits per academic year where these credits represent the student's actual workload by measuring performance through comparable grades (ECTS grades).
• The production of documents providing information on study programmes and student outcomes in standardised format (Teaching Guides or Information Package) and Academic Certificates (Transcript of records).
• Until now, since the University Reform Act (LRU for its Spanish acronym meaning Ley de Reforma Universitaria), credit has mainly referred to the lecturer's work in the classroom, i.e. hours of classroom teaching associated with their salaries and teaching dedication.. 
• The consideration of European Credit refers to student work, as it relates to learning and the achievement of defined objectives. The new credit can be defined as: 
  • The unit of assessment of academic activity, which integrates theoretical and practical teaching, other directed academic activities and the volume of work that the student must carry out to pass each of the subjects and achieve the educational objectives with their corresponding competences and skills.