selected text from MediaAC Consortium Agreement:
Consortium Organizational Structure and Responsibilities
Consortium Board: with one representative of each Partner, is in charge of all academic issues, programme development and issues of quality. The Consortium Board is chaired by the representative of the Coordinator. The representatives are mandated by their institution and are in charge of organisational and financial issues.
The Coordinator: The Coordinator is in charge of coordinating the EMJMD and responsible for all contacts with the EU. The Coordinator will take all actions necessary for a good functioning of the consortium and for the fulfilment of the contractual agreement with the EU. The representative of the Coordinator will chair the Consortium Board. The Coordinator will also guide the joint secretariat.
Joint Secretariat will be responsible for the management of the course and treat all administrative questions as well as practical issues. The secretariat will consist of at least one person per Consortium Partner plus technical support. The Secretariat members from each Partner are the bridge between institutional bodies of the Partners (international offices, student services, legal affairs etc.) and the consortium.
The Admission Board is in charge of the application, selection and admission procedure for students and guest scholars. It consists of one representative of each partner institution, mandated by the Partner. The Admission Board is chaired by the coordinator. It decides if due to unbalanced distribution of the students regulations must be carried out. The Admission Board is meeting at least once a year.
A Quality Board is responsible to monitor and improve the quality of MediaAC and deal with all quality level issues. The quality board will work with the quality management units of Programme Country Partners as well as the national bodies dealing with quality assurance in higher education. It consists of:
- the academic directors of MediaAC from the Programme Country Partners,
- one representative from the joint secretariat and programme management,
- one student representative,
- one representative of the faculty,
- one representative from the Associate Partners on a rotation basis.
The International Advisory Board: with external members to review the progress of the master’s course. It will consist of representatives from the Associated Partners as well as four internationally recognised experts in the field of Media Arts Cultures. The International Advisory Board has advisory function with the aim to assure the quality of the programme and the future employability of its graduates.
Administrative and academic organisation of MediaAC
Application, Selection and Admission The consortium uses a central application procedure, using a joint application process. Eligibility is checked by the Coordinaton, then applicants are selected by the MediaAC Admission Board based on the admissions criteria and subsequently proposed to the EACEA for final verification. Written outcomes of the selection process are made and circulated to all Partners. Students proposed for selection to the EACEA are informed as such by the Coordinator. The students finally selected on by the EACEA will get an official letter of admission signed by the Coordinator. All accepted students may enrol under the conditions set for enrolment. Enrolment is only official after the participation fee is paid to the account of the Consortium.
Enrolment of MediaAC students Students are enrolled per semester at the HEI Partners according to the MediaAC course programme. Students receive full rights as enrolled students during their studies at the respective Partners. Students are subject to relevant procedures and are enrolled according to the policies and regulations of the respective Partner for each mobility. Registration always takes place administratively at the Coordinator’s institution. For insurance and studentship regulations they are subscribed throughout the whole number of semesters at the Austrian studentship association (ÖH) and the coordinator. The Coordinator provides throughout the whole period an immutable e-mail account.
Education All institutions are responsible to provide appropriate education, teaching and examination within the framework of MediaAC in correspondence with the educational responsibilities of the individual partner institutions, those described in the GAAMB and this Consortium Agreement with its Annexes.
Mobility The mobility system can be seen in the study structure. All students of MediaAC will have study periods in Austria, Denmark and Poland or Hong Kong. For the internship at the end of the second semester / beginning of the third semester, they will be with an institution related to Media Art Cultures in Austria, Denmark or Poland or in a country from within the Associate Partners. The consortium will identify and decide upon placement based on balance between student application with capacity and appropriateness of choice.
Transfer of credits The ECTS system of grading is used as maintained by the EACEA (http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc48_en.htm) and outlined in the ECTS Users’ Guide (ISBN: 978-92-79-09728-7; doi: 10.2766/88064). For each subject, the examination criteria of the host institution where the subject is taken apply. Marks are communicated to the local representatives of the joint secretariat to be recorded in the general student-monitoring database. For the final grades on transcripts and diploma supplement, a common grade conversion rubric will apply. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in (re-)examination of subjects of one institution while they are staying at another institution during their MediaAC Course under supervision of local faculty members, subject to availability of resources of the institution where they are staying.
Passing exams Examinations leading to the joint degree are fully recognised by the degree-granting consortium institutions following the mutually agreed MediaAC Curricula and Grade Conversion. For the thesis defence, a common monitoring and joint evaluation procedure is organised by the supervisors.
Joint Recognition Mechanisms The 3 Programme Country HEIs (UWK, AAU, UoL) formally considered and approved the MediaAC EMJMD programme through the normal procedures for degree approval and recognition. All degree-granting Consortium HEIs fully recognize graduate coursework to the EMJMD.
Modifications to the Programme Changes to the programme in whole or part must be agreed by the Consortium and formally changes through revisiting these degree recognition procedures at each institution.
Final Degree Award The Erasmus Mundus joint master degree in Media Art Cultures will be awarded after two years on the completion of 120 ECTS following the mobilities. Students will be issued one diploma (document conferring degree earned). The diploma can, with the permission of all Programme Country Partners, be issued by any of the Programme Country HEIs at which the student studied. The degree will be recognized by all three European Programme Country Partners and granted by at least two European Programme Country Partners at which the student studied.
Quality assurance The MediaAC consortium and the organising institutions will ensure the high quality of the Course, evaluating the outcomes annually in the Consortium Board. The standards and guidelines from each of the four institutions have their own quality assurance system according to its national rules. An International Advisory Board with representatives from the working field is installed to advise the MediaAC Consortium Board on the set-up of the MediaAC Course and the relevance for the professional practice.
Other responsibilities All Partners will help MediaAC students and guest scholars they are hosting to find housing, use facilities, solve visa and practical issues based on their enrolment status. This is by the Secretariat Members at each Partner, supported by structures of the hosting Partners (e.g. international office), according to the prevailing policies and guidelines at each institution.
Programme Information MediaAC will be included in each Programme Country Partner’s specific Programme Guide or Handbook. A common website will be maintained by the Coordinator and each Programme Country Partner will include MediaAC on their individual website and make crests and logos available for the Consortium use.
Costs and Financing
Costs of MediaAC course are based on a number of fixed and variable costs. Yearly, a new budget will be composed by the Coordinator, and proposed to the Consortium Board for approval.
Financial and Administrative Coordination of the master course will be done by the MediaAC joint secretariat of the course under supervision of the Coordinator. The Coordinator is keeping the accounts and reports regularly to the Partners and Commission
Financial Arrangements are overseen by the Consortium Board and subject to the regulations of the GAAMB and regulations specified in the Agreement signed by all Partners.