erasmus policy statement - American College of Management and ...

ERASMUS POLICY STATEMENT
2013-2014
The vision of the American College of Management and Technology (ACMT) is to be recognized as the
leading international career oriented university in Croatia. We are currently the only institution of higher
education in Croatia offering its entire curriculum in English. This puts us in a unique position to attract
students, faculty and staff from all European countries and offer a unique blend of educational, professional
and cultural experiences. The core strength of ACMT is offering applied education for success in the global
economy. Through Erasmus, ACMT wishes to enhance its visibility within the European system of higher
education and to create a more international work and study climate by attracting students, faculty and staff
from other European institutions. This goal is in line with our mission of providing a dynamic learning
environment in which students combine theoretical knowledge and practical skills. We now seek to augment
this mission by building positive relationships with European institutions of higher education and European
business partners to complement our existing relationships within the US. This global vision is characteristic
of ACMT students and is reflected both in the opportunities they pursue in cooperative education and by the
fact they come from around the world.
ACMT works closely with our parent institution the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to encourage
mobility through the exchange of students, faculty and staff in order to maximize the benefits from US
academic programs and work placements. Our Erasmus objective is to apply the skills learned through our
successful Study Abroad program toward the expansion of student, faculty and staff mobility within our
European context via study and work placements in the framework of the Erasmus program. Furthermore,
our mission is to continually improve the quality of our academic programs and to build bridges in academic
practices between Europe, Croatia and the US. Our strategy is to build upon our existing academic mobility,
cooperative education (work-based learning) and employer partnerships. By doing so we aim to encourage
and support more students to take the challenge of adding a European experience to their degree through
Erasmus work placement grants. Specific activities that we look to implement are exchanges of students,
faculty and staff; cooperation with higher education institutions and other types of organizations suitable for
work placements of students and participation in Erasmus multilateral projects.
Goals for faculty mobility include professional development in terms of acquisition of new pedagogical
skills, international research collaborations, enrichment of existing curricula and enhancement of student
academic success. Goals for staff mobility include professional development in terms of job shadowing,
exchanges of best practices and improvement of existing and development of new institutional practices.
Erasmus activities will be publicized on our website, in press releases, our in-house magazine (the ACMT
Reporter), shared with our parent institution the Rochester Institute of Technology and presented at various
college activities. Erasmus opportunities will be represented at the annual international University Fair and in
all promotional and academic information materials (e.g. Student, Faculty and Parent Handbooks). The
Erasmus University Charter and the EPS will be published on our website.
Equality is promoted through our core values: maintaining an environment of open-mindedness,
communication, teamwork and diversity; upholding the highest ethical standards; encouraging social
responsibility and humanitarian efforts. Every person is treated with dignity. Inclusion is demonstrated by
incorporating diverse perspectives in planning, conducting and/or evaluating work. Financial aid is provided
to students from lower income backgrounds through own financial resources.
The official language for instruction and business is English. Full information on the curriculum is provided
on our website. This information contains the overall division of each academic program into professional
field of study and general education requirements, required and elective courses for each program and
describes their content and ECTS credits. Each program has an approval process to ensure that students'
course choices are acceptable for recognition and progression. Incoming and outgoing students are advised
by the Academic Advisor. Incoming students have the same access to staff and facilities and the same rights

and responsibilities as home students.
The Study Abroad (SA) Office provides orientation events to help integrate new students. Student Peer
Mentors are assigned to groups of incoming students and they are responsible for social and practical
orientation of incoming students. The SA Office provides housing information and facilitates securing
appropriate housing and registration of international persons with appropriate national officials. A structured
class is offered for groups of incoming students to familiarize them with the language, customs and recent
history of Croatia and the surrounding region. Outgoing students are required to complete one year of
modern language courses (French, Italian, Spanish, German). Field trips are organized for incoming students
as part of their SA experience. They occur in the immediate Dubrovnik region and through the rest of Croatia
and surrounding countries.
So far we have had a very successful national placement program, but our international program has mainly
been focused on the US. Our aim within the Erasmus framework is to increase the number of student
exchanges for work placements within Europe and therefore truly globalize our educational programs.