2.3 Learning Agreement
The ERASMUS program call for a written agreement between the two partner institutions and the student concerning the study program of the ERASMUS participant. The Learning Agreement/Proposed Study Programme is a binding contract and one of the basic documents for your participation in the program and later on the recognition of the ERASMUS credits. It is your official study plan end lists the courses you will study at the host institution. The template for the ERASMUS+ Learning Agreement including all information is provided in your participant's account.
According to the ERASMUS Plus guidelines which all participating universities have to follow, the Learning Agreement has to be signed by all three parties before the start of the mobility: Your signature, the signature of your departmental coordinator at Goethe-University and the responsible person at the host institution. The signature of the International Office of GU is no longer necessary. Please make sure to upload the document into your participant's account shortly after its completion. The IO of GU will then check if it is formally correct and in case it is not, you will receive an email and have to make the necessary correction before uploading it again.
If changes have to be made at the start of your ERASMUS study period, please use the template Changes to Original Learning Agreement provided in your participant's account, collect all signatures and upload the document. The same is necessary in case of an extension of the ERASMUS period for a module or semester.
Some host universities refuse to sign the Learning Agreement before the start of the mobility. This is clearly against the ERASMUS guidelines and furthermore it delays the next steps in your participant's account. We cannot change this practice of those universities, but we do not sanction the delay in uploading the document, so other than the delay there is no other disadvantage for the participating student.
For the choice of courses please refer to the course catalogues currently available at the webpages of the receiving university and then contact your departmental coordinator for cousel, and if necessary also your examination office with regard to the possible recognition of ERASMUS credits. Unauthorized changes in your study program may most certainly preclude recognition of credits and may even lead to a complete backpayment of the ERASMUS grant. Be advised to chose courses with a workload of 30 ECTS credits per semester and to attend regularly and continuously. According to the EU Commission these 30 ECTS mark the standard semester workload of a home student. As an ERASMUS participant of GU you do not need to take and successfully complete 30 ECTS, but we strongly suggest you do since ERASMUS is an academic exchange program after all.
Starting in 2019/20 ERASMUS participants of Goethe University must commit to a workload of at least 15 ECTS. An exemption to this rule is possible only in exceptional cases. These exemptions have to be requested in writing using the additional document Annex R to Learning Agreement. The document has to be signed by the participant and the responsible departmental coordinator. and uploaded into the participant's account.
In the courses chosen for studies all mandatory performances have to be undertaken, be it the signing of attendance lists, home work, reading assignments, class room presentations, tests and if the teacher requires you to sit for the end term examinations, you have to do that, too. You do not necessarily have to pass these exams successfully if you do not seek recognition of credits at GU. In case you fail examinations you parttake in, this does not lead to a backpayment of the ERASMUS grant. If you seek recognition of credits for a course, naturally you have to successfully complete the course.

2.4 Grant Agreement
The Grant Agreement is another mandatory document provided in your participant's account once the learning agreement has been checked as correct there. Please read and sign your Grant Agreement, upload it into your account and hand in the paper original of this first Grant Agreement with your original signature on it at the International Office of GU. The Grant Agreement is your ERASMUS participation contract and amongst other things defines the duration of the planned study period and contains a description of the modalities of calculation and outpayment of the ERASMUS grant. With your signature you commit to act according to the ERASMUS rules and regulations. In case you applied for an extension of the ERASMUS study period and the extension was approved, you receive an updated Grant Agreement in your participant's account, which you have to sign and upload. After completion of the ERASMUS study period all participants are provided with the final Grant Agreement which again has to be signed and uploaded into your acount.

2.5 Online Linguistic Support (OLS)
In order to successfully complete a study abroad period, you need to have good language skills. There are ways to improve your language skills before and during the mobility.

