1. SCOPE

These regulations apply (i) to students of the URV taking first-, second- or first-and-second cycle studies (officially recognised studies as well as studies specific to the URV) who are on mobility programmes at other institutions of higher education and (ii) to external students of the URV, within the framework of mobility programmes established by public administrations or bilateral agreements between the URV and other higher education institutions, when the studies taken at the receiving institution are to be recognised by the sending institution.

 

2. MOBILITY AGREEMENTS


To provide a framework for student mobility, study programmes can be subject to bilateral agreements through mobility programmes organised by public administrations responsible for higher education or through bilateral mobility agreements between the URV and another higher education institution. These mobility agreements need to establish appropriate reciprocity mechanisms. Each student mobility programme must be preceded by a bilateral agreement that stipulates the maximum number of students on the programme and the length of their stay. This agreement must be signed by the rector of the URV and the legal representative of the other participating institution. 

 

 

3. SCHOOLS, FACULTIES AND STUDENT MOBILITY: THE MOBILITY COORDINATOR


1. Schools and faculties are responsible for all academic aspects of student mobility.

2. The schools and faculties will:

- establish academic contacts with other institutions to promote the mobility of students on their study programmes

- propose mobility agreements

- establish specific learning agreements

- recognise courses taken at the participating institution

- recognise the credits obtained by their students on mobility programmes

- transcribe the credits obtained by their students onto their academic transcript, and advise external students at the URV and supervise their progress.


3. The Head of the Study Programme, who is the mobility coordinator, is responsible for:

- coordinating the academic aspects of the mobility, and responding to applications to participate in a mobility programme from students of their study programme.


4. The Dean or Head of a School or Faculty can designate coordination tasks for academic aspects of student mobility to other members of their team or to other teachers (in agreement with their work description). These tasks should be carried out in collaboration with the Head of the Study Programme. The School or Faculty can decide that this collaboration should take the form of a collegial commission, in which case it must specify whether the decisions taken by the commission are binding. Mobility coordinators must be full-time teachers.

In the agreements established for programmes of the European Union, teacher who coordinate student mobility are called mobility coordinators. These regulations will therefore use this term both when the mobility coordinator is the Head of the Study Programme and when another person is responsible for coordinating the mobility programme.


5. The International Relations Office (ORI) provides schools and faculties with support in administrative matters related to student mobility.

 

4. THE MOBILITY OF URV STUDENTS AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS


4. 1. The selection process

1. The mobility coordinator must inform students on their study programme about opportunities for participating in mobility programmes and deadlines for applications.

2. Students registered at the URV on a study programme leading to the award of a first-, second- or first-and-second cycle degree who have obtained the necessary credits or studied for the period stipulated in the programme or agreement can take part in mobility programmes.

3. Students wishing to take part in a mobility programme must take the necessary documents to the mobility coordinator for their study programme. The mobility coordinator decides whether the candidate satisfies the requirements for the programme and analyses their application in accordance with the selection criteria. If there is more than one candidate per place, a selection process is conducted. Candidates will be selected in accordance with their merits and abilities, their academic transcript and curriculum vitae, their knowledge of the language spoken at the receiving institution, and their reasons for participating in the mobility programme, etc. A lack of candidates will not be considered a good enough reason to award a grant to a candidate if they are not considered suitable for the programme. Applications will be assessed by the mobility coordinator, or, if applicable, by the collegial commission. The mobility coordinator will inform candidates of the decision. If the decision is negative, they will be told why their application has been unsuccessful.

4. Mobility coordinators will advise successful applicants about the documents they need to fill in and the procedure they need to follow. They will follow the steps outlined in these regulations and draw up and administer the documentation needed for each programme or agreement.

 

4.2 Learning agreements

The procedure for deciding which studies can be taken at the receiving institution and for formalising the registration of URV students is as follows:

1. Before the student leaves to begin the mobility programme, the URV mobility coordinator will use the internal document for preliminary study agreements (URV preliminary study agreement for mobility programmes or agreements) to draw up a proposal for the recognition of the studies the student will take at the receiving institution. This document will list the subjects for which the student is registered at the URV and those that he/she will take at the receiving institution (this information will be provided by the receiving institution). This document must be signed by both the student and the URV mobility coordinator.

