Erasmus Charter

Erasmus Charter 2021-2027

ERASMUS CHARTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 2021-2027
The European Commission hereby awards this Charter to: THEOLOGIKI SXOLI EKKLISIAS KYPROU

The Institution undertakes to:

  • Respect in full the principles of non-discrimination, transparency and inclusion set out in the Erasmus+ Programme.
  • Ensure equal and equitable access and opportunities to current and prospective participants from all backgrounds, paying particular attention to the inclusion of those with fewer opportunities.
  • Ensure full automatic recognition of all credits (based on the European Credit Transfer and AccumulationSystem – ECTS) gained for learning outcomes satisfactorily achieved during a period of study/training abroad, including during blended mobility.
  • Charge no fees, in the case of credit mobility, to incoming mobile students for tuition, registration, examinations or access to laboratory and library facilities.
  • Ensure the quality of the mobility activities and of the cooperation projects throughout the application and implementation phases.
    • Implement the priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme:
      By undertaking the necessary steps to implement digital mobility management in line with the technical standards of the European Student Card Initiative.
    • By promoting environmentally friendly practices in all activities related to the Programme.
    • By encouraging the participation of individuals with fewer opportunities in the Programme.
    • By promoting civic engagement and encouraging students and staff to get involved as active citizens before, during and after their participation in a mobility activity or cooperation project.

WHEN PARTICIPATING IN MOBILITY ACTIVITIES

Before mobility

  • Ensure that selection procedures for mobility activities are fair, transparent, coherent and documented.
  • Publish and regularly update the course catalogue on the website well in advance of the mobility periods, so as to be transparent to all parties and allow mobile students to make well-informed choices about the courses they will follow.
  • Publish and regularly update information on the grading system used and grade distribution tables for all study programmes. Ensure that students receive clear and transparent information on recognition and grade conversion procedures.
  •  Carry out mobility for the purpose of studying and teaching only within the framework of prior agreements between institutions which establish the respective roles and responsibilities of the parties, as well as their commitment to shared quality criteria in the selection, preparation, reception, support and integration of mobile participants.
  • Ensure that outgoing mobile participants are well prepared for their activities abroad, including blended mobility, by undertaking activities to achieve the necessary level of linguistic proficiency and develop their intercultural competences.
  • Ensure that student and staff mobility is based on a learning agreement for students and a mobility agreement for staff, validated in advance between the sending and receiving institutions or enterprises and the mobile participants.
  • Provide active support to incoming mobile participants throughout the process of finding accommodation.
  • Provide assistance related to obtaining visas, when required, for incoming and outgoing mobile participants.
  • Provide assistance related to obtaining insurance, when required, for incoming and outgoing mobile participants.
  • Ensure that students are aware of their rights and obligations as defined in the Erasmus Student Charter.

During mobility

  • Ensure equal academic treatment and the quality of services for incoming students.
  • Promote measures that ensure the safety of outgoing and incoming mobile participants.
  • Provide appropriate mentoring and support arrangements for mobile participants, including for those pursuing blended mobility
  • Integrate incoming mobile participants into the wider student community and in the Institution’s everyday life. Encourage them to act as ambassadors of the Erasmus+ Programme and share their mobility experience.
  • Provide appropriate language support to incoming mobile participants.

After mobility

  • Provide incoming mobile students and their sending institutions with transcripts of records containing a full, accurate and timely record of their achievements at the end of the mobility period.
  • Ensure that all ECTS credits gained for learning outcomes satisfactorily achieved during a period of study/training abroad, including during blended mobility, are fully and automatically recognised as agreed in the learning agreement and confirmed by the transcript of records/traineeship certificate; transfer those credits without delay into the student’s records, count them towards the student’s degree without any additional work or assessment of the student and make them traceable in the student’s transcript of records and the Diploma Supplement.
  • Ensure the inclusion of satisfactorily completed study and/ or traineeship mobility activities in the final record of student achievements (the Diploma Supplement).
  • Encourage and support mobile participants upon return to act as ambassadors of the Erasmus+ Programme, promote the benefits of mobility and actively engage in building alumni communities.
  • Ensure that staff is given recognition for their teaching and training activities undertaken during the mobility period, based on a mobility agreement and in line with the institutional strategy.

WHEN PARTICIPATING IN EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION PROJECTS

  • Ensure that cooperation activities contribute towards the fulfilment of the institutional strategy.
  • Promote the opportunities offered by the cooperation projects and provide relevant support to staff and students interested in participating in these activities throughout the application and implementation phase.
  • Ensure that cooperation activities lead to sustainable outcomes and that their impact benefits all partners.
  • Encourage peer-learning activities and exploit the results of the projects in a way that will maximise their impact on individuals, other participating institutions and the wider academic community.

FOR THE PURPOSES OF IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

  • Ensure that the long-term institutional strategy and its relevance to the objectives and priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme are described in the Erasmus Policy Statement.
  • Ensure that the principles of the Charter are well communicated and are applied by staff at all levels of the Institution.
  • Make use of the ECHE Guidelines and of the ECHE Self-assessment to ensure the full implementation of the principles of this Charter.
  • Regularly promote activities supported by the Erasmus+ Programme, along with their results.
  • Display this Charter and the related Erasmus Policy Statement prominently on the Institution’s website and on all other relevant channels.

The Institution (Theological School of the Church of Cyprus) acknowledges that the implementation of the Charter will be monitored by the Erasmus+ National Agency and that the violation of any of the above principles and commitments may lead to its withdrawal by the European Commission.