Goethe-Universität — Anerkennung von im Ausland erbrachten Leistungen

Credit Recognition

Recognition Process

Each faculty or institute manages its recognition process independently as Goethe University does not enforce specific and binding central regulations. At the same time, students that seek recognition for academic achievements are responsible to participate in the recognition process. After their study abroad, students initiate the recognition of their credits by submitting a recognition application. While specific steps vary between faculties, the process can generally be divided into the following steps:

Learn about the recognition process in your faculty or institute before your study abroad. As a rule, recognition of the transferrable credits should be prepared before the start of your mobility and documented in detail in a learning agreement or equivalent document in order to assure the transfer of credits after your stay.
In most cases, your faculty or institute will provide an application form to submit with your transcript of records (and possibly other documents, e.g. course descriptions) to your faculty's examination office or the respective recognition officer in order to begin the recognition process.
Once all the necessary documents have been submitted, the examination office or the examination board of your faculty will assess the content of your examinations and coursework.
The examination office or examination board makes a recognition decision and sends you the corresponding notification.
With the notification of recognition, you receive information on the possibility of legal steps that can be taken in case of denied recognition.

You can find further information on the topic of recognition on the website of the HRK-funded MODUS project if you are an administrator and on the corresponding AN! website if you are a student.

The Lisbon Convention as the Foundation of Academic Recognition

The Hessian Higher Education Act forms the legal framework for higher education recognition practices. State acts, furthermore, are based on the so-called Lisbon Convention—a treaty drawn up by UNESCO and the Council of Europe in 1997 and passed into German national legislation in 2007.

According to the convention, internationally acquired higher education qualifications and achievements must be recognized flexibly if there is no significant difference in the acquired competences. The paradigm shift from the "principle of equivalence" to that of a "substantial difference" is at the heart of the change in recognition culture and aims to make the recognition of European mobility more open and consistent. Only a documented substantial difference in the acquired skills can result in non-recognition and the identified difference must be significant enough to jeopardize the continuation of the student's further academic success. In accordance with the principle of the reversal of the burden of proof, the recognizing university is responsible to constitute and document a recognition denial.

Five criteria—quality of the institution, level of study (Bachelor's/Master's), learning outcomes, workload and profile of the study programs—function as the basic framework for the identification of a potential substantial difference, whereby the superordinate criterion of learning outcomes subsumes the others. The criteria of study level, workload and profile of the study programs can only be a reason for rejection of recognition if a significant difference in the learning outcomes can be established.

Goethe University's adaptation of the convention into its recognition practices strives to promote and safeguard principles such as fairness and transparency in the corresponding administrative acts. To this end, the treaty defines essential requirements with regard to the recognition of qualifications from abroad, such as the appropriate recognition of completed higher education qualifications, achievements abroad and periods of study, but also calls for non-discriminatory access to European higher education systems and the provision of sufficient information by the universities.

Learning Agreement for Freemovers and Exchange students participating in a Direkt- or Faculty exchange program

When to discuss the transfer of credits?

The transfer of credits should ideally be discussed and agreed upon BEFORE your stay abroad.

What is a Learning Agreement?
A Learning Agreement is a "contract", in which it is agreed upon which courses that will be taken while studying abroad will be recognized for the degree to be obtained at Goethe University (given that they will be completed successfully, i.e. at least with the grade satisfactory). The Faculty/Examination Office confirms with their signature on the Learning Agreement that the classes on the Learning Agreement will be recognized after successful completion.

Who signs the Learning Agreement?

The faculty or examination office is in charge of recognizing credits and grades obtained at a university abroad. The Global Office is not involved in that process.
Please talk to the person in charge at your faculty / at the examination office about the classes you would like to take at your host university and get credit for. These classes will have to be equivalent to classes that you would have to take at Goethe University. This person may also sign the Learning Agreement. At some faculties, there is a contact person for studying abroad who may help with the Learning Agreement.

Do I have to have a Learning Agreement?
While the Learning Agreement is a mandatory document for Erasmus students studying abroad, it is not obligatory for freemovers and participants of other exchange programs. However, the Learning Agreements confirms the transfer of credits before your stay abroad and gives you the security that classes will be recognized.

Template for a Learning Agreement
Please find the template that was created on the basis of the Erasmus Learning Agreement. You will find more information on page 4 of the document. If you need more space for more classes, use page 2 of the document twice.

Download

Learning Agreement for Freemovers und exchange students (non-ERASMUS)

Transferring grades from your host university

The examination offices / faculties are in charge of recognizing credits and transferring grades from universities abroad. The information given here has been gathered by the Global Office of Goethe University and serves as a guideline and is not legally binding.

The Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) recommends transferring grades from abroad on the basis of the „Modifizierten Bayerischen Formel“. In order to apply this, you will need to know the highest possible grade as well as the lowest grade needed to pass of the grading system of the host institution. Thus, it is helpful to have an explanation of this grading system. Some universities have such an explanation on the official transcript of grades which all students receive after the end of the semester. Explanations of other grading systems can be found in the anabin databasis of the KMK (→ Bildungswesen → Land auswählen → Notensystem der Hochschulen; in German).

You may download an excel spreadsheet with the modifizierte bayrische Formel, in which the grades to be transferred can be inserted. Please note that not all offices in charge of transferring credits use this.