ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT (EPS)1.a) Please deseribe clearly your institution's strategy, objectives and priorities for its Erasmus activities (mobility,multilateral projects and networks, ete.) and any other actions in the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme.- What is the institution's previous experience in international exchange and cooperation programmes?- How does the participation in the Erasmus programme relate to the overall international strategy of the institution?- What are the institution's priorities/objectives to be reached by participating in the Erasmus programme?- What are the specific activities to be implemented in the framework of the Erasmus programme (e.g. exchange ofstudents and staff, development of cooperation with higher education institutions or other types of lnstitutlons,participation in Erasmus multilateral projectsl networks)?Şırnak University (ŞU), which is located in the south east of Anatolia, was established in 2008. It has three facultiesand two vocational schools. The University has a great role for improvement, growth and progress in the area. TheUniversity will be a bridge between Europe and Asia for local people and students, in culture, civilisation andeducation. Şırnak was a very important centre for education, science and civilisation in the history of region.University's academic staff have worked in universities abroad (like universities in Europe, Middle Asia, Middle Eastcountries) as students or teachers. The University wants to improve relationships with the European universities.ıncreasing our teaching staff and student mobility within the Erasmus programme is our priority in the strategicplanning of the institution. We want to internationalize our staff and students. As a newly established university, wehaven't any agreement with EU countries yet, but we will contact the universities and sign bilateral agreements withthem for mobility of students and academic staff in two years. We want to participate in international fairs andcontact seminars for higher education in order to sign agreement with the universities in Europe. We also plan to getinvolved in multilateral projects and thematic networks. We will identify current technical rank and vocationalstandards, and adopt them in vocational training programmes. The university wants to take part in Erasmuscentralised actions in multiliteral projects such as Curriculum Development, Erasmus Intensive Programme,networks, and university-enterprise cooperations. We will establish an erasmus office and appoint coordinators ineach departments and faculties. The Office will organize bilateral agreements with universities for exchange ofstudents and teaching staff. This Office will coordinate erasmus activities in all faculties. The university will organizeorientation programmes for both incoming and outgoing students. Incoming students will benefit by the same socialopportunities of university as students registered in ŞU. Our priority is to perform an higher education in accordancewith the European standards. To realise this aim we want to put ECTS and reforms of 8010gna Process into practisein our curriculum and credit system.1.b) What specific actions are planned to give visibility to Erasmus activities and what type of publicity will be given tothe Erasmus University Charter and the EPS?The university will organize seminars about Erasmus activities periodically. We will display essential information,news, announcements, posters, advertisements about Erasmus Programmes at boards of every unit and our webpage. ŞU will also display the EPS at the boards of University units and at the official web site.1.c) 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 economiccohesion and combating of xenophobia and racism)?Our university respects ethnicity, belief, ideology, gender and any kin d of special features of students. In the frameof Constitution of Turkish Republic, gender inequality, discrimination, racism and xenophobia are intolerable itemsand ŞU is against all of them. The University will cover the special needs of disabled students and staff and willperform all facilities for them.2. Quality of academic mobility activities:What kind of specific measures are implemented in the institution to ensure highest quality in academic mobilityactivities?Details should be provided in particular 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 studentservices (in particular accommodation), preparatory and refresher language courses, facilitation andacknowledgement of staff mobility.Erasmus representatives of our university joined a session at June 2009 and will participate all sessions arranged byNational Ageney. The university will organıze seminars to give staff and students ınformation about Erasmusactivities periodically. Particularly at the beginning of every academic year, we will inform our students aboutrequirements of Erasmus students mobility to prepare themselves for next year. We will update our web page forstudents and academic staff with latest information and developments. We will prepare ECTS catalogue and issueDiploma Supplement. We will select outgoing students by transparent process. Students who speak a commonlyspoken European language fluently and succeed their lessons will be announced by the related departments. Wewill prepare foreign language preparatory courses for our Erasmus students and staff to cover their needs in hostinstitution. We will help them to prepare formal procedures (for example visa, passport) and to connect hostuniversities before they leave. We want them on their return to bring Transcript of Records and we will fullyrecognize their courses if they succeed. Student Affairs Offices of our departments will make the equivalence foreach course and transform ECTS to the institutional credit system. We will help to incoming students about officialmatters, education in our departments, and city life. We will provide accommodation arrangements for both incomingstudents and staff. We alsa will organize intensive Turkish Language course for incoming students. We promoteacademic staff to participate staff mobility under LLP. Staff from abroad mav come to teach on our programmes, andour academic staff mav go if they accept invitation from partners to teach on their programmes.3. Quality of student placement activities:What kind of specific measures are implemented to ensure high quality in student placements? Give details on howthe work-programme and the placement agreements are prepared and implemented. Please deseribe the practicalarrangements agreed between the parties. Please speeify also the monitoring and evaluation of the placement(s)period as well as its recognition in the curriculum.Student placement programmes are essential for staffing requirements and indispensible for the higher educatian,so there are mandatory programmes in some departments in the voeational schools. As a newly establisheduniversity, we haven't vet had any student placement agreement. Our vocational schools want to join national andinternational meetings and seminars, to prepare Leonardo da Vinci Projects and to sign agreements for mobilityplacements under Erasmus Programme. ŞU will cooperate with the industrial environment, business world and withthe Chamber of Industry of Sirnak (ŞTSO) for to find enterprise abroad to accommodate our students for plaeementactivities. Our aim in vocational training is to give more opportunities for graduates to find job easily, and to responddemands of business and industrial environment. We will assist students looking for jobs and academic institutionsfor placement. We will alsa get in touch with foreign enterprises for training opportunities for outgoing students.Applicants who has high marks and speaks foreign language fluently will be selected. The candidate will be advisedabout work placement and curriculum by the related departments. We will evaluate students' working hours,activities, host organization's facilities like accomodation and smail salary. They will alsa be advised by a faculty-level tutor, who will help, direct and be a reference for the trainee during the work placement. After mobility, relateddepartments will assess written report on the work placement and award credits on the basis of the work load.