Advice for students

Your home institution will guide you through the process of preparing a learning agreement. The following information will help you understand that process.

These guidelines are relevant to the related learning agreement template.

Note: this template is for actions supported by internal (KA131) policy funds.

On this page

• about the learning agreement
• filling in the learning agreement
  • types of mobility, and durations
• practical examples of how to fill in the tables
• after the mobility

About the learning agreement

Under the Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027, higher education institutions must ensure the usage of digital learning agreements. Higher education institutions have three options to implement digital learning agreements.

1. Higher education institutions that already have an IT system in place to produce a digital learning agreement can continue using it, provided all the minimum requirements in the Erasmus Without Paper technical documentation are met and that their IT system has been connected to the Erasmus Without Paper Network.
    
2. Higher education institutions that use an IT system provided or purchased from a third party provider to produce a digital learning agreement can continue using it, provided all the minimum requirements listed in the Erasmus Without Paper technical documentation are met and that their IT system has been connected to the Erasmus Without Paper Network.
    
3. Higher education institutions that do not have an IT system in place to produce a digital learning agreement can use the Online Learning Agreement developed for users of the Erasmus Without Paper Dashboard, or any other free to use software that is connected to the Erasmus Without Paper Network. This allows higher education institutions to implement digital learning agreements free of charge and to exchange data with their partners’ other IT systems connected to the Erasmus Without Paper Network.

Filling in the learning agreement

General information

Before the mobility, it is necessary to fill in the general information data fields with information on the student, the sending and the receiving institutions.

The student must select the type of mobility they plan to undertake and the estimated duration of their planned mobility.

Learning agreement types and mobility duration

1. Long-term mobility
   The student should select this mobility type if they are applying to undertake a traditional long-term study mobility abroad with a duration from 2 months (or one academic term or trimester) to 12 months. The student also has the option to add a virtual component, facilitating a collaborative online learning exchange and teamwork, to their study mobility before, during or after. If the student plans to add a virtual component to the mobility period, they must also select the optional virtual component as part of their mobility type.
2. Short-term mobility with a mandatory virtual component
   The student should select this mobility type if they are applying to undertake a short-term physical mobility abroad. Students can carry out a short-term physical mobility of 5-30 days by combining it with a compulsory virtual component, formally organised online activities by the receiving institution, to enhance the learning outcomes of the short-term stay abroad.
3. Short-term doctoral mobility
   Doctoral candidates should select this mobility type when they are applying to undertake a short-term physical mobility of 5-30 days. If the doctoral candidate plans to add a virtual component to the mobility period, they must also select the optional virtual component as part of their mobility type.

Duration

In addition to selecting the mobility type, the academic year and an indicative start and end date of the planned study programme must be included.

Based on the selection made by the student regarding the above mobility types, the relevant tables need to be filled in and included in the digital learning agreement to describe the study programme and recognition. This means only applicable tables and fields should be visible to the student, sending and receiving organisation in the digital version of the agreement.

Mobility learning agreement type: Long-term mobility

Educational components (Tables A and B)

The learning agreement must include all the educational components to be carried out by the student at the receiving institution (in Table A) and it must also contain the group of educational components that will be replaced in their degree by the sending institution (in Table B) upon successful completion of the study programme abroad. It is necessary to fill in Tables A and B thoroughly before the mobility. Additional rows and columns can be added as needed. However, the two Tables A and B must be kept separated. The objective is to make clear that there is no need to have one-to-one correspondence between the components followed abroad and the ones replaced at the sending institution. The aim is rather that a group of learning outcomes achieved abroad replaces a group of learning outcomes at the sending institution.

In countries belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) an academic year of full-time study is normally made up of educational components totalling 60 ECTS credits. It is recommended that for mobility periods shorter than a full academic year, the educational components selected should equate to a roughly proportionate number of credits (or equivalent units in countries outside the EHEA). In case the student follows additional educational components beyond those required for their degree programme, these additional credits (or equivalent) must also be listed in the study programme outlined in Table A.

In case of thesis research/doctoral work at the receiving institution, the component "Thesis research" or "Doctoral work" will be included in Table A. If no ECTS credits are provided by the receiving institution, it is sufficient to write "not applicable" in that column. The thesis/doctoral work and the associated workload in ECTS credits will be included in Table B, if relevant for the sending institution.

