Before the mobility

All the documents mentioned below can be accessed here: https://ico.metu.edu.tr/erasmus-useful-documents

A) WHAT TO DO BEFORE LEAVING

If you want to withdraw from the university you were placed, you must notify your advisor about it until the deadline announced by the ICO. In case of withdrawing after the due date, 10 points will be decreased from the student’s next application.

1. ICO delivers the information of the students to the host university via e-mail. • Dormitory application form for universities that offer dormitories (It can be found on the web-page of the host university)

2. In the meantime, the student must do a research on the language of education, given courses, and ECTS credits of the courses of the host university. In case that there are no courses given in English, the student must have competence to follow the courses in the language of education of host university. It is necessary to receive the remarks of Departmental Erasmus Coordinator on course selection.

3. Students are suggested to get in contact with other students who previously participated in Erasmus program, to benefit from their experiences. Therefore, it is recommended to join to ESN METU-Outgoing Students Facebook Group which was founded for that purpose and which embodies the students who previously participated in Erasmus mobility. In addition to this, there are forms where you can obtain information about the host universities in the following link: http://ico.metu.edu.tr/information-about-erasmus-partners

4. Duration of Erasmus learning mobility must be 3 months minimum and 12 months maximum. Students who receive the 80% of the grant and stay at the host university less than 3 months must return the grant they received (80%).

B) COURSE SELECTION AND COURSE SUBSTITUTION

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is the liability of students to pursue whether all the transactions are completed or not before going abroad (receiving the leave of absence, signing of the academic confirmation form etc.). Students who go abroad before completing these transactions can be called back by the academic units.

Learning Agreement – LA

It is one of the most important documents of Erasmus Program. On this document, the courses which will be taken from the host university are listed and codes and ECTS credits of courses are stated. This document is signed by the student, Departmental Erasmus Coordinator at METU. It must also be signed by the host university before starting the mobility.

Every student who will receive education abroad with Erasmus Program must take at least 30 ECTS of course/thesis study/project and must pass the courses which are equal to at least 20 ECTS credits. 

If the student cannot access to the course list and ECTS credits of courses for the host university, the student can request information by notifying the Departmental Erasmus Coordinator. In addition to that, the student can ask questions to host university about every kind of information (orientation program, dormitories, academic calendar etc.) that is not provided on the web-page of the university, after the student is presented as a candidate to the host university by ICO. The Learning Agreement is signed on 3 different stages (for paper-based form). The student delivers Before the Mobility part along with application documents to ICO after it is edited by student and signed by Departmental Erasmus Coordinator and the coordinator at the host institution.

Please visit https://learning-agreement.eu/ to complete the Learning Agreement, using your metu-mail. 

Academic Confirmation Form (ACF)

It shows the equivalence of the received courses from host-university to courses given in METU. It must be signed by Department Head, Erasmus Coordinator of the Department, Faculty/Institute, and thesis advisor (for graduate students). Every kind of information regarding course substitution must be received from Departmental Coordinators. The student must deliver one copy of this form to ICO with confirmations both before (‘’ACF outgoing form’’ which includes foreseen courses) and after (ACF return form which includes the courses taking place on the transcript) the program. This form will also be used for granting leave of absence and substitution of courses (academic recognition) at the end of the program. Therefore, the student must keep one copy of this form.

Course Substitution Transactions

Course substitution transactions are carried out by the related department and Faculty/Institute. Following decisions were taken for the course substitution process:

a) The course substitution process starts when the student applies to the academic unit with an official transcript from the host university and ‘’Academic Confirmation Form – Return’’ document. The departments convert the taken grades to METU grades for the assessment. According to the complementary grades in METU, CC and above for undergrad students and BB and above for grad students if deemed applicable by department, counted as passed in student’s curriculum. Student receives “EX” grade and considered “exempt” from these courses and these grades are not taken into consideration in grade point average (GPA) calculation. These courses are shown as registered in the mobility semester of student. These courses that are registered as “exempt” in METU have their names and codes from the host university indicated in the “remarks” part of the transcript. The "Academic Confirmation Form – Return" document also contains a list of the courses with a failing grade taken during the mobility period by the student. These failed courses are also indicated in the "remarks" part of the METU transcript with only their names and codes from the host university.

b) Courses taken by graduate students who participated in Exchange program after completing their curricular course load, where deemed appropriate by their department, can be shown as EX (or NI) in the “remarks” part of the transcript.

