Learning agreement
Before going on exchange, you must complete a learning agreement outlining your intended programme of study at your host institution.
What is a learning agreement?
A learning agreement is an official agreement between you, your academic subject area(s) at Edinburgh and your host university regarding the courses you will take at your host institution during your exchange period. It sets out your planned programme of study and must be approved by the Exchange Coordinator in your subject area. It ensures we are aware of what you are studying whilst abroad and that you will gain credit toward your UoE degree during your time away.
Completing a learning agreement is a compulsory requirement for going on an exchange and must be completed at least one month before the start of your exchange. It is advisable to make a start on this document as early as possible.
For your Exchange Coordinator to sign the document and confirm your intended plan of study is approved by your School, the courses you select must:
- meet your UoE degree requirements
- match the appropriate number of courses/credits expected by a student at your host institution
- be at an appropriate level
Any changes to your learning agreement, before or during your exchange, must also be approved by your Exchange Coordinator. Joint honours students should note that they must receive approval from the Exchange Coordinators in both subject areas.
Find your Exchange Coordinator
Academic requirements
Before completing your learning agreement, you should familiarise yourself with your host institution's course catalogue (usually found on their website) and the course and credit requirements of your degree programme.
Find out more about the academic requirements of your exchange
For more information, see the FAQs below:
Your course selections should be relevant to your subject area and in most instances, you should select the equivalent of 3rd year honours courses. You should NOT take pass/fail or attendance-only courses - all courses should be graded.
To know whether the level and content are appropriate to meet the academic requirements of your Edinburgh degree, you should consult your Exchange Coordinator/s who will be able to advise. For some subjects, you may have compulsory courses for which you may need to find equivalents at your host institution.
Remember also to keep an eye on prerequisites that you may need for certain courses, particularly in Science and Engineering.
You can only take courses taught in a foreign language if you have been pre-approved by the University of Edinburgh as having B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
If your host institution does not yet offer an up-to-date course catalogue, we recommend that you look at the course catalogue from the previous academic year and make an educated guess on the courses you intend to take. You should then be able to alter these should any not be available in the new academic year.
Ensure you choose some backup courses in case some are not available - access to specific courses is not guaranteed and course catalogues sometimes change. If you think there may be a problem with course availability, let your Exchange Coordinator know as soon as possible. Please don't wait until you have arrived to find out there aren't enough suitable courses for you!
Find out more about the academic requirements of your exchange
Your Exchange Coordinator/s can provide advice and support on credit requirements for your degree, guidance on course selection and alternatives to any compulsory courses. They are also responsible for signing and approving any changes to your Learning Agreement.
Find your Exchange Coordinator
Your host institution can provide course information, advise on course availability and, for European institutions only, are responsible for countersigning your Learning Agreement.
Your exchanges team at SWAY can guide you if you are having trouble using Mobility Online to add course information/download / upload the Learning Agreement. We cannot provide academic advice about suitable courses to select.
If you know that you have failed an exam it is important to notify the relevant SWAY team and your Exchange Coordinator as soon as possible so we can look into the impact this may have, and advise on your next steps.
The implications of failing a course may vary depending on factors such as your degree programme or the course failed - get in touch for advice as soon as you know you have failed a course.
How do I complete my learning agreement on Mobility Online?
The Learning Agreement is completed via Mobility Online, the system we use for managing all stages of student exchanges. You will be guided through the process and we will advise all students when you need to do this. Please note, that there is no template document - your learning agreement can only be created through the Mobility Online system.
1. Log into Mobility Online via MyEd.
2. Complete the required pre-departure steps on your Mobility Online workflow. You will find a step to download the 'Learning agreement guidance notes' - please ensure you read through the guidance provided. These notes clearly outline how to complete your learning agreement.
3. Once you have read the notes, you can go to the next step - 'complete learning agreement' and this is where you will enter your courses. You can only do this once the previous steps have been completed.
4. Use the ‘+’ or ‘Enter further courses’ buttons to add each individual course you are planning to take. You must enter courses for the full duration of your exchange, even if these are only provisional choices.
5. Make sure to indicate which semester you will be taking the course at your host institution and that you enter the duration of the course (full year or semester)
6. Once you have entered all of your courses click ‘Back’ to return to your workflow.
7. Click ‘Print learning agreement’. This will open a PDF copy of your learning agreement showing the course information you entered.
8. If you are a Joint Honours student on a full year exchange at the same host institution (e.g., Politics and History) your learning agreement will be printed in Word format. Once you have downloaded your learning agreement you need to confirm, for each of your courses, which part of your degree programme the course relates to.
9. Check the information on the learning agreement is correct and add any missing information.
Make sure your learning agreement:
- shows courses for the full academic year (unless you are only attending for one semester)
- shows the number of credits and/or courses you plan to take at your host institution
- shows the level of courses
- shows which semester you will be taking the course at your host institution
- shows the duration of each course (single semester or full year)
- shows which part of your Joint Honours degree programme each course relates to (only applicable to Joint Honours students on a full year exchange at the same host institution)
- Under the ‘Commitment’ section, please sign the document in the space marked ‘Student’ (scanned signatures are accepted, typed signatures will not be accepted).
- Email the document to your Exchange Coordinator/s for approval and to be signed (if you are a joint honours student, the Exchange Coordinators for both of your degree subjects need to sign your learning agreement).
- For European exchanges only: Email the signed document to your host institution to be approved and signed - all of the signatures must appear on one document.
- Once the document has been signed by all parties, please upload it on to Mobility Online using the ‘Upload fully signed learning agreement’ step. You must upload a completed copy of your learning agreement to Mobility Online at least one month prior to the start of your exchange.
- The SWAY team will check the document to ensure it has all of the required information and signatures. If all requirements have been met, then the document will be approved.
When you arrive at your host institution you may find you are no longer able to take one or more of the courses you listed in your learning agreement. In fact, this is quite common - it could be that a course is full by the time you go to sign up, the language of instruction has changed, there is a timetable clash or it has been cancelled altogether.
If you need to make changes to your learning agreement, you must complete an 'Amended learning agreement'. This is to ensure that any new courses you plan on taking are suitable for your degree programme and will allow you to meet your academic requirements and progress upon your return to Edinburgh.
Important note - if you plan to change courses at your host institution, please ensure you complete and submit an 'Amended learning agreement' in advance of signing up for new courses, to give your Exchange Coordinator enough time to provide feedback on your course changes/selection. It may be the case that the courses you propose are not suitable for your Edinburgh degree programme. Do not assume that your alternative selections are suitable.
To complete an amended learning agreement:
- Find the step on your Mobility Online workflow called 'Change learning agreement'
- Edit your original course choices, i.e. you can delete them to the left side of each course and/or add new ones
- Once you have amended your courses, go back to your workflow and click 'Print learning agreement'
- Your new learning agreement will now display the updated courses, ready to be checked and approved by your host institution (for European institutions only) and your Exchange Coordinator/s.
- Re-upload the signed 'Amended learning agreement' to your Mobility Online workflow for SWAY to review.
In general:
- We will contact you to remind you to submit an amended learning agreement twice per academic year whilst on exchange.
- We would expect you to complete and submit an amended learning agreement once at the start of semester 1 and once at the start of semester 2. We do not expect you to make course changes mid-way through your semester of studies.
- You do not need to submit an amended learning agreement if you do not make any course changes whilst on exchange.