The sending institution should indicate in Table B the group of educational components counting towards the student’s degree that would normally be completed at the sending institution and which will be replaced by the study programme at the receiving institution.

The total number of ECTS credits (or equivalent) in Table B should correspond to the total number of ECTS credits (or equivalent) contained in Table A. The sending institution/student has to either confirm automatic recognition in line with the principles of automatic mutual recognition (jump to section on Automatic Recognition, below) or justify the reason for awarding an alternative recognition. Any alternative recognition must be clearly and transparently explained to the student involved.

Mobility learning agreement type: Long-term mobility with an optional virtual component

Educational components (Table C)

If the student has chosen to undertake a course or programme with a virtual component offered by the receiving institution, Table C should also be included in the Learning Agreement. When relevant, Table C must include a title or description of the educational component in addition to a short description of the nature of the virtual component e.g. online lectures, online cultural preparation with other exchange students or online training with a teacher.

In the same table, the sending institution indicates how the ECTS credits (or equivalent) of the added virtual component will be recognised i.e. either confirm automatic recognition or justify the reason for awarding an alternative recognition.

Mobility learning agreement type: Short-term mobility with a mandatory virtual component

Educational components (Table D)

If the student is taking part in a short-term physical mobility combined with a mandatory virtual component, the student and the sending and receiving institutions will describe the study programme and recognition of the learning outcomes using Table D. This applies to both students organising their short-term mobilities individually and students taking part in Blended Intensive Programmes organised by groups of higher education institutions.

The table will include the title of the Blended Intensive Programme or the title or description of the educational component organised for the individual student. In addition, a short description of the nature of the virtual component should be included e.g. learning exchange and teamwork, online learning as part of a course offered in a blended learning format, online training or academic assignment with a supervisor in the receiving institution.

In the same table, the sending institution will indicate how the ECTS credits (or equivalent) of the short-term mobility with a mandatory virtual component will be recognised i.e. either confirm automatic recognition or justify the reason for awarding an alternative recognition.

Mobility type: Short-term doctoral mobility

Educational components (Table E)

If the doctoral candidate is taking part in a short-term physical mobility, the doctoral candidate and the sending and receiving institutions will describe the study programme and recognition of the learning outcomes using Table E. The table will include the title or description of the educational component organised for the doctoral candidate e.g. participation in a seminar, workshop, thesis work or intensive course.

To enhance the synergies with Horizon Europe, doctoral mobilities can also take place in the context of Horizon Europe funded research projects. If the doctoral candidate decided to add a virtual component to their mobility, a short description of the nature of the virtual component should be included, e.g. online learning exchange and teamwork, participation in an online seminar or webinar, online course etc.

Practical examples of how to fill in the tables in the digital learning agreement

(See your own digita learning agreement for original versions of the tables presented below)

In table A, the student must include all the educational components to be carried out at the receiving institution i.e. information about the selected courses or modules as indicated in the course catalogue or other educational components such as laboratory or thesis work. The group of components can then be included in Table B as follows:

In table B, the option “Yes” for Automatic Recognition is selected by default. By maintaining this default selection, the sending institutions confirms that all credits gained abroad – as agreed in the learning agreement and confirmed by the transcript of records – will be transferred without delay and counted towards the students’ degree without any additional work or assessment of the student.

If the “No” option is selected a clear justification needs to be provided and an indication on what other type of formal recognition will be applied e.g. registration in the students’ diploma supplement or Europass Mobility Document.

The European Commission encourages institutions also to embed mobility windows in their curricula. Where all credits in Table A are automatically recognised as forming part of the programme at the sending institution, typically in the case of mobility windows, Table B is simplified and reduced to one single line, as described below:

If the student is doing a virtual component, they will in addition need to fill in Table C. If the student is taking part in a short-term mobility (i.e. a blended mobility with a short term physical mobility, a Blended Intensive Programme, or a short-term doctoral mobility) only Table D or E needs to be filled in to describe the study programme at the receiving institution and recognition at the sending institution for example like this:

The sending institution must foresee which provisions will apply if the student does not successfully complete some of the educational components from their study programme abroad, by providing a web link in the relevant data field.

