About the Charter

The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) provides the general quality framework for European and international cooperation activities a higher education institution may carry out within Erasmus+.

The award of an ECHE is a pre-requisite for all higher education institutions located in a programme country and willing to participate in learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for innovation and good practices under Erasmus+.

For higher education institutions located in Partner countries, the ECHE is not required and the quality framework will be established through inter-institutional agreements between higher education institutions.

How is ECHE awarded?

A call for proposals for the award of an ECHE is held on yearly basis.

You can download the latest list of higher education institutions holding an ECHE.

The ECHE is awarded for the full duration of the Erasmus+ programme up to 2027, with an extended validity date for those projects that start in the final year of the Programme, and may last up to three years (e.g. up to 2030).

What does ECHE contain?

The ECHE principles have been adapted to match the novelties of the Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027, such as digitalisation, inclusion and sustainability.

Some of the most important additions to the new ECHE are the commitment to reach out to underrepresented groups in mobility through inclusion strategies, to ensure green practices in organising Erasmus+ activities, the implementation of digitalisation through the European Student Card Initiative and the Erasmus+ Mobile App, as well as the commitment to enhance the civic engagement of mobile students.

In addition, higher education institutions are requested to comply with the requirements of the Council Recommendation on automatic mutual recognition, in order to ensure the full automatic recognition of learning periods abroad in the smoothest way possible and without the student having to do any extra coursework or exam.

The new ECHE principles have been designed in consultation with the ECHE Working Group, which is made out of Erasmus+ National Agencies representatives, Higher Education experts and student organisations.

For help with strengthening the ECHE compliance of your institution, consult the ECHE guidelines as well as the ECHE monitoring guide.

Self-assessment

Higher Education Institution leaders or Erasmus+ coordinators can use the ECHE self-assessment tool to improve their institution's performance. The self-assessment can help you understand how well your institution is implementing the charter.

A new version of the tool is being prepared which is adapted to the new 2021-2027 Programme. It will be be available from this page.