The academic year is divided into two semesters, which are generally running from September to May-June.

There is no regular Summer semester for universities/”grandes écoles”.

SOME KEY DATES

Mid-September – administrative and pedagogical registration
October – classes begin
December –Christmas holidays (two weeks)
February - mid-terms (les partiels)
April – spring break
June – final exams
June 21 – first day of summer, you receive your marks; congratulations, if you passed; sorry, if you failed; do not miss the registration for the “make-up exams” in September.
October – ready for a new start?

French language courses follow the same calendar, provided that courses are offered in a Language Institute associated with a university.

Language schools offer sessions of four weeks and up. The courses start at the beginning of each month.

COURSE TYPES

University courses fall into two categories:

LECTURES (cours magistraux) – they take place in large lecture halls (amphithéâtres) that can accommodate from 100 to 1000 students. There is no interaction between teacher-student during the lecture, there is a questions’ period at the end of the course. Students’ attendance is not checked.

TUTORIALS – students attend small classes of study sessions (travaux dirigés – TD) or tutorials (travaux pratiques – TP) that allow discussing and/or putting into practice the theoretical content of the lectures. Assistant professors or instructors generally conduct the TD and TP. The attendance is important.

WORTH KNOWING: With some exceptions, there is little continuous assessment carried out through the year and few intermediate examinations; students are mostly responsible for their progress throughout the year bearing in mind that they have to pass the final examinations.

GRADING SYSTEM VERSUS CREDITS SYSTEM

Traditionally the French academic system was based on the 0 to 20 grading system. Theoretically an average student was rated 11/20; a brilliant student scored - 15/20. Practically most of the academic institutions had an average grade below 10; grades over 12/20 rated the best 10 to 15% of the class.

A Philippine student translated the French grading system as follows:

Grade Explanation

6-7 NOT GOOD; FAILING
8-9 OK, don’t panic
10 Class AVERAGE
11-12 GOOD mark, you have done some hard work
13-14 GREAT, well above average
15-16 TOP of the class
17-19 Almost UNHEARD of
20 NEVER

The creation of the European Union harmonized the different evaluation systems of higher education institutions throughout Europe. A common evaluation system has been developed, known as the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is based on the number of credits assigned for each course within an academic year. France has adopted the ECTS system.

A full academic year workload requires 60 ECTS
A semester workload requires 30 ECTS

Licence degree requires 180 ECTS
Master degree requires 300 ECTS

WORTH KNOWING: ECTS credits are transferable among French universities and abroad. Some Philippine universities that have cooperation agreements with French universities recognize the ECT System. Students can transfer the credits acquired in France according to specific requirements of their university. Contact the Registrar’s office and check for the transfer procedures.

The Philippine universities that have exisiting MOA with French institutions are:

1) Asian Institute of Management
2) Ateneo de Manila University
3) De La Salle University
4) Foreign Service Institute
5) SEAMEO INNOTECH
6) University of Asia and the Pacific
7) University of the Philippines