Recognition of Academic Achievements

We recommend that you check whether recognition of your achievements for your studies is possible in principle before you apply (e.g. for a study place or an internship abroad).

According to HSBI’s General Examination Regulations, the Chairs of the Examination Committees, or at Bielefeld School of Business the programme directors, are responsible for the recognition of achievements.

You can get a first overview in the ZeDoLa database to find out whether the modules you wish to take abroad have been recognised for your study programme in the past.

You should then send as much information as possible to the person responsible for recognition. For a semester abroad or a summer school, this would include module titles and descriptions, level (bachelor’s, master’s) and number of credits. For an internship, for example, the company, the duration of the internship and the planned tasks.

Caution: An oral agreement does not guarantee recognition; only the Learning Agreement will give you certainty.

After you have been accepted by the university or company abroad, you should create the Learning Agreement. This is an agreement between you and HSBI in which later recognition of academic achievements is determined.
You can create the Learning Agreement in the International Office’s online portal after registering for Erasmus+ or Promos scholarship programmes. If you go abroad as a freemover or do not receive funding from HSBI, you will find a template in the download box on this page.

Process of creating a Learning Agreement

The Learning Agreement is created by the student and forwarded to the chair of the respective examination committee (or programme director at Bielefeld School of Business) for them to sign. By signing, they will confirm that the academic achievements will be recognised after successful completion of the stay abroad. At the same time, you promise to attend the courses at the partner university and to present corresponding proof of academic achievements.

For stays abroad organised as part of the Erasmus+ programme, the partner university (or the company) is also involved. With its signature, the partner university confirms that you are allowed to attend the specified courses (or the internship) and to take appropriate examinations.

Changes to the Learning Agreement are not uncommon (if, for example, it turns out on site that a module is not offered after all or that there are overlaps). They are thus possible up to 1 month after the start of the stay abroad. In any case, do make sure to always discuss the changes with the chair of your examination committee as soon as possible and to conclude a new Learning Agreement.

The academic achievements from the university abroad will only be recognised if you request it.

After your stay abroad, you will receive a transcript of records (or internship certificate) from the host university (or company), which you must submit to HSBI’s Registrar’s and Examination Office together with the Learning Agreement and the request for recognition.