Erasmus+ Call For Academic Year 2022/23

This handbook lays out the different steps that each outgoing student must complete, with particular attention to paperwork requested by the Erasmus Office. Therefore, all students are asked to read the following information carefully.

What to do before applying

Read the educational proposal offered by the host institute.

• Any student interested in applying for the Erasmus scheme must check (before choosing their selected destination) that the international university of choice offers exam courses which comply with their own university programme. Once the application process is complete, it will be impossible to change the selected destination:  an absence of exams that supply curricular credits will automatically render it impossible to begin the exchange experience and will result in the student’s status as “withdrawn”.

Find out about the language requisites.

The language requisites for Erasmus are established by the host institute (as opposed to the university of origin). Therefore, when choosing your selected destination, it is recommended that you search online (or by contacting the partner university directly) for the current up-to-date requirements regarding linguistic certification/levels.

When this is not specified in any source material, it is recommended that the student hold a linguistic level of at least B1 (intermediate CEFR).

The documentation to present at the application stage is simply a self-certification of linguistic level.

Tools available for students to self-assess and certify their language level: EF for English.

For French, German and Spanish at the link: www.ef-italia.it

• OLS (or any new platform set up by the European Commission), compulsory for all selected students. Login details will be supplied at the time of signing the financial agreement.

What to do before departure

Once accepted, the student must personally complete all the steps necessary for departure, as follows:

• Complete form B (with confirmation of correspondence between the Italian and foreign exams) and the Learning Agreement, and obtain signature from at least the Internationalisation Coordinator at your own Department (signature of the foreign Coordinator may be acquired at a later date, but always before the return to Italy)
• Check that all university fees are fully paid-up
• Make sure that all required documentation (listed in email to all departing students) has been sent to the Erasmus and International Students Office within stated deadlines.

What to do on arrival at the host institute

Various steps must be completed on arrival at the international host university:

1. Letter of confirmation

Once you arrive at the partner university, you are obliged to confirm your exchange stay at the Erasmus and Internationalisation Office of the foreign institute. On this occasion you must have your Letter of Confirmation signed (issued by the Erasmus and International Students Office). A certificate on headed paper from the partner university will also be accepted as an alternative. The student must also have a copy of the Learning Agreement with them, already authorised by the University of origin. Please note also that the dates included on the Letter of Confirmation must not coincide with holidays or feast days, Saturdays or Sundays.

It should also be noted that it is not possible at this point for the student to ask for antedated completion of the second part of the certificate (Confirmation of Departure), which must be signed by the relevant Coordinator only at the end of the exchange trip. The date to be listed, therefore must refer to the last day of academic activity (last day of lessons, last exam date, etc).

The Letter of Confirmation must be sent by email to the Erasmus and International Students Office (domanda.erasmus@uniupo.it) by and no later than 5 days of arrival at the host university.

2. Interruption of studies

During the stay abroad, the student may return to Italy for short periods only (3-4 days) for personal reasons.

In this time, however, it is not possible to take exams and/or take part in any other educational activity. It should be noted that the student’s studies are interrupted for the entire mobility period. Therefore, it will not be possible to register/take any exams for credit in Italy during that period.

The interruption of studies period begins from the date of arrival stated on the Letter of Confirmation and ends on the date of return, also stated on said letter.

It should be noted, however, that the student’s academic studies will only re-start following receipt of all documentation necessary for the return, fully completed and signed (for more detailed information on documentation for return to university of origin, see the section “What to do on return).

Any student who returns to Italy without passing at least one exam and/or without collecting any academic curricular credits (such as those for the thesis research) must return the entire study grant awarded.

3. Changes to the learning agreement

In the event that a student needs to make changes to the initial Learning Agreement (due to unforeseen causes regarding the host university’s programme, such as the cancellation of a course or substitution with an alternative course), he/she must contact firstly the Coordinator Tutor at their department and the Coordinator Tutor of the course in question in order to achieve the necessary approval.

The same procedure must be carried out if the student wishes to integrate their Learning Agreement with other exams/activity.

It is not necessary to fill in the Learning Agreement, or ask for authorisation from teachers for the cancellation of exams. It will be sufficient to leave them out when filling in the final table which lists all activities carried out during the period of mobility.

The alterations mentioned above should be listed in the section During the Mobility of the Learning Agreement, which should be signed by the Departmental Coordinator at the university of origin and by an official at the partner university. On returning to Italy, the student must supply the Erasmus and International Students Office with the relevant authorisation emails received from Italian course leaders for all changes made.

For all academic/teaching information, the student must contact the Coordinator at his/her own Department.

What to do before returning to Italy

At the end of the mobility period abroad, the student is obliged to visit the Erasmus/Internationalization Office of the partner university to have the Letter of Confirmation signed again by a Coordinator. As stated already, the date specified in the Confirmation of Departure section must refer to the last day of academic activity.

The final grant sum for the mobility period will be based on the number of days of mobility actually completed, as stated by the Erasmus platform of the European Commission.

The student must ask the host university’s Erasmus Office to send a Transcript of Records (the official certificate stating all results achieved during the period of mobility) to the Università del Piemonte Orientale’s Erasmus and International Students Office, in order to allow the conversion of marks achieved abroad by each individual Department.

Each student is therefore invited to contact the administrative secretary of their department for further information.  

