ERASMUS
Erasmus, the EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students, is the Higher Education part of Socrates, the EU's education programme. With Erasmus, you could study for 3-12 months in another European country and you may receive a grant towards the costs.

Objectives
The purpose of Erasmus is to improve the quality of higher education and strengthen its European dimension. It does this by encouraging transnational cooperation between universities, fostering the European mobility of students and teachers, and contributing to improved transparency and academic recognition of qualifications and studies throughout the European Union.

Activities
Erasmus supports the following activities:

Student and Teaching Staff mobility

Student mobility (SM)
Erasmus gives students (up to and including doctorate, except for students enrolled in their first year of Higher Education) the opportunity to study for a period of 3-12 months at a university or higher education establishment in another participating country in the framework of agreed arrangements between universities. The time spent in the other country is fully recognised in the originating university, thanks to ECTS. Students also receive an Erasmus Student Charter which outlines their rights as visiting students and the obligations which they must fulfil at their host institution.
Teaching staff mobility (TS)
Erasmus provides support for teachers giving, generally short courses, as part of the official curriculum of a partner university in another European country. The grants are intended as a contribution to the additional costs arising from teaching in another country.
Organisation of mobility (OM)
Erasmus provides support to higher education institutions for the creation of optimal conditions: a) for students, to undertake recognised periods of study at partner institutions in other participating countries; b) for teachers, to organise fully integrated teaching assignments of short duration; c) for implementation of ECTS and Diploma Supplement (DS).
These optimal conditions include information, infrastructure and facilities, guidance, follow-up, involvement of local partners and facilities, guidance, follow-up, involvement of local partners and associations, etc.

Intensive programmes (IP)
Community funding may be allocated to universities organising short courses (10 days to 3 month) provided they have a European dimension. Financial support is available for one, two or three consecutive years on the understanding that every year the group of participants must be different and/or the themes involved must be different.

Curriculum Development projects (CD)
At least three establishments from different countries pool their resources to develop a programme of study, a module or a master's programme. This can be done in all academic subject areas. The financial support is for a maximum of three years.

EUROPEAN CREDIT TRANSFER SYSTEM (ECTS)
What is ECTS?
The European Credit Transfer System is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a programme, bjectives preferably specified in terms of learning outcomes and competences to be acquired.

How did ECTS develop?
ECTS was introduced in 1989, within the framework of Erasmus, now part of the Socrates programme. ECTS is the only credit system which has been succesfully tested and used across Europe. ECTS was set up initally for credit transfer. The system facilitiated the recognition of periods of study abroad and thus enhanced the quality and volume of student mobility in Europe. Recently ECTS is developing into an acummulation system to be implemented at institutional, regional, national and European level. This is one of the key objectives of the C, Bologna Declaration of June 1999.

Why introduce ECTS?
ECTS makes study programmes easy to read and compare for all students, local and foreign. ECTS facilitates mobility and academic recognition. ECTS helps universities to organise and revise their study programmes. ECTS can be used across a varity of programmes and modes of delivery. ECTS makes European higher education more attractive for students from other continents.

What are the key features of ECTS?
ECTS is based on the convention that 60 credits measures the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. The student workload of a full-time study programme in Europe amounts in most cases to 36/40 weeks per year and in those cases one credit stands for 25 to 30 working hours. Workload refers to the notional time an average learner might expect to complete the required learning outcomes.
Credit is a way of quantifying the outcomes of learning. Learning outcomes are sets of competences, expressing what the student will know, understand or be able to do after completion of a process of learning, short or long. Credits in ECTS can only be obtained after completion of the work required and appropriate assessment of the learning outcomes achieved.
The allocation of ECTS credits is based on the official length of a study programme cycle. The total workload necessary to obtain a first cycle degree lasting officially three or four years is expressed as 180 or 240 credits.
Student workload in ECTS includes the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, independent study, preparation for, and taking of, examinations, etc.
Credits are allocated to all educational components of a study programme (such as modules, courses, placements, dissertation work, etc.) and reflect the quantity of work each component requires in relation to the total quantity of work necessary to complete a full year of study in the programme considered.
The performance of the student is documented by a local/national grade. It is good practice to add an ECTS grade, particularly in case of credit transfer. The ECTS grading scale ranks the students on a statictical basis. Therefore, elaboration of statistical data on student performance is a prerequisite for applying the ECTS grading system. Graed are assigned among the students with a pass grade as follows: A best %10 B next % 25 C next % 30 D next % 25 E next % 10. A distinction is made between the grades FX and F that are used for unsuccessful students. FX means: "fail - some more work required to pass" and F means: "fail - considerable further work required". The inclusion of failure rates in the Transcript of Records is optional. >> Click for more information

What are the key documents of ECTS?

The regular Course Catalogue of the institution to be published in two languages (or only in English for programmes taught in English) on the Web and/ or in hard copy. The Course Catalogue must contain the items of the cehcklist attached to this document, including information for host student from abroad.

The Learning Agreement contains the list of courses to be taken and agreed upon by the student and the responsible academic body of the institution concerned. In case of credit transfer, the Learning Agreement has to be agreed upon by the students and the two institutions concerned before the student's departure and to be updated immediately when changes occur.
The Transcript of Records documents the performance of a student by showing the list of courses taken, the credits gained as well as the local grades and possibly ECTS grades awarded. In case of credit transfer, the Transcript of Records has to be issued by the home institution for outgoing students before departure and by the host institiution for incoming students at the end of their period of study.
Where to find more information on ECTS and Erasmus?

1. Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency
2. Quick Access to the Programmes
3. Erasmus Higher Education
4. Socrates
5. Latest News
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/erasmus.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates/ects.html