INTERNAL USE ONLY Proposal for Erasmus+ student/ staff exchange agreement Please complete and return the form to Study Abroad and Exchange Team, RIO, Fraser building. Tel: 0141 330 1965. Email: rio-erasmus@glasgow.ac.uk The proposal must be approved by the Head of School (signature section on last page), then submitted to the Study Abroad and Exchanges team (SAE) by 29 May 2015 for student activity in 2016-17; staff only activity in 2015-16. Please ensure that you read fully the Erasmus agreement policy at Annex 1 before completing this proposal form. 1. University of Glasgow Subject Information a) Background Name of member of staff proposing the exchange School Subject area b) Current exchange provision Number of current Erasmus partners in your subject area Number of current FTE equivalent places currently available through your subject area Number of FTE equivalent students using available places through your subject area (anticipated for 2015-16) 2. Proposed Partner Information a) Background Name of the institution Erasmus code Name of School/ Department where agreement would be based at partner Contact details of Institutional Coordinator Name: Address: Phone: Email: Contact details of Academic Coordinator Has this proposal for a new agreement been discussed with a relevant contact at the partner? Name: Address: Phone: Email: ☐ Yes ☐ No Name: Any additional details: b) Proposed activities Student mobility AND staff teaching Short-term teacher mobility only Staff training mobility ☐ Yes (complete sections 2c, d (A or B) 3 and 5; teacher mobility is automatically included in the proposal for student mobility) ☐ No ☐ Yes (complete sections 2c, 4 and 5) ☐ No No formal agreement required – see www.gla.ac.uk/about/internationalisation/fundingopportunities/er asmusstafftrainingmobilityfunding/ c) Rationale for Agreement – Partner academic standing What is the standing/ranking of the institution? What are its particular strengths and status in the academic community? What are your reasons for wishing to have this university as a partner? Student Exchange only: Are there ☐ Yes, please also complete section A below existing active Erasmus agreements ☐ No, please also complete section B below between this proposed partner and UofG? d) Student Exchange Only: Rationale for Agreement - Quality Assurance/ Due Diligence Section A - Complete only for new agreement with existing Erasmus exchange partner in any other UoG subject area Who have you spoken to at UofG about the existing links and how they are working? (i.e. subject coordinators with existing links with this partner) What feedback have they given you about experiences with this university e.g. course provision, standard of teaching, level of support provided, student demand and student experience? Section B - Complete only for student exchange agreement with new Erasmus exchange partner (I.e. no current active exchange links with any subject area in UoG) Have you considered existing exchange partners? Please explain the reasons for selecting a new partner. Has a preparatory site visit to the proposed partner been conducted? ☐ Yes ☐ No If yes, please provide details below or in an attached Site Visit Report which covers the points below. If no, when will this visit take place? Please provide detail of the student support services available at the proposed partner university, particularly in terms of: Support in academic matters Support in pastoral matters Accommodation provision Health and safety aspects Please provide detail of the student learning experience and environment at the proposed partner university, particularly in terms of: assessment processes and academic standards (e.g. grade profile information) quality of teaching resources to support learning (library, IT, etc) 3. Student and Staff Mobility - Proposed Mobility Arrangements and Rationale a) Why is this agreement requested? ☐ Replace an existing link which is not working as well (Please specify which……………………..) ☐ Student demand ☐ Increase mobility places ☐ Other benefits Please provide details below: What will be the benefits for your students and the University of Glasgow / your School arising from this exchange? Please state what action you plan to take to ensure reciprocity and sustainability of this proposed agreement (I.e. maintaining a balance of incoming vs. outgoing students each year?) For example details of how this new link will be encouraged and promoted to students within your subject area plans for gathering and dissemination of academic provision and student experience at this host how you plan to increase uptake of outgoing mobility opportunities b) Proposed Agreement Terms Subject Area at UofG Subject code using standardised ISCED definitions (used for standard definition in the Erasmus Agreement with Partner). See: http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/is ced-f_en.htm Level(s) of exchange to be included (see Annex 1 Policy notes re Masters and Doctoral exchange) No. of FTE students to be exchanged each year (this may remain static or could increase incrementally) ☐ UG ☐ Masters ☐ Doctoral Year 1 of exchange: Year 2 of exchange: Year 3 of exchange: Approx. duration of study period per student Academic year in which students will first be exchanged (e.g. 2016/17 for proposals submitted by May 2015) Outgoing Student Provision On which degree programmes at Glasgow will outgoing students be registered? What courses will be available to Glasgow exchange students under this agreement? Please provide a web address at the proposed partner university that give details of courses