The academic units may have different applications about abovementioned decisions. Therefore, please receive exact information about course substitution from your related academic unit.

C) PASSPORT WITHOUT FEES

Students who will receive education abroad with Erasmus and want to obtain a passport without fees must deliver the passport fee exemption form to Registrar’s Office after filling it. Then, the official letter from the Registrar’s Office must be obtained by student after it is ready. (generally within 2 work days). After receiving the official letter, the student must go to Directorate of Tax Administration, which is located behind Ulus Zincirli Mosque, with a photocopy of the identity card, a photocopy of school identity card, and a photocopy of the document which is given after the transactions at the school. After the transactions are completed there, the passport should be applied for in General Directorate of Security with necessary documents. Note: Students over 25 years old must obtain a letter of passport without fees from ICO before going to Registrar’s Office.

D) SENDING THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

Every university has its own deadline for sending these documents. The information about deadlines and required documents can be obtained from the website of the host university. Some universities accept online applications; in this case you may not need to send the documents via mail. In case that you need the send the documents via mail, it is suggested to send the documents at least a week earlier than the deadline to avoid problems which may occur due to the postal service. Application documents can be sent via postal mail or any express mail company chosen by the student. There is a cargo company that has an agreement with ICO (TNT), thus, gives a discount to the students. If the student demands, posting can be carried out by the office but the expenses are paid by the student. If the normal postal mail is preferred, the application documents must be delivered to ICO at least 15 days before the deadline. If the TNT cargo is preferred, these documents must be delivered to ICO at least 2 days before.

E) LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE

It is recommended to give the address of the office while filling the application documents so that your letter of acceptance will be sent to the office. When the letter of acceptance is received by the office, ICO advisor informs the student via e-mail. Some universities may send the letter of acceptance to student’s address. In that case, the student must deliver one copy of the letter of acceptance to ICO advisor.

F) VISA AND HEALTH INSURANCE

Visa transactions and travel details are under the responsibility of the student.

Visa application is carried out after the letter of acceptance is received. It is necessary to contact the consulate and to learn the necessary documents for visa application. Generally, a document which indicates the financial competence is required for the visa. ICO advisor prepares the official grant letter regarding that the student will receive Erasmus grant. The student must demand the official grant letter from ICO advisor at least 1 week before the visa application. However, in most instances, Erasmus grant does not meet the financial assurance alone for the visa application therefore, students need to submit additional documents like financial assurance letter received from the bank. Every student is obliged to have a health insurance with international validity. The companies in Turkey offer different prices for this insurance. Students who have a social security from SSK (Social Insurance Institution) have opportunity to benefit from the bilateral agreements of Social Security Institution with many European countries. The necessary information about this topic can be received from the website of the institution.

Since the policy number of the health insurance is written on the grant agreement, no payment for the grant can be received by the students who do not have an insurance.

Information about visa procedures of some countries:

1. Netherlands:

Different from other countries, visa application for the students who will go to Netherlands is carried out by the host university. Students who will go to Netherlands need to send the bank assurance letter and the birth certificate (for some universities) along with application documents. Furthermore, passports of these students must be valid for 6 months after the end date of their education in Netherlands.

2. Czech Republic:

Visa application is carried out through embassies in Turkey after the letter of acceptance (which must be in Czech) is received. Embassy of Czechia in Turkey is not authorized to give visas for periods longer than 3 months. Therefore, the documents are sent to the Police Office for Foreigners in Czechia and waits for the confirmation of this office. Students who will travel to Czechia must have their grant letter from ICO translated to Czech. Moreover, passports of these students must be valid for 3 months after the end of their educations in Czechia. Visa transactions must be initiated at least 3-4 months before the travel.

3. Estonia and Slovenia:

To obtain visa from Estonia and Slovenia, visa transactions must be initiated at least 4 months before the travel. Therefore, application transactions should be completed and the letter of acceptance must be received as soon as possible

G) TRANSACTIONS WHICH SHALL BE CARRIED OUT AT METU

Leave of Absence

When the letter of acceptance is received, the petition for leave of absence must be given to the related academic unit (to the department for undergraduate students and to the institute for graduate students). A copy of letter of acceptance and a copy of Academic Confirmation Form is to be added to the leave of absence. Some departments and institutes have their own leave form; in this case, the student must use these special forms. The student is liable to ensure that leave of absence is confirmed and delivered to the Registrar’s Office.

