With these instructions, Constanta Maritime University regulates student exchange rules as well as the terms and conditions and procedures for international exchange programmes, traineeships and other forms of international exchanges of students studying at Constanta Maritime University.
International exchange programmes are available to all potential participants. Candidates shall be treated equally regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity or social background, language, religion or beliefs, political or any other opinions and nationality.
RULES ON ERASMUS+ STUDENT EXCHANGE
- Responsibility
The responsible person in the sending institution is the Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator, who advises students on choosing educational components at the receiving institution. The responsible person is authorised to approve the mobility programme of outbound students (Learning Agreements), to exceptionally amend them when it is needed and to guarantee full recognition of such programmes on behalf of the responsible academic body. The responsible person shall also assess which additionally completed obligations shall be entered into the student’s diploma supplement.
- Duration of the Exchange for the Purposes of Studies and of Traineeship
The exchange for the purposes of studies and of traineeship shall last in accordance with the provisions of the individual call for applications.
- Minimum Conditions for Exchange
The student may participate in Erasmus+ exchange programme if:
- He/She has the status of a student at Constanta Maritime University during the time of the exchange, enrolled in Bachelor, Master, or PhD study programmes
- He/She is resident in Romania
- He/She has completed at least the first year of the first cycle;
- He/She meets other conditions stipulated by the individual call for applications or additional conditions that might be stipulated by the member institutions.
- Studies at a Foreign University
As part of the Erasmus+ exchange, students can complete part of their studies at a related study programme at a foreign university and, after returning, they continue their education at Constanta Maritime University.
- The Procedure for participating in Erasmus+ Student Exchange
A student who wishes to participate in Erasmus+ exchange abroad shall apply to the call for applications. The call for applications to the exchange programme within the framework of ERASMUS+ shall be published by Constanta Maritime University on its website.
The call for applications shall contain the general selection criteria, specific criteria where two or more students are judged to be equal, the specification of supporting documents that the student shall enclose for their application to be complete, the manner of decision-making on the applications, the manner of using the criteria and the latter’s description, the deadlines for different stages of the application process and an explanation on the possibility of submitting an appeal against the selection made.
- The Selection of Students
The basic selection criteria are as follows:
- study results: average grade of already completed study obligations
- level of motivation
- language skills for the language of instruction at the receiving institution
The partner institutions may define additional selection criteria for individual calls for applications.
Individual criteria and how these are used are defined in advance in the call for applications.
If more students apply to the same receiving institution, programme and study cycle than there are open slots, a priority order of selected students shall be determined based on the specific criteria published in the call for applications.
The procedure for the call for applications is managed by the Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator.
The partner institution shall inform the registered students on the selection with a decision.
An appeal against the decision may be lodged by the applicant at the partner institution that issued the decision. The appeal shall state the reasons for lodging the appeal. The application conditions and the selection criteria may not be the subject of the appeal.
COMPLETING OBLIGATIONS AT THE RECEIVING INSTITUTION AND THEIR RECOGNITION
- Learning Agreement
The selected students shall conclude a Learning Agreement that contains the proposed courses and study obligations that they wish to complete at the receiving institution. The content of individual courses at the receiving institution does not need to match in detail the content of courses at the sending institution.
If the Curriculum and Requirements at the sending correspond to the Curriculum and Requirements at the receiving institution, both institutions will sign the Learning Agreement.
If the student follows additional educational components beyond those required for their degree programme, these additional credits shall also be listed in the Learning Agreement.
Obligatory ERASMUS+ Rules
The Learning Agreement, which is signed by the student, the responsible person at the sending institution and the responsible person at the receiving institution, is composed of three sections. Section I is to be completed Before Mobility, and Table A shall contain all educational components with credits, both those that are part of the obligatory study programme as well as the additional educational components that the student intends to complete during the exchange.
Table B shall contain the educational components that will be recognised within the framework of the learning agreement. Additionally completed educational components are recorded in the Diploma Supplement.
The Learning Agreement may not contain courses that the student has failed to complete at the sending institution or courses that, in terms of content, are equal to an already completed course.
The responsible person shall take into account that content that the student has already followed and exams already passed may not be followed or taken a second time at the receiving institution.
If changes of courses are introduced into the original Learning Agreement, the student shall inform the responsible person at the sending institution and they shall jointly prepare proposed amendments. The amendments to the Learning Agreement shall be signed by the responsible person at the sending institution, the student and the responsible person at the receiving institution.
By signing the Learning Agreement, the responsible person at the sending institution guarantees that the previously agreed and completed study obligations at the receiving institution shall be recognised by the sending institution.
- Recognition of the Study Obligations Completed at the Receiving Institution
By signing the Learning Agreement, the sending institution undertakes to recognise credits that the student obtained at the receiving institution for successfully completed educational components. An educational component at the receiving institution is deemed equivalent if at least 50% of the programme matches the content of the educational component at the sending institution.
The minimum number of credits that the student must obtain and that must be recognised is 20 ECTS for one semester and 40 ECTS for one year.
Students enrolled in their First, Second and Third cycle, who have completed part of their studies at receiving institutions within the framework of various forms of international exchange shall have their successfully completed study obligations at the receiving institution recognised as completed study obligations in the study programme into which the student is enrolled at Constanta Maritime University. The recognition of obligations completed abroad is obligatory based on a submitted Transcript of Records.
The grades that the student has achieved in individual courses shall be translated into the applicable Grading system at Constanta Maritime University.
If the student has failed to complete the required obligations abroad and has not collected enough credits, they must obtain the difference for completing their year of study or programme in accordance with the applicable syllabus of the study programme at their home institution.
A student who is enforcing the recognition of obligations completed abroad shall submit a copy of the official certificate from the receiving institution, i.e. the Transcript of Records. The Transcript of Records shall clearly state for which courses the student completed the obligations or passed the exams successfully, the achieved grades and the grade distribution information that applies to the receiving institution. After completing the procedure for recognition of obligations completed abroad, the sending institution shall issue a Decision for the student on the recognition and record it in the student’s records.
*An educational component is a self-contained and formally structured learning experience that features learning outcomes, credits and forms of assessment. Example: a course, module, seminar, laboratory work, preparation for a thesis or free electives.
- Preparation of the Bachelor’s /Master’s/Doctoral Thesis
A student who wishes to prepare the final thesis for their programme at the receiving institution shall previously have the topic of the final thesis approved and obtain a written statement from the supervisor that they consent to the fact that the thesis will be prepared at the receiving institution.
TRAINEESHIP AND OTHER TYPES OF EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES ABROAD AND THEIR RECOGNITION
Traineeships Abroad and Their Recognition
The provisions of these Instructions shall apply mutatis mutandis to traineeships abroad.
Very Important! For Traineeship Mobility on board vessels, the students’ final selection is made by the shipping company, after the evaluation of the proposals made by the University.
REINTEGRATION AFTER EXCHANGE AND DISSEMINATION OF THE RESULTS
The home or partner institution shall ensure that the experience obtained by participants abroad is positively assessed and disseminated, e.g. in the form of organising meetings and publishing publications where the participants share their experience with the wider public.
Furthermore, the home or partner institution shall provide administrative and academic counselling with which they assess the results of the mobility and provide advice to participants on how to best use the knowledge obtained abroad. The home or partner institution shall also support the reintegration of participants into their social, educational and professional environment.
The home or partner institution shall organise events or meetings in order to ensure the exchange of students’ experience obtained abroad with other stakeholders. They must enable presentations and thus also the use of the competencies that the students obtained abroad.
