A student applying for mobility may, during the application process, consult with his/her teachers and the Academic ECTS Coordinator, in order to make his/her study abroad plan. Study abroad plan defines ahead student activities during mobility, that is, it lists out the courses a student is planning to take in a receiving institution during mobility. Study abroad plan is not a mandatory document for mobility. However, even if a certain mobility programme does not require a study abroad plan as a mandatory document, it is rather desirable to plan mobility activities in advance, in order for such activities to be recognized more easily upon student’s return from mobility. Study abroad plan has an orientational character and its purpose is to help a receiving institution realise student’s planned academic activities, and if a student is selected for an international exchange programme, study abroad plan is used to draw up his/her Learning Agreement.
Learning Agreement/Traineeship Agreement is signed by a student, a representative of VISER and a representative of a receiving institution. Learning Agreement/Traineeship Agreement is a mandatory mobility document defining all activities a student is supposed to realise during mobility. This agreement defines and determines all courses a student is going to take, including other academic activities (traineeship, research, etc.) a student is supposed to realise during his mobility in a receiving institution. If it is necessary, there is a possibility of amending the Learning Agreement/Traineeship Agreement, with the consent of all signatory parties. Signing the Learning Agreement/Traineeship Agreement ensures planning activities which would be in compliance with the student’s study programme and his/her right to have all mobility activities recognized as if they have been realised at VISER. Recognition of the mobility period is a process managed by the Academic ECTS Coordinator of VISER during which student’s mobility results are determined.
Academic ECTS Coordinator decides on the manner of recognizing the results achieved at a receiving institution (exams passed, acquired ECTS credits and grades). Recognition of mobility is a procedure initiated by a student. He/she files a request for the recognition of mobility, along with other documents:
After submitting the request and all other necessary documents, Academic ECTS Coordinator of VISER, guided by the principles of flexibility and fairness, having consulted with the corresponding teachers and the Committee for Student and Teaching Matters, compares and assesses the similarity between the courses at VISER and the courses at a receiving institution. A full recognition of courses, and activities successfully realised during mobility, is recommended, if they are equivalent to the courses and activities a student would have passed or realised at VISER. This means that the scientific areas and the knowledge gained as an outcome of learning, or studying, must be similar in nature. A full recognition means that a student, upon his/her return from mobility has no additional academic obligations to meet (for instance, doing his/her final work, taking colloquium tests, passing certain segments of exams, etc.) for the courses recognized in the Decision on Academic Recognition of Mobility. A full recognition of courses and activities passed and realised during mobility has the same outcome for the student as if he/she has taken those courses at VISER.
Course name, ECTS credits and number of classes are all recognized in alignment with the equivalents of VISER on the grounds that the student has successfully passed that course in a receiving institution. If the content of courses or activities passed or realised during mobility is in significant disagreement with the courses at VISER, or if such courses do not exist at VISER whatsoever, the ECTS credits acquired during mobility are not calculated into the total number of ECTS credits necessary for the successful completion of a study programme and for graduation. However, all courses which cannot be recognised are registered and listed in the Diploma Supplement. If the grading systems of VISER and the receiving institution are not the same, the grade obtained by a student at a receiving institution during mobility, which can be recognised, is converted into the grade which is equivalent to the grade at VISER (“aligned grade“). The process of aligning grades is realised in accordance with the European Commission ECTS User’s Guide. Aligning grades is realised in accordance with the ECTS Grading Table. The national system of grading is used as a foundation for aligning grades and comparing them in compliance with the ECTS Grading Scale. If a student submits all documentation for the process of recognition, the Academic ECTS Coordinator adopts a Decision on Academic Recognition of Mobility, no later than 7 days prior to his/her continuation of studies at VISER.