Step-by-step Exchange programme semester 2

Please make sure to complete your registration as a University of Groningen (UG) exchange student before arrival

Do not use Studielink

Do not register in Studielink. Studielink is for degree students only.

Activate your account

Please go to account.rug.nl and click 'activate account', if you have not done so yet. You will need to use your student number for this activation. Your student number was emailed to you by the administration.
Please place an S in front of your student number, fill in your birth date (very specific format!) and the email address you used to apply. A code will be sent to your email address (please also check your spambox!), which you will have to copy into the field shown to you. You can now reset your password and use your UG account.

Multi-factor Authentication

As an extra security measure, the University of Groningen uses Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) to login to all services the UG offers. Follow the instructions in the step-by-step manual to download the app and link it to your account.

Need more information about the MFA and how to set-up the MFA for your account? Contact CIT Servicedesk.

UG mail

In the course of your programme, the University and Faculty will be communicating with you through your University of Groningen (UG) email account. Many students choose to forward their UG mail to the email address they already use daily. Please be aware that the UG mail might, in such cases, end up in your spambox. If you wish to forward your UG mail, please click 'settings' and then choose 'forwarding and POP/IMAP'. You can indicate to which email address you wish to forward your UG mail. By following the steps below you can check your University of Groningen email:

• Go to UG mail
• Log in using your UG account details

From February onwards, the Faculty will send important information to this UG email account. You can access your UG mail through the web (https://googleapps.rug.nl). All information about the UG mail account can be found on 'Google Apps for Education'.

Upload your picture

Do not forget to  upload your picture to receive your University card. You will have received emails from the Student Information & Administration to this effect. This picture is needed to produce your student card. Your student card can be used to borrow books from the library, to print and make copies using the University machines and to buy coffee/tea from the University coffee machines. You can upload your picture by login into the Student Portal (Brightspace): Student Portal > UG tools > Statement of enrollment and photo.

Using the University of Groningen WiFi when onsite

The University of Groningen is connected to the eduroam WiFi. Using the network basically requires you to login as student, but the settings are slightly different for WiFi-use. For more information, please check the IT facilities webpage. Please be aware that you need to login with your UG account in order to access this information.

Overview & set-up of the academic year

The academic year consists of fours blocks and is set-up as follows:
Semester 1
Block 1: 7 weeks of classes, 3 weeks exams
Block 2: 7 weeks of classes, 2 weeks exams, 1 week resits block 1
Semester 2
Block 3: 7 weeks of classes, 2 weeks exams, 1 week resits block 2
Block 4: 8 weeks of classes, 2 weeks exams, 2 weeks resits block 3 and 4

You can also check this in the academic calendar 2024/2025.
Check the courses available for exchange students 2024/2025.

Educational formats

The Faculty has different educational formats: lectures (HC) and working groups (WG). The course descriptions in Ocasys indicate which educational formats will be used in each course. Read more about the educational formats used.

Schedule generator

Go to the schedule generator (see image below). The new schedule is available as from early August. Select the Faculty of Law. If you have already received final approval of your courses from Mrs. Berenice Domínguez Armenta, you can select these approved courses in the list. Once your courses are final, you can import your schedule into your UG Calendar (using the 'Ical' button in the schedule generator).

Please be aware: unapproved courses can never lead to participation in the examinations of those courses. Therefore always check the final status with Mrs. Berenice Domínguez Armenta.

Abbreviations

The schedule frequently uses the following abbreviations:
HC = lecture
HCA or HCB = lecture A and lecture B: both parts need to be taken
WG(#) part 1, 2 or 3 = working group is in three parts; all three parts must be taken
Any particularities about a class can be found in the final column 'remarks'.

Schedule changes

The schedule generator will contain up-to-date information. Therefore: check your time table regularly in order to keep track of possible time table changes!

Class rooms

Find your way to the classrooms by checking the address which is available in the schedule generator.

The learning agreement is a document that helps students prepare for their exchange and makes them receive recognition for the courses successfully completed abroad. It sets out the programme of the courses that students will be taking during their exchange.

This document must be approved by the student, the sending institution and the receiving institution. We (the host institution) will always be the last to sign the document.

The learning agreement consists of two parts:
1.       Learning agreement – before mobility
2.       Learning agreement – during mobility

Learning agreement: before mobility

All courses you would like to take during your exchange must be added to this learning agreement; keep in mind that we expect you to take 30 ECTS per semester, spread over both blocks of the semester.

