As the Erasmus programme is half way in the programme period 2021-2027 and the mid-term evaluation has been published by the European Commission, the Utrecht Network presents its Erasmus position paper based on the feedback of all member universities.

Key messages/cross-cutting messages

• The Erasmus programme needs administrative simplification. Over the years, paperwork and numerous digital tools for documentation have been added to the mobility process, both for the student and administrative staff. We need to build trust and build down the complexity of mobility.
• All processes and decisions should be clear and transparent. Today the rules of the programme are interpreted differently by the National Agencies (NAs), creating different standards or selection criteria, for example for top-up grants in EU countries, again contributing to insecurity and sometimes frustration.
• Flexibility and adaptation need to be at the core of the programme. To adjust to current trends and the situation in Europe, Erasmus+ also needs to adjust its actions and target groups as well as overall goals.
  

  ---

Overall goals of the Erasmus programme

The priorities of the Erasmus programme reflect society as such and are relevant and pertinent to HEIs and mobile participants. We all welcome greener and more sustainable mobility, inclusion of all students and staff, digital solutions and engaged citizenship.

Introduction of new mobility formats such as the Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) and short-term mobility for PhD students are welcomed and show that the Erasmus programme keeps up with current developments in the Higher Education sector. However, it is important to keep the administrative processes in line with the outcome.

To expect short-term mobility students to complete all steps needed for long-term mobility, from Learning Agreement to Transcript of Records, is not very inclusive. The main purpose of the Erasmus funding in KA1 is mobility, and it should therefore strive to stimulate more mobility for all in rather easily accessible ways.

The Erasmus grant might be the most important driver for the programme and an important reason for mobile students and staff to choose Erasmus. Therefore, funding must be enough! This is particularly important as we see accommodation becoming scarcer and more expensive, being a higher barrier for mobility than only a few years ago. Not only do students need a sufficient grant to be able to travel and study abroad, the higher education institutions (HEIs) also need enough funding to distribute to their mobile participants and to be able to implement new elements (such as EWP, top-up grants).

We would welcome more transparency from the EC and the NAs with regards to the distribution of Erasmus funding to each country. We would also welcome a more aligned approach and the same regulations in every country, as there are considerable variations in the implementation of the Erasmus programme.

Heavy administrative burden

The Erasmus programme has introduced new types/forms of mobility over the years, as a response to societal changes and to changes in the Higher Education sector.

This makes the programme relevant and strong, but it is important to keep in mind that new elements can easily add to the administrative burden. The digitalization of the Erasmus programme was welcomed by most institutions, but without a real look at the structures of mobility and workflows prior to the digitalization process, the result has been more administration in a programme already complicated to administer.

We still need to manage the mobilities in the Erasmus programme with many different tools, and these tools are not integrated. We would recommend a process of looking at structures, systems, and processes of mobility, to adjust the workflows to the digital systems. In this way we would not only reduce the paperwork, but workload in general.

The recent additions to the programme brought a lot of additional administration. We could mention Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP), PhD short mobilities, Top-ups for students with fewer opportunities, and green travel. These are additions that we welcome, but smoother implementation is necessary. We also believe that the funding for both BIPs and green travel needs to be raised significantly to really make a change.

New elements

Implementation of new elements is a strength of the Erasmus programme and is welcomed by everyone. It gives the programme credibility and relevance and is probably one of the reasons for its popularity. The newest additions like BIPs, blended mobility and short-term mobility, top-ups for students with fewer opportunities and green travel support, have been a huge success.

Sufficient funding needs to follow when new elements are added, and unfortunately this has not been the case this time. The interest and potential for green travel is huge, but a 50 € grant does not even cover a domestic train ticket in many countries, particularly in the outskirts of Europe, and discourages many students from travelling green.

Implementation of digital tools to administer the Erasmus mobility process like the digital/online Learning Agreement and digital inter-institutional agreement, has not been without obstacles. Too much was implemented at the same time, without the proper tools to work with it being ready. The idea is good, but until now, it has been too difficult to manage smoothly and with too many different stakeholders.

Finally, we would stress the fact that new elements and in particular new digital tools and elements, should not be implemented before they are ready for us. The recent years have given the administrators of Erasmus a heavy workload and have led to uncountable hours of senseless work and deep frustration of the very motivated colleagues in the International and Erasmus offices.

We believe that digitalization is essential, and trust that in the future the programme responsible will consider that the preparation phase needs to secure a thorough analysis of the processes and ready-to-use tools before a new programme starts.

About the Utrecht Network

Utrecht Network (UN) was founded in 1987, the same year as the Erasmus programme was introduced. Today UN has 31 member institutions from 27 European countries.

Our aim is to create fora for cooperation in internationalization at our member universities, and to develop our communities through sharing practice and engaging common initiatives, like funding opportunities for students, organization of summer schools and common projects.

The UN cooperates with networks on other continents, through mobility schemes and other initiatives.

The Erasmus programme has been, and still is, one of the most important educational programmes in Europe over the last decades. Not only has it enabled millions of students and staff to go on mobility with economic support, but it has also ensured participation from vulnerable groups by focusing on inclusion of all, and has shown itself to be a flexible programme and adapt to reality during the Covid-19 pandemic.

European and global cooperation is highly important today and has become even more relevant with recent occurrences and a world changing through a pandemic and a war in our neighboring areas.

As the midterm evaluation of the Erasmus programme period 2021-2027 is approaching, the Utrecht Network hereby presents a position paper on the base of feedback from 30 universities in 24 European countries.