2. The subjects that can be recognised are those for which the agreement is drawn up, i.e. subjects taken by the student at the URV that can also be taken at the receiving institution. These subjects, for which the student will register at the URV, must be specified in the agreement. Subjects that the student has previously failed cannot be proposed for recognition. Recognition of studies implies that the grades and the number of credits obtained in the subjects taken at the receiving institution become part of the student's academic record, provided it is previously agreed that the student will take these subjects at the receiving institution.

3. The mobility coordinator will send this preliminary agreement to the secretariat of the School or Faculty, which will begin the procedure for activating the subjects to be taken as part of the mobility programme and inform the students that they must follow the specific guidelines for registering for this type of subjects.

4. When required to do so by the mobility programme, students must apply to the receiving institution by completing a Student Application Form with their personal details and the dates of their stay. The URV mobility coordinator will send this completed application form to the mobility coordinator of the receiving institution, who will confirm whether the student has been accepted.

5. The mobility coordinator must send the receiving institution the Learning Agreement, which lists the subjects the student will take at the receiving institution and anticipates any future amendments. The aim of this document is to inform the receiving institution which subjects the URV student will take and record the approval of both parties to the agreement.

6. If there are any amendments to the contents of the Learning Agreement once this has been signed, the Agreement must be redrafted. The new Learning Agreement must be signed by the two mobility coordinators, and the secretariat of the relevant URV institution must be informed. If these amendments affect the student's registration at the URV, the mobility coordinator must immediately inform the secretariat using the relevant internal document so that the student's registration can be amended.

7. URV students who leave to participate in the mobility programme before the designated period for registration must, before the registration period expires, register from their place of destination using the self-registration procedure on the URV's web site.

8. Before the beginning of the mobility programme, students will receive all the academic information they need from their mobility coordinator. From the ORI they will also receive information about administrative matters, including the procedures they need to follow, the language courses they can take before they leave and the rules on cancelling or extending their stay.

9. Also before the beginning of the mobility programme, the ORI will issue students with a certificate so that they can apply for a visa or health insurance, a certificate to accredit their mobility at the receiving institution and, if applicable, the financial agreement between the student and the University.

4.3 The student's commitment to the receiving institution

Students must comply with the academic calendar of the receiving institution for the full period of study agreed. This includes examinations and other forms of evaluation. Students must also respect the rules and regulations of the receiving institution.

4.4 The recognition of studies

The procedure for recognising studies taken at the receiving institution is as follows:

1. The mobility coordinator of the receiving institution will send the URV mobility coordinator the communication document and, if appropriate, the Transcript of Grades or results sheet (depending on the mobility programme). When required, and in accordance with Royal Decree 1125/2003, the URV mobility coordinator will establish, in accordance with the student's study programme at the URV, equivalencies for the grades obtained.
For each student, the mobility coordinator will draw up a single results sheet listing all the subjects specified in the learning agreement.

2. Any difficulties caused by the different grading systems or other aspects will be solved by the Dean or Head of the School or Faculty, or by the International Relations Office.

3. If students do not obtain all the credits agreed and specified in the learning agreement, the subjects they did not pass during the mobility programme will to all effects be considered as failed.

4. Students who fail any of the agreed subjects can exercise their right to a second examination session, as established by law.

1) If the receiving institution has a second examination session, the assessment will be made there.

2) If the receiving institution does not have a second examination session, the URV mobility coordinator will ensure that students can exercise their right to this session at the URV.

5. Subjects are recognised once the results sheet has been signed by the mobility coordinator. If the grades have not been sent by the receiving institution within the period specified for signing the results sheet, the mobility coordinator will regard them as not presented. Once this information has been received, this grade will be amended following the procedure established in the current regulations on amendments to results sheets.

6. Subjects taken as part of a student's mobility programme can, if the students request it, be specified on their Personal Academic Transcript.

