Here you find information on administrative and other steps that have to be taken before the start of the mobility. Information on OLA = ONLINE LEARNING AGREEMENT in the third tab.
The ERASMUS program
calls for a written agreement between the two partner institutions and the
student concerning the study program of the ERASMUS participant. The Learning Agreement/Proposed Study
Programme is a binding contract and one of the basic
documents for your participation in the program and later on the
recognition of the ERASMUS credits. It is your official study plan and lists
the courses you will study at the host institution.
According to the ERASMUS Plus
guidelines which all participating universities have to follow, the Learning Agreement
has to be signed by all three parties before the start of the mobility:
In the last years the OLA = Online Learning Agreement was introduced. Please read our OLA-Guidelines (Leitfaden in German) carefully, it should help you with the OLA process, which has to be completed outside your participant's account. Please make sure to upload the document into your participant's account shortly after its completion incl. your signature, the signature of your departmental coordinator at Goethe-University and the responsible person at the host institution. The signature of the Global Office of GU is no longer necessary. The GO of GU will then check if it is formally correct and in case it is not, you will receive an email and have to make the necessary correction before uploading it again.
If changes have to be made at the start of your ERASMUS study period, please use the Changes to Original Learning Agreement, this too, hast to be completed online as OLA. Only in exceptional cases, in which the OLA-process does not work properly, you can fall back on the old Learning Agreement template, which will be made available for download in the workflow of your participant's account.
Information valid regardless if OLA or old Learning Agreement process:
Some host universities refuse to sign the Learning Agreement before the start
of the mobility. This is clearly against the ERASMUS guidelines and furthermore
it delays the next steps in your participant's account. We cannot change this
practice of those universities, but we do not sanction the delay in uploading
the document, so other than the delay there is no other disadvantage for the
participating student.
For the choice of courses please refer to the course catalogues currently
available at the webpages of the receiving university and then contact your
departmental coordinator for cousel, and if necessary also your examination
office with regard to the possible recognition of ERASMUS
credits. Unauthorized changes in your study program may most
certainly preclude recognition of credits and may even lead to a complete
backpayment of the ERASMUS grant. Be advised to choose courses with a workload
of 30 ECTS credits per semester and to attend regularly
and continuously. According to the EU Commission these 30 ECTS
mark the standard semester workload of a home student. As an ERASMUS
participant of GU you do not need to take and successfully complete 30 ECTS,
but we strongly suggest you do since ERASMUS is an academic exchange program
after all.
ERASMUS participants of
Goethe University must commit to a workload of at least 15 ECTS. An
exemption to this rule is possible only in exceptional cases. These exemptions have to
be requested in writing using the additional document Annex R to Learning Agreement. The document has to be signed
by the participant and the responsible departmental coordinator. and uploaded
into the participant's account.
In the courses chosen for studies all mandatory performances have to be
undertaken, be it the signing of attendance lists, home work, reading
assignments, class room presentations, tests and if the teacher requires
you to sit for the end term examinations, you have to do that,
too. You do not necessarily have to pass these exams successfully if you
do not seek recognition of credits at GU. In case you fail examinations
you parttake in, this does not lead to a backpayment of the ERASMUS
grant. If you seek recognition of credits for a course, naturally you have
to successfully complete the course.x
In current times it is hard to foresee the situation in a country, region or city at the time of your mobility. You as an ERASMUS participant visit your host country at your own risk. If the country is in an unstable socio-political state, we recommend you register yourself in the crisis precaution list of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany (ELEFAND). This applies also to the current pandemic situation.
If you need to terminate your ERASMUS mobility due to unforeseeable events in the host country, an individually documented proof of a travel warning (Reisewarnung des Auswärtigen Amtes) of the Federal Foreign Office (screenshot with date) is enough for us to accept this ERASMUS mobility, even if its duration is less than 60 days/2 months.
In order
to successfully complete a study abroad period, you need to have good language
skills. There are ways to improve your language skills before and during the
mobility:
OLS Language test and courses (Online Language Support System of EU-Commission)
To
determine the proficiency level of the language of instruction, all
participants are obligated to take an online language test.
This
first test is not meant to be used in the selection of ERASMUS participants,
but only to document their level of language proficiency before the start of
the mobility period. The
students will be notified by email and will get the link to the test. If a
student had declared in his application to have a language proficiency at C2 or
mother tongue level, he/she does not have to take the test. If the
language of instruction differs from the language of the host country, a test
in the language of the host country may be alotted. Please make sure that your
description of language proficiency in your application is up to date.
Besides
the online language test the EU commission offers tutored online language
courses for the languages mentioned above to help you improve your language
skills before and during the mobility. These courses are free of cost. Each
sending institution receives a limited number of language course licenses,
which then are distributed to the respective participants by email
invitations. If invited to take such a course, please make use of it,
though you are not obliged to participate in it.
