Thinking cap on, Erasmus Europe's exchange scheme has some fatal flaws, say Amy Bowdige, Kate Etherton and Helen Brant

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: AMY BOWDIGE, KATE ETHERTON AND HELEN BRANT
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 29.06.1999
• Subjects: Exchange programs; Foreign students; Amiens France
• ISSN: 0261-3077

Our experience of our Erasmus exchange in Amiens, France has been a catalogue of disasters. We chose to read a degree in Law and French because of the year abroad it offered - but our `host' institution's treatment of us has been not only disappointing but also impolite. Many of our problems have been caused by the lack of Erasmus representation in Amiens, which has led to communication and co- operation difficulties between our home and host institutions. It is unclear how we are being assessed, and French tutors are uninformed about the Erasmus scheme. Their reaction to us has been silence, and a preference to ignore our presence. This has been particularly detrimental in our completion of the compulsory dissertation for our home institution. We were advised to work closely with our French tutors, but their reaction to us has made this impossible. The reaction of our student colleagues has been equally unfriendly, despite many attempts to speak to them.