Language competence

A recommended level in the main language of instruction has been agreed between the sending and receiving institutions in their inter-institutional Agreement. The sending institution is responsible for providing support to its selected candidates so that they can have the recommended language skills at the start of the study period.

The level of language competence in the main language of instruction, which the student already has or agrees to acquire by the start of the study period, has to be reported in the field provided for that purpose in the learning agreement for studies or, alternatively, in the grant agreement.

In case the level of the selected student is below the recommended one when signing the learning agreement (or grant agreement), the sending institution and the student should agree that they will reach the recommended level by the start of the mobility. They should also discuss and decide the type of support to be provided to the student by the sending or receiving institution. The Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS) has been designed to assist Erasmus+ students in improving their knowledge of the main language of instruction, before and during their stay abroad, to ensure a better quality of learning mobility. All mobility participants have the opportunity to follow courses in the language(s) of their choice, available on the OLS platform.

Signing the learning agreement

All parties must digitally approve the learning agreement before the start of the mobility. The European Commission encourages higher education institutions to avoid printing digital learning agreements, provided that the national legislation or institutional regulations allow for only retaining digital copies.

Exceptional changes to the study programme

In the case of long-term mobility, changes to the study programme should be exceptional, as the three parties have already agreed on a group of educational components that will be taken abroad, based on the course catalogue that the receiving institution has committed to publish well in advance of the mobility period and to update regularly.

Any party can signal the need for changes to the study programme and the student can initiate the changes within five weeks after the start of each semester. These changes should be agreed by all parties as soon as possible, within two-weeks following the request.

All changes should be indicated in Tables A2, B2 and when applicable C2, or in tables E2 or D2. Original Tables A, B, C, D and E should not be modified. All Tables (A, B, C, A2, B2, C2, D, E, D2 and E2) will be stored together in the relevant server for full transparency as a new version of the LA.

More information about the implementation of versioning can be found in the Erasmus Without Paper technical documentation. Please refer to the glossary provided in the higher education learning agreement for studies KA131 template to see the list of changes that can be encoded.

After the mobility

Transcript of Records at the receiving institution

After the mobility, the receiving institution should send a transcript of records to the student and to the sending institution within a period stipulated in the digital inter-institutional agreement (normally within five weeks after publication/proclamation of the student’s results at the receiving institution). It can be provided electronically or through any other means accessible to the student and the sending institution.

The transcript of records from the receiving institution should refer to the educational components agreed in Table A, D or E and where applicable C, as well as in Tables A2, D2, E2 and C2 where applicable. Grade distribution information should be included (web link or annex).

In line with the objectives of the European Student Card Initiative, the European Commission recommends that transcripts are exchanged exclusively in a digital format.

The actual start and end dates of the study period should be included according to the following definitions.

The start date should be the first day that the student needs to be present at the receiving organisation (first course/first day at work/first day of welcoming event or language and intercultural courses).

The end date should be the last day the student needs to be present at the receiving organisation (last day of the exam period/course/work/mandatory sitting period).

Automatic recognition at the sending institution

Higher education institutions must ensure full automatic recognition of all credits (based on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System – ECTS) gained for learning outcomes satisfactorily achieved during a period of study/training abroad, including during blended mobility, as agreed in the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).

Following the receipt of the transcript of records from the receiving institution, the sending institution should automatically recognise the student’s academic outcomes successfully completed at the receiving institution as agreed beforehand in the learning agreement and confirmed in the transcript of records.

The sending institution should fully recognise the total number of ECTS credits (or equivalent) contained in Table B, and C when applicable, (and B2 and C2, if applicable) or Tables D or E (and D2 or E2, if applicable) in case of short-term mobility and count them towards the student’s degree, without the need for the student to complete any further assignments, courses or exams.

The process should be in line with the principles of the Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education diplomas and the outcomes of learning periods abroad.

Where applicable, the sending institution will convert the grades received by the student abroad, taking into account the grade distribution information from the receiving snstitution (see the methodology described in the ECTS Users' Guide). The European Commission encourages institutions to use the EGRACONS tool for this purpose.

The student will be able to report on the recognition by the sending institution via the online participant report (EU survey) or a complementary online survey.

Diploma Supplement

The information contained in the transcript of records from the receiving institution should also be included in the Diploma Supplement produced by the sending institution with the exact titles of the components that the student has followed abroad.