Procedure for Erasmus agreements and balance

Purpose

The purpose of the procedure for entering into Erasmus agreements and maintaining balance between incoming and outgoing students on exchange agreements is:

  • to ensure that agreements are only reached with universities that provide high-quality teaching of interest and relevance to the Faculty of Social Sciences’ students and their further studies at the Faculty.
  • to ensure that the Faculty of Social Sciences fulfils the University’s objective of balance between incoming and outgoing students in exchange programmes.

Procedure for entering into a (new) Erasmus agreement

The Faculty enters into Erasmus agreements according to the University Procedure for Entering into and Ending Erasmus Agreements.

The procedure form the basis for monitoring the agreement portfolio. Responsibility for entering into and monitoring Erasmus agreements is delegated to the international coordinators at the departments. The international coordinator conducts an academic evaluation of whether new Erasmus agreements are important/relevant to the academic environment at the department.

The international coordinators use the following checklist for approving Erasmus agreements.

Checklist for entering into (and extending) Erasmus agreements

The following are taken into account by the international coordinator prior to the conclusion of an Erasmus Agreement:

If the agreement is with a university with which the Faculty does not have other agreements:

  • The university’s reputation, including in the subject area concerned, and its overall position in the university rankings
  • The university’s partners, including in the subject area – who does it work with?
  • The scope and level of the courses and the study opportunities for the department’s students, including the amount of teaching in English
  • The university’s ability to support the department’s students during their stay, including student housing options

If the Faculty already has one or more agreements with the university in question (e.g. in another programme or as an extension of an agreement):

  • Mobility and balance in existing agreements
  • Evaluations of the university (academic level, services, etc.) by returning students
  • The Faculty’s evaluation of students from the university

Responsibility for entering into Erasmus agreements

International coordinators

At the departments, the academic expertise and responsibility for Erasmus agreements lies with the international coordinators, who:

  • enter into and assure the quality of Erasmus agreements
  • maintain contacts with partners
  • seek out partners for new agreements.

Procedure for monitoring the balance in exchanges in Erasmus agreements

There is a tendency for Erasmus agreements to lead to more incoming than outgoing students. The Faculty wants to make travel abroad on Erasmus agreements more attractive.

Once a semester, the section for International Education generates balance reports from Discoverer to show the number of incoming and outgoing students on Erasmus agreements. These reports are sent to the international coordinators and the Dean’s Office, and compared to the target.

International Education sends the Faculty of Social Sciences an annually adjusted quota for incoming students on Erasmus agreements. The Dean’s Office agrees with the departments’ international coordinators how this quota should be spread within the Faculty. The international coordinators are responsible for complying with the quota agreed with the Dean’s Office. International Education adjusts this quota every year, with the long-term aim of achieving absolute balance.

Responsibility

The international coordinators are responsible for compliance with the agreed quotas. International Education is responsible for producing reports once a semester and for drawing up adjusted quotas for incoming students on Erasmus agreements.

The Dean is responsible for the allocation of quotas for incoming students internally at the Faculty and for ensuring that the departments stick to the quotas.