7. If the student has taken any extra courses at the receiving institution (e.g. language courses) that are not stipulated in the learning agreement, the URV mobility coordinator will assess whether they can be recognised as free-choice credits. If they can, the student can request that these extra courses be recognised as extracurricular subjects in accordance with the procedure outlined for mobility students.

 

4.5 Rejecting an offer of mobility

1. Students who decide not to take up the offer of a place on a mobility programme must explain their reasons in writing. If this occurs before the start of the academic year, they must inform the relevant authorities immediately so that all the necessary changes to their registration can be made within the specified period.

2. The financial consequences of a student declining an offer are stipulated in the various programmes. Unless the programme indicates otherwise, students who decline an offer after studying for over three months at the receiving institution and receiving financial support for their stay must return an amount of money in proportion to the months remaining on the mobility programme. Students who decline an offer before the minimum stay of three months must return all of the financial support received.

3. Students who have received financial support for language training or travelling expenses before declining an offer of mobility without justifying their decision by reasons of force majeure must return the full amount they have received.

 

4.6 extending one's stay

Students who would like to extend their stay on a mobility programme must inform the mobility coordinators of the receiving and sending institutions, who will make any academic or administrative changes necessary.

5. MOBILITY OF STUDENTS OF OTHER HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AT THE URV

5.1 Admission

1. External students at the URV must, preferably through their mobility coordinator at the sending institution, complete their application forms with as much information as possible about the subjects they intend to take (Student Application Form, Learning Agreement, Academic Agreement, etc.) and send it to the mobility coordinator of their chosen study programme within the stipulated period.

2. Once external students have been accepted by the URV mobility coordinator, they can request the documents they need to apply for a visa, if a visa is needed.

 

5.2. Registration

1. The mobility coordinator of the School or Faculty and the ORI will greet external URV students, assist their academic integration and give them all the information they need for their stay. External students must take to the ORI a copy of their passport, a copy of their health insurance and, if applicable, a copy of the document which indicates their receipt of a grant. The ORI will keep a personal record of each student and provide them with the information they need to settle into the URV. In particular, they will inform them of the Catalan and Spanish courses available at the URV Language Service (Servei Lingüístic). These courses can be recognised as mobility courses provided this has been agreed beforehand by the student and by the coordinators of the URV and the sending institution.
External students who have not yet visited the mobility coordinator for the study programme that most closely matches the courses they intend to take will be informed where to go.

2. The mobility coordinator and the student will again assess the preliminary learning or academic agreement and draw up the definitive version of this document so that the student can formalise his or her enrolment by applying for registration. With the help of the mobility coordinator or mobility student information officer, the external student must complete the registration form and take it to the mobility coordinator, who will send it to the secretariat of the School or Faculty. In accordance with the definitive learning or academic agreement and the URV's matriculation and academic regulations, the secretariat will follow the procedure established for external students on mobility programmes.

3. External students taking subjects in several Schools or Faculties will be registered at one secretariat and in the study programme in which they are taking the most credits.

4. External students of the URV are exempt from paying academic fees for any of the subjects included in the agreements signed by the respective mobility coordinators within the framework of the mobility programmes or agreements in which this condition is established.

5. Once matriculated, external students will be officially regarded as students of the URV. They will be given the same information and services and will enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as the URV's own students. All external students must show proof that they have public or private health insurance cover.

5.3 Language integration

External students on mobility programmes or bilateral agreements will have access to the Catalan and Spanish language courses of the University's Language Service. These courses provide one credit for every ten hours of tuition.

5.4 Grades and grade transcriptions

1. Once external students have completed their mobility at the URV and their results have been evaluated by the teaching staff, the URV mobility coordinator will ask the secretariat of the School or Faculty for the lists of these students' results and complete the transcription documents (e.g. Transcript of Records) for their mobility programme with their results and, if applicable, their equivalencies. The URV mobility coordinator must sign and stamp this document and send it to the mobility coordinator of the sending institution.

2. This transcription document must also specify any Catalan or Spanish language courses passed by the student during his or her stay. The level of these courses must always be higher than the level the student had before beginning the mobility.

 
ANNEX:


- Bilateral Agreement

- Student Application Form

- Learning Agreement

- Transcript of Records