that will be available to Glasgow exchange students under this agreement and their policy on taking courses from subject areas other than the subject holding the agreement? Can it accommodate our joint honours students who need to take courses in both subjects? If no web pages are available please supply this information via attachment or other means. Which courses at the proposed partner will be accepted as equivalent to University of Glasgow courses in terms of content and level? Where necessary for your subject’s degree requirements, provide a partner course list in your subject area and their equivalence at UofG as an attachment to this proposal. ☐ Full Year ☐ Semester 1 ☐ Semester 2 ☐ 3rd term (SMLC only) ☐ Other. Please specify: What is the language of instruction at the proposed partner? If the proposed partner offers teaching in English, can you confirm that they offer sufficient (at least 60 ECTS per year) and appropriate courses in English for the UofG degree requirements? Incoming Student Provision Will the partner be sending UofG mainly full year or single semester exchange students? ☐ Full year ☐ Single Semester If Single Semester – which semester(s) are possible in your subject area? ☐ Semester 1 ☐ Semester 2 ☐ Either If either, can you confirm that alternative assessment can be offered if required for early exit/ late entry to full year courses? ☐ Yes ☐ No Are there any restrictions in the type of courses incoming students can select from your subject area? E.g. Honours courses for single semester exchange students; both Level 3 and Level 4? ☐ Yes ☐ No Will students coming in under this agreement need to take courses from another subject at Glasgow? ☐Yes ☐ No Please give details: If yes which other subject areas have agreed to receive incoming students under this agreement? (Please also attach evidence that the other Head of School has given agreement for availability of courses in their subject area) Will incoming students be allowed to undertake project work if requested? NB: Project work must take place during standard semester dates, a supervisor at UofG allocated, the student be enrolled on an appropriate course code on MyCampus worth sufficient credits – summer project work can no longer be accommodated. ☐Yes ☐ No 4. Short-term staff mobility only - Proposed Mobility Arrangements and Rationale a) Why is this agreement requested? ☐ Expand on existing agreement(s) within the College ☐ Build links with new partner before developing student mobility ☐ Research collaboration ☐ Joint programme delivery ☐ Other benefits – specify below. What benefits do you envisage teachers, students, and subject area will acquire from the proposed exchange? b) Proposed Agreement terms Subject Area Code Topic(s) taught if known Number of staff to be exchanged per year Duration of staff exchange in days (min of 2 days, max of 60) Number of teaching hours/week (min of 8 hours teaching per week to be confirmed in individual teaching programme at time of applying for funding) 5. Approval/ Signatures Proposal completed by ☐ I have read the Erasmus Agreement Policy (Annex 1) Name: Signature: Date: Head of School approval ☐ I have read the Erasmus Agreement Policy (Annex 1) ☐ The above proposal has been considered and approved by the School. Name: Signature: Date: Annex 1: Erasmus Agreement Policies – must be read before completing proposal Process and timeline Please complete all fields in the form and return the form to Study Abroad and Exchange Team, RIO, Fraser building. Tel: 0141 330 1965. Email: rio-erasmus@glasgow.ac.uk The proposal must be approved by the Head of School (signature section on last page), then submitted to the Study Abroad and Exchanges team (SAE) by 29 May 2015 for student activity in 2016-17; staff only activity in 2015-16. It will then be circulated to College International Lead and all College Mobility Coordinators, the Dean for Mobility and the Vice-principal for Internationalisation for final approval. Late proposals will not be considered. NB. New agreements approved internally at UofG will also require approval from the partner university. Proposals should: be consistent with University, College and School strategic priorities, including internationalisation strategic priorities; be with highly regarded institutions with whom we share common aims and interests and with whom we can build sustainable and mutually beneficial alliances; contribute positively to the University’s national and international standing; be with institutions who deliver comparable quality of student learning experience with equivalent student support arrangements; prioritise working with existing UofG Erasmus partner universities – where there is at least 1 active exchange link in any other UofG School/ Subject Area (See full list provided to subject exchange coordinators). For student exchange: justify increasing exchange places available within a subject while still ensuring balance and outbound uptake – or replacing a less suitable/ popular option; include details about courses available at the proposed partner institution, and confirmation that these are appropriate and transferable to a UofG degree. Where necessary, include the UofG courses equivalent for each courses identified as suitable at the proposed partner institution at the time of proposal to facilitate student enquiries at the earliest opportunity; consider the language of teaching and assessment at the receiving institution given that lack of foreign language skills may currently be a barrier to uptake of outgoing exchange opportunities for UofG