Since the current situation with the pandemic is finally improving, I’ve now decided to take the opportunity to go abroad next winter semester for an ERASMUS semester to Palermo, Italy. How exciting! But before the great adventure there is of course a lot of preparation to do and a lot of documents to fill out. Above all, the famous “Learning Agreement” can take a lot of time and effort until it is successfully completed. Because of this and my personal experience during the last weeks with it, I’ve decided to write this post and give you some more input about it. I will specifically explain the process for the School of Law, Economics and Business.
What is the Learning Agreement and why is it important?
It is a document, which serves as an agreement, so that the credits that you earn for classes that you take at your guest university (abroad) will be recognized when you come back to the MLU.
A lot of people decide against going abroad, because they don’t want to “get behind” their curriculum and finish a semester or year later, since what they do abroad might not be recognized by their home university. Lose that fear! This is what the learning agreement is for.
Where can I find the Learning Agreement?
You can find the document here.
How should it be filled out?
The learning agreement consists of two tables, A and B. On table A you have to write down all the classes you plan on taking during your semester abroad, regardless of whether you are seeking to get the credits once you’re back at the MLU or not. On table B you have to write down which module at the MLU would be the equivalent to the one you plan on taking abroad. To make the process simpler, I’ll write down some steps for you:
- Choose the modules you want to take in your guest university.
- Take a look at the syllabi (module description) of each course, in order to see if there could be a potential course at the MLU, to which it could be equivalent.
- On each number of the rows on table A write the courses that you will take abroad and on table B its equivalent at the MLU, and next to it the number of credits that each class has. For example: on table A, row 1 the module name is “Marketing”. Since the same module exists also at the MLU, then on table B, row 1 you would write again “Marketing”, and next to it the number of credits (ECTS), e.g., 5 and the name of the professor/chair at the MLU to which this module belongs to. In case there is a class that you want to take abroad but are not seeking to get it recognized (maybe because the class has too little credits or because it has nothing to do with your studies), then you just need to write on the table B for that module “keine Anerkennung gewünscht”.
- Now the complicated or rather slow part begins. Once you have decided on all your modules and its equivalents, you need to get the signature of every professor, because this guarantees that you will get these modules recognized once you’re back at the MLU. How to get these signatures? You need to send each professor your learning agreement together with the syllabi (module description) from the course they will potentially sign for. Notice that the professor will only sign the learning agreement if the module’s content, working time, etc. matches the one at the MLU.
- Once you collected all firms, the last step is to send your Learning Agreement to the Examination Office together with the modules’ syllabi. They will check if everything is in order, and if so, stamp and sign your Learning Agreement.
When should I start getting my Learning Agreement ready and when should I turn it in?
Start as soon as possible! It can take some time to get the professors’ signatures, so don’t do this last minute. There is no particular deadline, but you usually need to have it ready before your guest university’s application deadline.
Can I make changes in my Learning Agreement in the future?
Yes! You can still make changes in the first six weeks after the beginning of your semester abroad.
I hope you found this blog useful and that it will help you in the near or far future when filling out your learning agreement. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate on contacting the international or examination office.
All best,
Sofía