The approval of this learning agreement is provisional. This means you can always make changes to this document. We will approve your learning agreement provisionally if you meet the pre-requisites to take the selected courses. However, it is the student’s responsibility to verify the course schedule to see if the courses overlap. When courses overlap, either in lecture-time and date or in the exam date, the student must drop one of the two courses and select a different course.

There is no deadline to submit this document. Nevertheless, it is preferred that students complete the learning agreement before they are physically in Groningen. Students should check their home university's deadlines and adhere to those deadlines.

Learning Agreement contact information:
Receiving Institution
Name: University of Groningen
Faculty/Department: Law
Address: Oude Boteringestraat 18, 9712 GH Groningen
Erasmus Code: NL GRONING01
Country: the Netherlands
Administrative contact person, email, phone: Berenice Domínguez Armenta, exchangelaw rug.nl, +31503639505

Learning agreement: during mobility

This is the second part of the learning agreement. Students can make changes to their learning agreement if, for example, the selected courses overlap, or if they decide to take a different course than the initial selection.

Once you are in Groningen you will receive more information about how to make changes to your learning agreement.

Learning agreement through EWP - OLA (only for European universities)

It is possible at the University of Groningen to sign a learning agreement through the Erasmus Without Papers (EWP) platform. However, students also need to complete their Mobility Online application alongside. If you want to submit your learning agreement through EWP, you need to inform the exchange officer, Ms. Domínguez Armenta.

More detailed information will be given during the introduction session.

Study load

The standard full-time work load for one semester in the UG is 30 ECTS. The workload for a full year is 60 ECTS. This is an average of 15 ECTS per block. One ECTS stands for 28 hours of work.

Incoming students are expected to obtain the standard workload of 30 ECTS or 60 ECTS (if they study here for a full year).

Enrolment

Progress is the programme in which you enrol for courses and can check your results. Based on your course enrolment, you will automatically be enrolled for the course information on the Student Portal (see step 6), the exam and the possible resit exam. The enrolment period for the block 3 courses is open from 15 January 2024 until 16 February 2024. Working group enrolment is only possible in the first week of the enrolment period of each block. For block 3 this is from 15 to 19 January 2024. If you miss the enrolment period, contact the International Office for guidance.

How to enrol

1. Go to Progress.
2. Login using your UG account details.
3. Click "Enrolling".
4. Choose "Faculty of Law", "Enrolment Courses (Brightspace and Exams)", and click "Block 3".
5. Tick the boxes of the courses you will be participating in in block 3 and click "enrol" (to be found at the bottom of the list).
6. The courses displayed between * also have a working group enrolment. Do not forget to sign up for these working groups as well!

After arrival in Groningen students have to confirm their courses and receive permission for these courses from the exchange coordinator in Groningen (Ms. Berenice Domínguez Armenta). Only after approval, students can actually participate in the courses and exams. Depending on your level of English proficiency and previous legal education, it may be necessary to change the previously signed learning agreement or the course enrolment. Students should always inform the International Office and their home university of any changes in their study programme.

Be aware: Being able to enroll in the course does not mean you have permission to follow the course and unapproved courses can never lead to participation in the examinations of those courses! Therefore, always check the final status with Ms. Domínguez Armenta.

The enrolment for courses in block 4 will open at the beginning of the examination period of the previous block, from 25 March until 26 April with a duration of five weeks. To enroll for course in block 4 follow the same procedure as in block 3.

For more information about enrolment of courses, please see the Law Knowledgebase.

Are you experiencing problems with or do you have any questions about your enrolment? During the enrolment period, the administration can be contacted via octa-rechten rug.nl.

You can order your books and readers by taking the following steps

Ocasys

You can find all information about the courses in our online education catalogue Ocasys. All programmes and courses can be found there. However, not all courses from the faculty of Law are available for the Exchange programme, there is a special list of courses for exchange students. By clicking each course, you can find the required literature in the course description.

Ordering books

Sometimes it is possible to order books through one of the study associations, like the JFV and Nexus. It is also possible however to order your books at a book store in the city centre or in an online bookstore.

Ordering readers

Throughout your programme you will need educational material which has been devised from multiple publications (taken from books or journals) or which has been developed by lecturers themselves. Such materials are called 'readers' or 'syllabus'. The price you pay for these readers includes the copyright of the articles it holds.
The readers used by the Faculty of Law can be ordered through the Reader webshop. Please be aware that you need to be logged in with your UG account to access the Reader webshop.

The Student Portal is a very important source of information for students. All information has been listed clearly on one webpage. You will find, amongst other things, important Faculty messages, news items and course information about all the courses you have enrolled for.

Course information under 'Courses' and the Exchange students page

Based on your course enrolment you will get automatic access to the course information on the Student Portal. Besides information about your courses, you will also find an 'Exchange students' page there. This page holds announcements and documents that will be relevant for you throughout your studies.

• Check the course information on the Student Portal a few days before the programme starts.
• Check the 'need to know' column (at least) weekly to be updated on the latest news and developments.

NB. It may take up to one day before a course enrolment in Progress is visible on on Brightspace. If the course is still not visible on the Student Portal one day after you enrolled, then it is possible the lecturer has not made the course available to students yet. In case the course information is not available yet after the course has already started, please contact the International Office.

The Faculty of Law has put together all information regarding the Law programmes in the Law Knowledgebase. Please make sure to always read the information that is offered on the English pages instead of having your browser make translations for you; the information on the Dutch and English pages is not always exactly the same and the application forms you find in the Law Knowledgebase are different ones for students in the English-taught programmes and the Dutch-taught programmes.
This Law Knowledgebase can be found in two ways:

• Using this link www.rug.nl/law/knowledgebase
• By going to Brightspace, clicking the tab 'Study Info' and to click 'Go directly to'. Here you will find, amongst others:

Rules and Regulations

The Law Knowledgebase holds the Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER). These Regulations contain all information with regard to the exchange programmes: study load, examinations, course content, etc. In addition, there are some other regulations available, some of which are also applicable to you: the Examination Regulation, the Thesis Regulation, the Student Charter and so on. To check out these regulations, click here.

Study advisers

You can ask all questions and discuss your problems that are (slightly) related to or have consequences for your studies to the study advisers of the International Office. In addition to offering you advice on your programme, the study adviser can also arrange for leniency in force majeure situations (e.g. illness or personal circumstances). The study advisers can also refer you to other facilities within the University. And lastly, the study advisers can help you with your study planning. For exchange students Mrs. Berenice Domínguez Armenta is available as study adviser.
She can be reached through exchangelaw rug.nl.

Studying with extra facilities

If you have physical impairments, longterm psychological complaints, dyslexia or other functional impairments, you can apply for extra facilities. We strongly advise you to apply for these extra facilities as soon as possible. You can do so by filling in the Application exam facilities (Law) form and to inform the study advisers of the International Office of your situation. Please provide all the information and proof of your condition and the facilities that you already have at home or at your home university. It can take some time to arrange for certain facilities. Please note that the facilities offered by the University of Groningen can differ from the facilities you get at your home university.

Career Services Law

Do you already know which positions you are aiming for or which career path your programme opens up for you? And how do you prepare yourself properly for entering the job market? Career Services Law is set up to help you with these types of questions. For career prospects and career support during your studies, please check the Career Services Law webpage. You can also find the contact details there of the Faculty's Career Coach, Ms. Hanny Bultena.

Important dates

Arrival in Groningen: end of January

Since there are a couple of (compulsory) introduction sessions on 30 and 31 January, the Faculty strongly advises you to arrive in Groningen before that time. A good time to arrive would be between 23-29 January. The University has created a page with extra information about moving to Groningen.

30 January - University Welcoming

The University of Groningen will organise a formal welcome for all new international students. The Welcoming Ceremony will take place on 30 January. All students will receive an invitation (by email) for the Welcoming Ceremony.

31 January - Induction Session for Law Exchange students

In the morning of 31 January, the International Office will organise an induction session for all exchange students in which all procedures of the Faculty will be discussed, the systems we use will be explained and any questions you may still have can be discussed. You will also receive information about the study association for the English-taught programmes (Nexus, ELSA). You will also take a tour to see the facilities offered by the Faculty of Law (not confirmed yet). The session will end with an informal and light lunch for students.

Students will receive an invitation for a specific time and location for this session by email in January 2025. The session is mandatory.

Attendance is mandatory for all exchange students.

31 January - 5 February: ESN Introduction Week

ESN Groningen will organise an introduction week for all new international students in Groningen. It will start on Friday 31 January and will end on 5 February. More information about the ESN Introduction Week can be found on their website. Click here for the online registration.

3 February - Start first classes

Classes will start on 3 February. This is week 1 of your schedule. Please be aware that you are expected to have already prepared yourself before the start of the first lectures.