To determine the proficiency level of the language of instruction, all participants are obligated to take an online language test. For the time being this rule applies to the following languages of instruction: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, Danish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and Czech. This first test is not meant to be used in the selection of ERASMUS participants, but only to document their level of language proficiency before the start of the mobility period. The students will be notified by email, sender address  noreply@erasmusplusols.eu, that they have to take the test, which will be made available in the OLS system (Online Linguistic Support). If a student had declared in his application to have a langage proficiency at mother tongue level, he/she does not have to take the test. If the language of instruction differs from the language of the host country, a test in the language of the host country may be allotted. Please make sure that your description of language proficiency in your application is up to date.

Besides the online language test the EU commission offers tutored online language courses for the languages mentioned above to help you improve your language skills before and during the mobility. These courses are free of cost. Each sending institution receives a limited number of language course licenses, which then are distributed to the respective participants by email invitations. If invited to take such a course, please make use of it, though you are not obliged to participate in it.

You are obligated however to take the final online language test at the end of the mobility, so the development of your language skills can be determined.

2.6 Language courses at GU and in host country
In addition to the OLS online tests and courses there is the possibility of taking part in language courses at Goethe-University and in the host country. 

2.6.1 Language courses at GU: If an ERASMUS participant successfully completed a language course offered by the Sprachenzentrum (Language Center) of GU in the semester before the ERASMUS mobility, we will reimburse the course fee of 53€. For the preparatory ERASMUS language courses in Spanish and Frenchand also for other courses of the Sprachenzentrum the participants have to upload the course certificate into their ERASMUS participant's account together with the payment slip, which is possible only after the start of your mobility. Be advised that course fees of language courses other than those offered by the Sprachenzentrum of GU will not be reimbursed.

2.6.2 Language courses at the host university: Some host universities offer preparatory or semester long language courses - some free of cost, some with fees. If you have completed such a course successfully, please upload the course certificate into your participant's account. If course fees applied, please include the payment slip in that pdf-file. This is possible only after the start of your mobility.

2.7 ERASMUS participants with special needs (participants with disabilities)
If you are a disabled person it is important to communicate your special needs to your departmental coordinator and the International Office of GU and also to their counterparts at the host institution at a very early stage, so it can be determined if the ERASMUS study period can be made possible, if the additional assistance can be provided there.  
After this question has been decided positively, a participant with special needs and a disability degree of 50% or more will apply for additional DAAD funding at the IO of GU. The decision on the application is made in the IO, if decided in favor of the applicant, the IO will advance the funding. The ERASMUS participant with special needs will receive a monthly sum including the lump sum for additional funding in accordance with the maximum rates of the group of countries the host country belongs to. The DAAD then issues an additional funding agreement in the amount that exceeds the reguar monthly rate per group of countries.  
There is a distiction between the application for the group of countries lump sum and the application for additional funding for costs exceeding the group of countries lump sum. Both can be found here on the Downloads page. This does not apply for mobilities to Switzerland; there a review on a case-by-case basis is done by Swiss administrators.  
Only additional costs in direct consequence of the ERASMUS mobility can be covered, when not covered by otherl agencies like the Studentenwerk, health insurance companies, social assistance offices etc. The application has to be filled in in the presence of and signed by the ERASMUS institutional coordinator of Goethe-University, Ms. Uta Brucker, and the respective participant. Additional documents necessary for the application are listed on the application form. The complete application materials should be handed in at the International Office no later than two months prior to the start of the mobility. The earlier those are reviewed by the IO and by the DAAD, the earlier a decision can be reached. It is not possible to accept an application after the start of the mobility. Please make sure to contact Mr. Purkert at outgoing@uni-frankfurt.de at an early stage.

2.8 ERASMUS participants with children
If you are a single parent participant and want to take your child(ren) with you during your ERASMUS mobility period you need to communicate your special needs to your departmental coordinator and the International Office of GU and also to their counterparts at the host institution at a very early stage, so it can be determined if the ERASMUS study period can be made possible, if the additional assistance needed can be provided there. You will receive an ERASMUS grant in the amount of the monthly lump sum allocated to the group of countries your host country belongs to. Additionally you should apply for additional funding in the amount of 200€ per child per month up to the maximum monthly sum allotted to that group of countries. This does not apply for mobilities to Switzerland, there a review on a case-by-case basis is done by Swiss administrators.  