Semester(s) in which the students are on leave are evaluated within ‘‘maximum learning period’’; however, it is not reduced from the ‘‘maximum leave of absence’’.

To be able to receive a leave of absence, academic status of student is reevaluated before the semester in which the mobility takes place. In case that minimum application requirements (GPA 2,5 for undergraduate and GPA 3,0 for graduate students) are not met, status of the student is reevaluated by the academic units. In some academic units, there are also criteria for last semester’s GPA. Please learn the requirements for the leave of absence from your department.

Process for leave of absence takes at least 2 weeks. Please obtain information from your department about duration of these processes.

University Tuition Fee

Students who are required to pay tuition fee, continue to pay their tuition to METU during their mobility period. They are exempt from tuition fees for their host university.

Dormitory Leave Permission

Students who accommodate at campus dormitories need to apply to Directorate of Dormitories to reserve the right to stay in dormitories before starting their mobility

OLS Exam

This exam is prepared by European Commission and applied online, it is optional for the students who participate in Erasmus program. The steps to complete the OLS Exam can be found in the attachment 

H) CALCULATION AND PAYMENT OF THE GRANTS

The grant agreement must be prepared before the student receive Erasmus grant. The grant agreement can only be signed after the student opens a Euro account at Vakıfbank METU branch, has a valid health insurance, obtains a visa, and completes OLS exam. The student must fill the ‘grant agreement’ by calculating the amount of grant with the advisor and write the IBAN number of their Euro account on this agreement. The grants are transferred to Euro accounts opened at the Vakıfbank METU branch. When the letter of acceptance is received, the grant is calculated according to the dates on the letter of acceptance. At first, 80% of the grant is paid to the student. Transfer of the grant to the account lasts approximately 10 working days after the student delivers all the documents to their advisor. The students who are eager to receive their grants before going abroad must deliver all the documents to their advisors on time.

Necessary documents to receive 80% of the grant: Necessary documents to receive 80% of the grant: 1

) A copy of the letter of acceptance.

2) Learning Agreement (Before the Mobility) / OLA

3) Academic Confirmation Form - Outgoing

4) Document which indicates that leave of absence is obtained (The petition must be given 1 month before it goes to department)

5) Health Insurance (which has international validity; policy number will be written on the agreement).

6) Online Language Support (OLS) exam (optional)

7) Grant Agreement (which will be prepared with the advisor after a Euro account is opened at Vakıfbank METU branch. The grant agreement should be signed with a wet-ink signature and should be submitted to ICO before the mobility starts).

8) E-mail which indicates that the student obtained a visa / photocopy of the visa page (please learn the necessary documents for visa from the web-page of the embassy; visa transactions are under the responsibility of the student).

The remaining 20% amount is paid after the students return providing that the student succeeds at at least 20 ECTS credits worth of courses received from the host university during the mobility. Certificate of participation received from the host university and the entrance-exit dates on the passport (or the dates of plane tickets) will be taken into consideration for the final payment to the student which will be made when the student returns. 20% amount which should be paid when the student returns can be different from the amount which was determined in the first stage since the final grant is determined according to crossing of the dates on these two documents. In case that the student performs an activity less than the granting period which was calculated before the student leaves, the student is asked to return the surplus.

Countries according to cost of living	Host Countries for Mobility	Monthly Student Learning Grant (€)
First Group Program Countries & 14. Region	Danimarka, Finlandiya, İrlanda, İsveç, İzlanda, Lihtenştayn, Lüksemburg, Norveç, Almanya, Avusturya, Belçika, Fransa, Güney Kıbrıs, Hollanda, İspanya, İtalya, Malta, Portekiz, Yunanistan, Birleşik Krallık, İsviçre	600
Second Group Program Countries	Bulgaristan, Çek Cumhuriyeti, Estonya, Hırvatistan, Letonya, Litvanya, Macaristan, Makedonya, Polonya, Romanya, Slovakya, Slovenya	450

Each year after the student placement process is completed, an orientation program for outgoing students is organized to inform the students regarding the mobility process and what to expect as challenges and opportunities. The latest orientation program and the presentations can be accessed below: