Recognition

Responsibilities during the stay and obligations according to the academic rules include providing a Learning Agreement (LA) by students and Mobility Target Agreement (MTA) by doctorates, post doctorates, academics staff in order to define the plans and tasks.

ECTS is already being used at all participating EU universities. A credit transfer system comparable to ECTS has been introduced by the Russian partners and was used in the frame of the project in order to recognize the studies of the mobile students. During the past years Russian partner universities have continued to implement the Bologna principles. There are agreed on mechanisms for students' examination and study recognition and/or transfer of credits. In order to allow BSc, MSc, and PhD students to take examinations at the host university, so that study credits can be recognized in the home university. Students will be registered at the hosting university as regular students and will have to follow the regular admission and examination procedures.

LA describes the program of study abroad and how its existence facilitates academic recognition. BSc and MSc (6 or 8 months) will complete a LA. In the LA the students assisted by the contact person of the home university, will indicate courses, they plan to participate during their stay at the host university. Before leaving the home university the local contact person of the project or the coordinator at the department will sign the LA. After discussing and confirming the study program at the receiving university the LA will be also signed at the host university. In a period of four weeks the students get the chance to change the selected courses. Those changes must be well justified and also confirmed both by representatives of the home and host university.

Each student shall receive 30 ECTS per semester. Students, who reach less than 6 ECTS, will provide an explanation to the host and home institution. This approach is used for finding out the reasons and to undertaking necessary steps for a better preparation of students at sending and hosting universities. LA will be completed both by EU and Russian outgoings.

These clear and detailed arrangements should ensure the recognition of the courses at the home university. As at the Russian partner universities the ECT system is still not fully in use the results obtained by the students at the host universities, will be transferred into national marks and recognized by the home university. For EU outgoings the study results in Russian national marks will be transferred in ECTS points and marks accordingly by the host institution.

Studies of EU students and TG1 students will be fully recognized by their home institutions. For TG2 students as long as ECTS is not fully adopted by the sending Russian university, the EU universities provide comprehensive information for the students, so that they have possibility to request recognition at their home university. The project will take a leading role for non-partner-universities in this respect and will consult TG2-universities in this respect.

At the end of the mobility period the respective international offices or examination offices will issue a "Transcript of records", which will be used for the recognition at the home university. Both the coordinator and the international offices at the home and the host universities will assist the student to get his/her study results recognized. In case of problems of the recognition at the EU countries the main coordinator at the University of Hohenheim together with the coordinator at the home university can be addressed to get in contact with the specific examination offices if needed.

In Russia the co-coordinator at the RTSAU, who is already using a system similar to the ECTS, should assist the other Russian partner universities and helping them in the question of recognition, e.g. provide information if needed, inform about the recognition of results at the RTSAU, etc.

For those Master students planning to complete a placement period the coordinator of the host university will assist and monitor the student during the internship. After completing the internship the student has to write a report and submit it to his home university.

For Doctorates, Post-doctorates and Academic Staff a MTA will be in use, in which the proposed teaching, administrative or research activities and plans (in detail formulated with tasks and subtasks) will be indicated before the start of the mobility. Both the supervisor at the home university and at the host university will sign the agreement.

Impact on targeted groups at institutional level including recognition of studies among partners, creation of international cooperation cells in third-countries is sought. The participation in the program is expected have long lasting positive effects on each individual grantee, the universities concerned and the education system as a whole with changes in the learning and knowledge culture.

By participating in an Action 2 project Russian HEis will gain important knowledge also concerning the recognition of study results from foreign partner, so that they are able to handle further exchange progra