Standard quantified means of expressing the level of work, respectivelly the time needed for sudy by a standard student for obtaining average results planned for a discipline or a study programme Credit may have a relative value (as the case when they were first introduced) or absolute value (when they made the shift to an accumulation system - no longer calculated on an ad hoc proportional basis but on the basis of officially recognized criteria - that is the official length of a degree programme or unit).