The application form is provided here on the Downloads page. Please make sure to contact Mr. Purkert at outgoing@uni-frankfurt.de at an early stage.

2.9 Other formalities prior to mobility

2.9.1 Sufficient insurance coverage while studying abroad? The participation in the ERASMUS program does NOT provide you any insurance coverage. Neither the EU Commission nor the DAAD as the national agency nor Goethe-University as your home university are liable for damages resulting from illness, death, accident, injury of persons or loss or damage of property in connection with ERASMUS mobilities. 
You yourself are responsible to receive sufficient insurance coverage (health insurance, liability) and to collect all necessary information about the laws and requirements in the host country. Please contact your own insurance concerning coverage regualtions and additional insurance for time periods spend in foreign countries. Depending on the insurance company eisting tarifs may be valid within EU countries.

All participants in the ERASMUS program (mobilities for studying, placements and teaching) may possibly be accepted into the group insurance of the DAAD, which provides extensive coverage. Further information on this at https://www.daad.de/ausland/service/downloads/de/4431-versicherungen/

2.9.2 Sabbatical or holiday semester: You are not required to take a holiday semester when participating in the ERASMUS program. If you take a holiday semester the number of study semesters (Fachsemester) stagnates, without a holiday semester the number rises by one. Please keep this in mind with regard to the planning of your study program and consult with your examination office or departmental coordinator in case of doubt. If you plan to attend and complete classes and examinations at Goethe-University during a semester, do NOT take a holiday semester!
If you have come to the desicion to take a holiday semester, please submit your proposal at the registrar's office Studienservicecenter SSC and include your ERASMUS participation certificate available in your participant's account.
According to the registrar's office you are not automatically entitled to the continuation of child benefits during a holiday semester. To keep receiving child benefits it should be sufficient though to supply the respective agency with a matriculation certificate of the host university or the ERASMUS participation certificate. These state that you are a regular student at the host institution and that your credtis may transfer to your study program at the home institution. Please make sure to double-check this information since we cannot guarantee to be up to date with this information at all times.

2.9.3 Reimbursement of semester ticket fees: It is possible to receive a reimbursement of the costs for the Goethe-University semester ticket if you request this from the Härtefondsstelle des Studentenwerks regardless of if you take a holiday semester or not. You have to prove to be absent for at least 3 months or 90 days during the Frankfurt semester though. It is sufficient to provide the ERASMUS participation certificate if that shows the duration of absence. You have to calculate for youorself if the rreimbursement makes sense in your case.

2.9.4 Auslands-BAföG: Students entitled to BAföG should also apply for Auslands-BAföG prior to their ERASMUS mobility. According to § 21 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 merit- and vocation-related grants such as ERASMUS have to be valued as income, if they exceed 300€ per month, which the ERASMUS grant does exceed at least in the first group of countries. By reason of high additional costs the chances for funding of ERASMUS mobilities through Auslands-BAföG are higher than for domestic BAföG. Please contact the BAföG agency responsible for your host country after referring to this information and hand in your application at least 6 months before the start of your mobility in order to receive the BAföG funding in time. More information and application documents: www.das-neue-bafoeg.de/de/384.php and http://www.auslandsbafoeg.de/.
A certificate including the amount of your ERASMUS grant is provided in your ERASMUS participant's account once the calculation of the grants has been completed. You are welcome to visit us during our office hours so we can sign the necessary document.
Notice for participants who recieve domestic BAföG: The application of Auslands-BAföG is only possible if you take a holiday semester, because otherwise domestic BAföG will be continued and your mobility period will reduce the number of semesters of domesti BAföG. Auslands-BAföG can be received in addition to and independently from domestic BAföG, so it does not reduce the number of available domestic BAföG semesters.

2.10 Testimonials of previous participants
You find ERASMUS alumni testimonials, the vast majority written in German, on the alumni testimonials page and from 2014/15 on in the Goethe Globe. These testimonials should help you get a better idea of what kind of a study abroad experience you might expect.