You are not obligated, but nevertheless we urge you to take the final online language test at the end of the
mobility, so the development of your language skills can
be determined.
Language
courses at GU and in host country
In
addition to the OLS online tests and courses there is the possibility of taking
part in language courses at Goethe-University and in the host country.
Language courses at Language center of Goethe University
Please refer to the information specifically for your ERASMUS year for the subject of preparatory language courses at GU and reimbursement of fees.
Link to Language Center of GU
Language courses at the host university/in the host country (for language of teaching or language of host country only)
Some host
universities offer preparatory or semester long language courses - some free of
cost, some with fees. If
you have completed such a course successfully, please upload the course
certificate into your participant's account. If course fees applied, please
include the payment slip in that pdf-file. This is possible only
after the start of your mobility.
For the reimbursement
of language course fees only limited funds are available in ERASMUS. We
reimburse the actual course fee for maximum 2 language courses up to a
maximum amount of 100€ in total. Please refer to the information specifically for your ERASMUS year for the subject of reimbursement of fees.
If your host institution
allocates ECTS credits to the language courses, these can be included in the 30
ECTS credits per semester.
Please refer to the information specifically for your ERASMUS year for the current information of additional funding for students with disabilities and students with chronic diseases.
Here is just the basic information:
If you are a participant with a disability degree of 20% or more or if you have a chronic disease (doctor's certificate needed), you might be able to receive a Social Top-up of 250€ per month of funding.
Disability Degree of 50% or more:
Apart from that there is the possibility for students with a disability degree of 50% and higher to apply for additional funding for the real additional costs exceeding
the group of countries lump sum. But first, depending on the severeness of the disability it is very important to communicate your special needs to your departmental coordinator and the Global Office of GU and also to their counterparts at the host institution at a very early stage, so it can be determined if the ERASMUS study period can be made possible, if the additional assistance can be provided there.
Bear in mind that only additional costs in direct consequence of the ERASMUS mobility can be covered, when not covered by other agencies like the Studentenwerk, health insurance companies, social assistance offices etc. The application has to be filled in in collaboration with and signed by the ERASMUS institutional coordinator of Goethe University, Ms. Uta Brucker, and the respective participant. Additional documents necessary for the application are listed on the application form. The complete application materials should be handed in at the Global Office no later than two months prior to the start of the mobility. The earlier those are reviewed by the GO and by the DAAD, the earlier a decision can be reached. It is not possible to accept an application after the start of the mobility. Please make sure to contact Mr. Purkert at outgoing@uni-frankfurt.de at an early stage.
All this does not apply for mobilities to Switzerland; there a review on a case-by-case basis is done by Swiss administrators.
If you are a single
parent participant and want to take your child(ren) with you
during your ERASMUS mobility period, you need to communicate your special
needs to your departmental coordinator and the Global Office of GU and also to
their counterparts at the host institution at a very early stage, so it can be
determined if the ERASMUS study period can be made possible, if the
additional assistance needed can be provided there. You will receive an ERASMUS
grant in the amount of the monthly lump sum allocated to the group of
countries your host country belongs to. Additionally you will receive additional
funding called Social Top-up in the amount of 250€ per month of funding.
This does not apply
for mobilities to Switzerland, there a review on a case-by-case basis is
done by Swiss administrators.
Please make sure to contact Mr. Purkert at outgoing@uni-frankfurt.de at an early stage.
Link to the Information of National Agency DAAD on additional funding for students studying abroad with children (in German)
Also participants working in a job subject to social insurance contributions and participants with non-academic parents may receive a Social Top-up of 250€ per month of funding.
Please refer to the information specifically for your ERASMUS year for the current information Social Top-ups.
Sufficient insurance coverage while studying abroad? The participation in the ERASMUS program does NOT provide you any insurance coverage. Neither the EU Commission nor the DAAD as the national agency nor Goethe University as your home university are liable for damages resulting from illness, death, accident, injury of persons or loss or damage of property in connection with ERASMUS mobilities.
You yourself are responsible to receive sufficient insurance coverage (health
insurance, liability) and to collect all necessary information about the
laws and requirements in the host country. Please contact your own
insurance concerning coverage regualtions and additional insurance
for time periods spend in foreign countries. Depending on the insurance
company eisting tarifs may be valid within EU countries.
The Studierendenwerk Frankfurt signed up for group insurance (Gruppenhaftpflicht- und -unfallversicherung) for all students of Goethe University which is also valid while studying abroad. Please check closely if the coverage is sufficient for your purposes.
All participants in the ERASMUS
program (mobilities for studying, placements and teaching) may possibly be
accepted into the group insurance of the DAAD, which provides extensive
coverage. Further information on this at Gruppenversicherung des DAAD .
You find the testimonials of your predecessors here . Most of them are written in German though.