Learning Agreement

Teaser learning agreement

General Information

Students have to fill out a Learning Agreement for every ERASMUS stay. Since the academic year 2021/22 the Learning Agreement is carried out online (OLA procedure). Only if it is not possible to do the OLA, you can switch to the old procedure with a download from the workflow in your participant account in Mobility Online

You can fill in the Online Learning Agreement (OLA) on the website www.learning-agreement.eu. In these video tutorials, you can see how to create and edit the OLA. When you have fully completed and sent the OLA, the file will be forwarded to your ERASMUS coordinator at your home and host university. You will then get the OLA back fully signed. When the OLA is fully signed, download it and upload it to your Mobility Online participant account. You can find a guide with step-by-step instructions for completing the OLA here

If the OLA is not feasible, please note that the Learning Agreement must be signed by three parties (student, ERASMUS coordination of the home and host university). Usually, scans of the signed Learning Agreement via email are sufficient.

At Goethe University, the Learning Agreement consists of three parts. You must complete these before, during and after your stay abroad and submit them via Mobility Online. Because some partner universities combine these three documents in one, there can be deviations.

In the following sections, you will find more information on these three parts and possible deadlines. If you decide to extend your one-semester stay abroad, you must repeat the entire process in the second semester.

© Uwe Dettmar, Goethe University Frankfurt


Before your stay abroad

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Learning Agreement Part I

The first part of the Learning Agreement with the signatures of all three parties should be uploaded to your participant account int Mobility Online at least two weeks before the start of your stay abroad.

Part I of the Learning Agreement consists of two tables. In table A1, you have to enter the courses from the course catalog of your partner university you would like to attend during your mobility. You can also enter language courses or special Erasmus courses there - if ECTS are credited by the partner university. The guideline for completing Table A1 is 30 ECTS per semester. You must achieve at least 15 ECTS per semester. However, under certain circumstances it is possible to complete less than 15 ECTS per semester. You can apply for an exception via your Mobility Online account. 

In table B1, you have to enter the module names of the seminars that you would like to replace in your study program in Frankfurt with courses at the host university. This can be both Teilnahme-and Leistungsscheine for your study program, which you have not yet completed.

If you would like to have courses recognized (table B1), you should first take care of a prior recognition by the Examination Office of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Then, please always send the approved prior recognition (Vorabantrag auf Anerkennung) to the ERASMUS coordinator when you submit your Learning Agreement for signature.

If you would like to have your academic achievements recognized in another subject (e.g. for your minor subject), you must also provide the ERASMUS coordinator a confirmation that the academic achievement abroad is recognized by the respective subject. You can do this either through an endorsement or an informal email.

You can change the information in the two tables in the second part of the Learning Agreement (Changes to the Original Learning Agreement) (see below). This makes sure that you can change any missing or incorrect information later, since you might not have all the information you need to fill out the form before you start your stay abroad.


During the stay abroad

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Learning Agreement Part II

If there are any changes to the courses you are taking in the first few weeks of your stay abroad, you must indicate these changes in the second part of the Learning Agreement (Changes to the Original Learning Agreement).

In table A2 you can mark changes to the courses you attend at the host university, in table B2 you put changes to the modules you need to complete at Goethe University. The Examination Office must also confirm these changes in table B2 through prior recognition (Vorabanerkennung). Otherwise, the second part of your Learning Agreement cannot be signed.

This document must also be signed by all three parties and uploaded to the participants account at Mobility Online no later than five weeks after the start of your stay abroad.


After the stay abroad

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Learning Agreement Part III

After your stay abroad, the partner university will issue you with a Transcript of Records, with which you can have your achievements recognized at Goethe University.

To do this, enter your achievements in table F in the third part of the Learning Agreement. Submit the document with the Transcript of Records to the ERASMUS coordination of the department. If you made further changes to the courses you have taken after the last pre-approval of your courses by the Examination Office, you must also submit an Application for Recognition approved by the Examination Office with the third part of the Learning Agreement.

After you have received the signed Learning Agreement back, upload it to your participant account at Mobility Online.

Besides Learning Agreement Part III, the International Office also accepts your Record of Results by the Examination Office. You will receive this after submitting your Transcript of Records as well as the prior recognition or the application for recognition.


Further Links

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Useful information about the Learning Agreement

In the following, we put some useful links for you. There you can find further information on the Learning Agreement. Please note that the information from other universities on the Learning Agreement cannot be exactly transferred to the conditions at Goethe University:

> Information Sheet from Faculty 03 on the Learning Agreement
> Explanatory video from the University of Dublin on the Learning Agreement
> Guidelines of the European Commission on the Learning Agreement

 For further information on the Learning Agreement see our FAQ (German).