ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT
In order to complete this section, please refer to the instructions given below. Please note that your EPS shall be
given wide visibility in your institution and must be published on the web page of your institution. The EPS should set
out the overall Erasmus co-operation strategy of your institution in relation with its mission statement, underlying its
Erasmus cooperation plan as well as any other activities to be proposed in the framework of the Lifelong Learning
Programme (LLP).
a) Please describe briefly your institution's strategy, objectives and priorities for its Erasmus activities (mobility,
multilateral projects and thematic networks, etc.) and any other actions in the context of the Lifelong Learning
Programme (2007 2013).
b) Please also provide information on the following points:
What specific actions are planned to give visibility to Erasmus activities and what type of publicity will be given to the
Erasmus University Charter and the EPS?
What kind of arrangements, if any, does the Institution ensure to comply with non-discrimination objectives (e.g.
actions related to gender equality, integration of disabled students and staff, enhancement of social and economic
cohesion and combating of xenophobia and racism)?
Prof. Ihsan Dogramaci founded Bilkent University in 1984 as Turkey's first private, non-profit, foundation-supported
university with the mission of serving as a center of excellence in higher education for quality teaching and intensive
research. It has quickly become recognized as one of the country's premiere institutions of higher education. Bilkent
has about 1000 academic staff, 90% of whom hold degrees from prominent European and North American
universities and 25% of whom are non-Turkish. The quality of the faculty and the academic programs are ensured
by international standards, such as the ABET and AACSB accreditation systems.
Bilkent has nine faculties, two four-year professional schools, three two-year vocational schools and seven graduate
schools serving over 11,000 students. There are about 300 international students from over 50 countries. The
employment of international faculty and the integration of international students into the programs are facilitated by
the medium of instruction being English.
In order to fulfill its strategic objective of extending the international nature of the university, Bilkent has committed
itself, for the period 2007-2013, to increasing the current level of Erasmus student and staff mobility and to
participate in activities of the Lifelong Learning Program such as multilateral projects, thematic networks, curriculum
development, intensive language courses and student placement.
Erasmus activities are coordinated and promoted by the university-wide Committee of Departmental Erasmus
Coordinators, the Office of International Exchange Programs, the International Center, the Center for EU Affairs and
the Office of Vice Rector for International Programs. The university web site includes extensive informative pages
and various forms directed to incoming/outgoing exchange students and partner institutions. The weekly campus
newspaper Bilkent News, also online, is another medium through which visibility and publicity of EPS and LLP
activities are ensured.
Bilkent's policy on non-discrimination is declared in all catalogs and brochures as well as in the university WEB. The
Rector's Committee strictly enforces the policy.
Exclusion of disadvantaged students is prevented through scholarships. Over 25% of about 10,000 undergraduates
and more than 90% of graduate students are on scholarship. 300 Student Club members voluntarily participate in
national and international community projects and youth programs to provide support to the aged, children in need
and the disabled and also to address such global concerns as racism, xenophobia and human rights. |
Quality of academic mobility activities:
What kind of specific measures are implemented in the institution to ensure high quality in academic mobility
activities?
Details should be provided on: recognition and credit systems, the provision of information on curricula, information
and counselling of outgoing students, tutoring and integration of incoming students, provision of student services (in
particular accommodation), preparatory and refresher language courses, support and acknowledgement of staff
mobility.
Following the award of our EUC in 2004, the following Erasmus actions were implemented and activities achieved:
- A university-wide Erasmus Departmental Committee, comprised of one academic representative from each
department, was established to implement the ECTS system, help in DS development, establish partnerships (now
over 100) for student and staff mobility, and serve in the committees for selection of outgoing exchange students on
a competitive basis.
- Catalogs, CDs, descriptive and informative brochures about Bilkent and its mobility programs were prepared and
sent to partner institutions each year.
- Extensive web content is kept current and accessible from Bilkent's home page, containing general information,
curricula, the university's online catalogs, course offerings, forms for applications, Erasmus partner institutions and
much more.
- Bilateral Agreements, Learning Agreements, transcripts with ECTS are in full use.
- The Diploma Supplement Label was awarded in 2006 and diplomas are issued with supplements.
- Earned ECTS credits are being fully recognized and transferred.
- The Office of International Exchange Programs, the Departmental Erasmus Coordinators and the International
Center provide support services to incoming and outgoing exchange students. The services include counseling,
orientation for two weeks in September and 3 days in January, help in the procurement of visas and residence
permits, registration with priority, guaranteed placement in dormitories and advising by faculty and peers.
- The full integration and participation of incoming students is ensured in all social, cultural and sports activities of
the university in addition to activities specially organized for them.
- Intensive Turkish Language courses are offered for credit during regular semesters in addition to the two-week
Turkish course in orientation.
- Staff mobility is encouraged with short-term reciprocal visits and paid sabbatical leaves are granted. |
Quality of student placement activities:
What kind of specific measures are implemented to ensure high quality in student placements? Give details on how
the work-programme and the placement agreement are prepared and implemented. Please describe the practical
arrangements agreed between the parties. Please specify also the monitoring and evaluation of the placement period
as well as its recognition in the curriculum.
Bilkent University has programs in Engineering, Sciences, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Art, Design,
Media Studies and other disciplines in addition to professional and short cycle vocational programs where practicalindustrial
training and summer practicum periods, ranging from four weeks to a full 4-month semester, are required
as part of the curricula.
Currently, such needs are met by the services of the Career Development and Placement Center as well as by the
initiatives of schools and departments through formal channels for placement into government departments and
national public/private enterprises, research organizations, training centers and NGOs. Faculty members make site
visits in certain cases to ensure the quality of training provided. Trainees submit formal written reports covering the
activities carried out and experiences gained to their departments for assessment. Formal assessments from the
provider organizations and the student reports are evaluated together to grade the students. In unsatisfactory cases,
the student is required to repeat the practical training. The Lifelong Learning Program presents new opportunities
through its support of student work placement and practical-industrial training in destinations in Europe. Bilkent
University plans to integrate and unify the efforts of departments, schools and support services to devise and
implement new programs to expand student mobility and to include practical-industrial training and summer
practicum opportunities abroad with measurable high quality.
Some faculty members are involved with projects to address various aspects of strengthening cooperation between
universities and industrial training providers at trans-national level and contributing to the creation and unification of
standards for the "European Industrial Training Programs" regarding vocational training. |
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