What is a Learning Agreement and how do you fill it in? Erasmus course matching guide
A step-by-step guide explaining how to fill in an Erasmus Learning Agreement, select courses, match ECTS credits and complete the signature process.
The Learning Agreement is the only genuinely binding academic document in Erasmus. It determines whether your courses count at the end — not the acceptance letter, not the transcript, and certainly not a verbal understanding with your coordinator.
That is also where the most common problem lies: courses change and the document is not updated.
What is a Learning Agreement?
The Learning Agreement is the document signed by three parties before an Erasmus mobility starts: you, your sending university and the receiving institution. It records the courses you will take abroad, their ECTS credits and which course each one replaces in your own degree programme. It is what recognition is based on at the end of the term; it is usually called the "LA" and most institutions now use the online version (Online Learning Agreement, OLA).
What does the Learning Agreement do?
The Learning Agreement carries three signatures: yours, the sending institution's and the receiving institution's. All three have agreed on the same course list. Recognition at the end is carried out against that list.
Taking a course that is not on the document does not mean you did not take it — but it does mean you have no guarantee it will be recognised.
Three sections and when they are used
Before the Mobility. The main list, completed before departure: the courses you will take, their credits and what they correspond to at your home institution.
During the Mobility (Changes). Completed if courses change after term starts. This is the critical part and the one most often skipped.
After the Mobility. The transcript issued by the host institution and the record of recognition.
The rules for changing courses
Changes are almost unavoidable: places fill, courses close, timetables clash. The problem is not the change but the improper change.
- Most institutions allow a four-week correction window after term starts. Confirm your own institution's period.
- Do not make a change without writing to your coordinator. The signature process can take up to ten days, so leaving it to the last day is risky.
- When an elective fills up it drops off the list and no notification is sent — check manually.
- Once approved, keep the current version yourself as well.
Credit and content matching
The most common cause of recognition problems is a content check not done before departure. Verify two things separately:
Credits. Do the ECTS values line up? A semester is usually 30 ECTS.
Content. Courses with similar names can have very different syllabuses. Get approval on the basis of content; "the name matches" is not enough.
Common mistakes
- Relying on verbal approval. Even if the coordinator agrees, without a signed document you have nothing to stand on at the end.
- Making the change after the window closes. Late changes can be refused.
- Not re-checking the catalogue before departure. The catalogue you drafted from may have been updated.
- Not keeping the final version. Which version applies then becomes a matter of dispute.
- Missing the link to the grant. A Learning Agreement mismatch also holds up the second grant instalment — details in the grant payment article.
The practical order
- Three to four weeks before departure, re-check the catalogue on the host institution's site.
- Confirm credit and content matching with your coordinator in writing.
- Complete all three signatures and store the document in the cloud and on your device.
- As soon as term starts, check the actual timetable.
- If a change is needed, start it within the first two weeks rather than leaning on the deadline.
- Put the approved final version in your return file.
For everything else before departure, see the first 30 days article.
Practice varies between institutions; for the window length and signature flow, the binding source is your own Erasmus office. For experience with the same host institution, search the questions for the institution's name.