It does not necessarily indicate the completion of the particular study; the latter may involve a final exam or thesis defense.
At higher technical schools an absolutorium was issued to regular students who listened to all the subjects included in the study curriculum of a department.
It is not the equivalent of a higher education degree; the latter requires passing the final examinations, with the absolutorium being a prerequisite.
In Slovakia an absolutorium was originally issued at the end of the last year in schools which didn't have a comprehensive exam.
Until the 1950 reform of higher education an absolutorium was issued as a proof of completion of the prescribed studies as a prerequisite to the state exam or to rigorosum [sk] ("rigorous exam"), part of which is the defense of a thesis.