In 2015, ESN joined the European Foundation for Higher Education (EUF) initiative, the Online Learning Agreement, which would develop a tool for students and universities that could be used online for the creation and signing of a learning agreement. In May 2017, the OLA was created to demonstrate the concept of experimentation and adoption of higher education institutions. The EUF has launched another project, OLA, which has added new features to the platform, such as apprenticeship agreements for internships and measuring user satisfaction. University-specific apprenticeship contracts are signed at the faculty`s information centre after the student`s arrival in Bergen. To meet Erasmus requirements, you must take an online language test. The test is mandatory, although you have already taken another language course because the EU controls the influence on the language skills of the exchange programme. Surrounded by the North Sea to the west and the mountains to the east, our proximity to nature is highlighted by the university`s strong marine and environmental research. It has been shown that digital learning agreements significantly reduce the administrative burden and greatly facilitate the online review, completion and approval of the document by students and OV. The sending institution (the person in charge listed by the student) automatically receives an email from dashboard@mankargroups.com with a link to sign it online. All you need to sign the OLA is a computer and normal pointers/mouse. You use the mouse to “draw” your signature in the field called “Sign OLA.” You should ensure that the signature covers most of the signature field, otherwise it may not be accepted by the system. Then click “Validate.” We see the OLA as a big step on the road to a paperless Erasmus. More than 700 universities are registered users of the OLA tool and 22,000 OLAs have been downloaded.
Our experience to date is that students and university coordinators see OLA as a simple and more effective way to sign the apprenticeship agreement. UiB has 14,000 students and 3,500 employees. The university has always been a strong international presence and 21% of university staff, 30% of PhD students and 11% of UiB students come from abroad. The student begins the process by creating a learning agreement in the OLA system and signing it online. Be sure to give your students the right name and email address for the person in charge of your institution (responsible for signing the apprenticeship agreement). This section can only be completed if your original OLA (Before Mobility) is fully signed by you, your home university and UiB. The apprenticeship agreement is a key document for Erasmus mobility. From the Erasmus programme 2021-2027, e-learning agreements become the norm.
The objective of the project is to enable students to prepare their learning agreements under an online system that will allow them to contact the detachment and hospitality coordinators of higher education institutions to finalize, approve and sign the document online.