What to do on return

Within 20 days of returning to Italy (except for special cases, which must be referred to the office), the student must send the Erasmus and International Students Office (domanda.erasmus@uniupo.it) the following documentation:

1. LETTER OF CONFIRMATION, completed and signed, certifying the actual period of time spent abroad for study (specifying the exact start and end dates of academic activity)

2. TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS. If already received, the student must provide the official certificate issued by the host university, complete with marks achieved during the stay abroad. PLEASE NOTE: It is possible that this form be sent at a later date directly to the Erasmus and International Students Office by the host university

3. DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC ACTIVITY COMPLETED ABROAD, complete with list of exams taken, thesis research and/or internship details. The form can be found on the following webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/sites/default/files/23%20Dichiarazione%20attivit%… e%20all'estero.pdf

 4. FINAL LEARNING AGREEMENT, complete with Before the Mobility and During the Mobility sections (if the Learning Agreement has been modified), approved by both the Departmental Coordinator at the university of origin and an official at the partner university, and the final FORM B, approved by the Coordinator in Italy; the After the Mobility section should be completed only by some universities, instead of the Transcript of Records, and does not require the signature of the Departmental Coordinator in Italy.

5. In the event that the student has made changes to the initial Learning Agreement, he/she must supply the Erasmus and International Students Office with all the AUTHORISATION EMAILS related to the changes and/or integrations as listed above.

6. Screenshots or Word files certifying the completion of the ERASMUS WIKI page. Here is the link to the webpage concerned: https://www.dir.uniupo.it/course/view.php?id=5309;

7. Finally, the student must complete the EU SURVEY questionnaire as laid down by the new platform of the European Commission (at the moment of writing, these details have not yet been made public). It is presumed that you can access the questionnaire via a link sent directly by email from the European Commission. Students are therefore reminded to check their university email account regularly.

NB: For DISUM students (Language Degrees), it will be necessary to upload the documentation in the specific DRIVE folders. The uploading of documentation to the Drive does not substitute the delivery of the documentation to the university’s Erasmus and International Students Office.

Extensions and Withdrawal

Extensions

It is possible, for eligible students, to request an extension of the Erasmus+ grant for up to 12 months in total, including both the months agreed in the initial financial agreement and the extension period. Requests will be taken into consideration only if made to the university via the specific form, which can be downloaded from the university website https://www.uniupo.it/it/internazionale/studenti/vuoi-andare-allestero/….

It should also be noted that such a request will not necessarily involve a further grant for the additional months.

 The aforementioned form must be sent to the Eramus and International Students Office by email (domanda.erasmus@uniupo.it) approximately one month before the end of the initial duration established during the financial agreement. To be considered valid, the form must be signed by all parties involved (student, Coordinator at Department of origin and official at the partner university).

Any sum awarded will be based on the exact number of days of stay and only for the part of European funding. It should also be noted that, for insurance purposes, it is compulsory to request authorisation (via the specific form) for periods of extension greater than 16 days.

Withdrawal

Any student who decides to give up/withdraw from the study grant must give written notice to the Erasmus and International Students Office of Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale, sending an official email of withdrawal complete with justification to domanda.erasmus@uniupo.it.

The student must, at the same time, advise the host university of his/her decision to withdraw. Withdrawal incurs a penalty fee of € 100, as stated in the Call.

For withdrawal due to serious and certified reasons, it is possible to appeal against the penalty fee.

Further Information

Integrated Exams

When completing the Learning Agreement, it is possible to add integrated exams, stating the complete title of the exam course (not just the partial single modules of which it is composed). In the event that only part of the exam is taken during the mobility period, it is possible to request partial recognition. The remaining part of the exam can be taken after returning to Italy, without the need for further integrations.

Refusal of Marks

If the student wishes to refuse a mark received during the mobility period, he/she can do so directly at the university abroad or simply fail to request its recognition/conversion after returning to Italy. In this case, the refusal must be acknowledged in writing and delivered to the Erasmus and International Students Office at the same time that the aforesaid return to Italy documentation is presented. The form to complete for this procedure is published on the following webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/sites/default/files/25%20Rinuncia%20votazione%20esami.pdf

Graduation

The student may not graduate before recognition and approval of the exams, internship or thesis research carried out during the Erasmus+ initiative. The student must therefore check (in plenty of time and before going to Student Services to apply for graduation) that his/her Student Records are entirely up-to-date.

Payment of the Grant

Payment of the study grant takes place in two tranches: 70% of the grant will be paid approximately one month after departure for the host university while the remaining sum (and any extension sum awarded) will be paid when all students have returned (please note: the programme ends on 30 September each academic year).

Restitution of Grant

In the event that a student is required to return (in full or partially) 70% of the grant received, the recognition/conversion paperwork for credits will not be passed on to the Department until this sum is settled. The student’s departmental Student Services will be informed; they will then communicate instructions on how to return the amount and it will be necessary to forward evidence of payment (via email) to the Erasmus and International Students Office.

Please Note

All the necessary forms can be found at

https://www.uniupo.it/it/internazionale/studenti/vuoi-andare-allestero/…

For any doubts or assistance (also during your stay abroad), please contact the Erasmus and International Students Office directly as detailed below.

Ufficio Erasmus e Studenti Stranieri

Palazzo del Rettorato Via Duomo, 6 – 13100 Vercelli

Tel. + 39 0161/261552 – 551

domanda.erasmus@uniupo.it

erasmus@uniupo.it (UPOrisponde Ticketing service)

Office hours: by appointment