ERASMUS DURATION: BOYCOTT CHELSEA COLLEGE
From Chelsea Wiki
Dear all that are applying or applied for an Erasmus exchange in Europe,
Pay attention to this article that I'll keep posting with information about the Erasmus exchange boycott to Chelsea.
The university of the arts has to sign a policy with the European Community (the Erasmus policy). If the institution fails to follow this policy they can automatically be sued by students unsatisfied. All complains are welcome here and they will be anonymously taken to the Student Unions.
1. The policy telling terms and conditions should be given to all students or published on the university website; THIS POLICY IT IS NOT VISIBLE ANYWHERE ON THEIR SITE NEITHER HAS BEEN GIVEN TO STUDENTS. If you have one copy or find it please confirm where and how you got it, please.
2. DURATION OF THE ERASMUS: Chelsea College is currently giving a FAKE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DURATION OF Erasmus(3 months only 'said on the policy'). The Erasmus policy regarding duration (which is the same in all European countries) tells that students can apply for a min of 3 months to 1 year max.
3. NO BILATERAL EXCHANGE NEEDED FOR PROLONGATION! Meaning that an Erasmus prolongation does not requires a student from your hosting institution to go to your home institution on your place. The prolongation is always possible once that your hosting institution agrees to keep you for longer (you will need an official document saying this).
IMPORTANT VIOLATION OF THE STUDENTS LEGAL RIGHTS:
-CHELSEA HAS BEEN DENYING ERASMUS STUDENTS TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROLONG THEIR EXCHANGE BY ARGUING IT IS PART OF THE LEARNING AGREEMENT (POLICY) WHICH CAN'T BE FOUND ANYWHERE AND NOT PROVIDED BY CHELSEA ON REQUEST.
Many Erasmus students who spend time in other European universities has a great experience and think of transferring to the hosting institution, especially because the cost of higher education on other countries is nearly 0. Have you ever thought of prolonging or transferring while on Erasmus exchange? What were the responses of Chelsea to your requests? Where you satisfied with the way the Erasmus organizer of Chelsea dealt with your Erasmus?
Any complains and information would be highly needed to continue this investigation.
Please, keep posting here.
Thanks!
W.--Walter 20:05, 15 May 2008 (CDT)16 may 2008
Hmm. I expect this is a little late but...
I was on the BA course at Chelsea between 2004-6. I then went on exchange to the UdK in Berlin. I went out in April and they were happy with me staying for the whole semester till the end of August. From Chelsea's point of view I think this only counted as the summer term.
I had a great time. I was in a really good class (which is very important in the german system) and it's a great city. When the time came to leave I asked for an extension. I needed the support of my Professor in Germany to do this, and from Chelsea I needed to be allowed to take a year out. I spoke both to the tutors and to Mo, who were all very helpful and said that it sounded like a great opportunity which I shouldn't miss.
So I carried on in Germany. At the end of my year out I decided to transfer and finish my studies there. I finally finished this February.
For me, it was a great move. You're quite right the costs are very low (€240? per semester and most of that is for your six month rail ticket). For that I had a amazing studio space, (which was a big incentive given the ructions at Chelsea at the time), gained a lot of opportunities, and it made it very easy to concentrate on my work. I would really recommend it.
The only drawback is that you do need to make an effort to learn the language. Pretty much all my theory credits (I needed 5 credits for each of which I had to give a talk for half an hour and then a fifteen page long essay on the same topic) were done in the last two semesters, because before then although I could chat, my formal german wasn't good enough.
Finally on erasmus organisers- I found in both colleges they were a bit chaotic. I know that Sue Ridge (I don't know if she is still in charge of Erasmus at Chelsea) had only just taken the job. Both of them told me at times that to stay longer would be impossible but having talked and got the support of the studio tutors, and being very clear about what my plan was and how it could function, meant they caved in in the end.
Lucy