students. provide details of the proposed arrangements such as number of places for exchange, availability of courses for incoming students Key points to note Signing of agreements: All Erasmus agreements must be signed by the authorised Institutional Coordinator for Erasmus at both universities. At UofG, Erasmus agreements are signed and managed by the Study Abroad and Exchanges team. Site visits: For any new partners without existing agreements at UofG, a site visit must be made prior to any student mobility activity in order to confirm satisfactory provision of academic and support facilities. Proposals for new agreements with new partners will not be activated until a visit has taken place for student mobility. For staff mobility only agreements a site visit is not required. Please contact rio-erasmus@glasgow.ac.uk for further details. Agreement duration: Erasmus agreements at UofG are set up to run for 3 years as standard (with option to cancel earlier with a year’s notice) with an annual check and a fuller review in the year before expiry. All agreements will expire at the end of the Erasmus+ programme in 2021 at the latest. Duration of student exchange: Individual student exchanges can be either for a full academic year e.g. 9/10 months each or a single semester e.g. 3-5 months. If single semester exchanges are preferred or possible by either side then you must ensure that this can be accommodated. Number of students to be exchanged: new proposals should normally start with a small number of students, 1 or 2 FTE per year and could then gradually increase up to the recommend maximum of 34 places on evidence of demand. Masters exchange: Consider carefully how this would work in practice bearing in mind that most European universities run 2 year Masters vs UK’s 1 year system. If you intend to send out students as part of a Masters programme at UofG, this must normally take place in Semester 2 only to allow selection processes to take place here. Work completed at the partner must be credit-bearing and formally recognised towards their UofG degree .You must also confirm you can accept incoming students into your level 5 courses at UofG; stipulate whether the incoming students will come for 1 semester or a full year (Remember there is no tuition fee charged for exchange students and they should not normally be awarded a degree); specify any specific entry requirements for Masters level (language requirements; subject pre-requisite; etc). PhD exchange: As per Erasmus guidelines, PhD students can undertake a period of exchange at a partner university. It must be for a minimum of 3 months, and must be to complete a set piece of work directly part of their thesis, with an identified supervisor at the partner who will formally record and confirm work completed at the end of the mobility. Incoming student provision at UofG: The standard policy is that incoming Erasmus students are expected to take the majority of their courses from within the subject area of the agreement unless otherwise agreed or requested in advance. They may request a minority of courses from other subject areas at the time of their application but approval for these will be dependent on i) individual subject area policy on course availability for Erasmus students from other subject agreements ii) academic suitability iii) course availability. If they will require to take courses from another subject area as standard this must be checked and approved by the relevant Head of School at the time of the agreement proposal. Outgoing student provision at receiving institution: Many students going out on exchange from UofG will do so as part of a joint honours degree programme. Both subject areas need to approve the exchange (academic suitability, viable course provision at host) and the subject holding the agreement will allocate the places. It is also essential to ascertain whether the exchange partner can accommodate students taking 50/50 courses with both the subject area holding the agreement and another subject area. Depending on the structure/ level of decentralisation at the proposed partner this is not always possible. If not possible, this must be highlighted and flagged to students in advance by the subject. Outgoing student Grade Conversion: All studies completed by a UofG student at an exchange partner must be credit bearing, form an integral as part of their Glasgow degree and the courses be formally recognised on their HEAR transcript. As part of the terms of the Erasmus+ Charter, students should know how grades will be converted before they go and receive a timely confirmation of the final recognition of their achieved grades on their return. Once the agreement proposal is approved, this will involve the School/ College devising and sharing a Grade Conversion Table (or using existing grade conversion tables for this partner from another Subject/ College) and then converting grades obtained at the partner university back into the Glasgow grading system and informing students of the outcome of this. Staff teaching exchange: A provision for staff mobility / teaching exchange will be included as standard in all student exchanges unless you specify otherwise. Normally the agreement terms will be for a standard duration of 1 staff for 5 days but exact numbers and duration in either direction in any given year can then be negotiated on an individual, ad hoc basis. Requests to host teaching mobility at UofG from the partner should be accommodated where possible but would also be subject to individual requests dependent on capacity at the time of the proposal.