INSTRUCTIONS SHEET Academic calendar 2013-2014 Monday 26 August 2013 Tuesday 27 August 2013 Monday 09 September 2013 Monday 09 September 2013 Tuesday 10 September 2013 Monday 25 November - Thursday 19 December 2013 (inclusive) Friday 20 December 2013 (10.00) Sunday 05 January 2014 (12.00) Monday 06 January 2014 Friday 18 April Monday 21 April 2014 May 2014 Saturday 10 May - Monday 16 June 2014 (inclusive) Friday 20 June 2014 (morning) Friday 20 June 2014 (afternoon) Saturday 21 June 2014 Monday 23 June 2014 (10.00) Arrival of the students following the introductory courses (Dijver 11, Bruges) Introductory course for politics, economics, business, ELEA and law students Arrival of the students who have not followed the introductory course (Dijver 11, Bruges) Official start of the academic year Examination session The College and Residences are closed during the Christmas holidays Start of the second semester No courses are organised in the long Easter weekend The Master's theses have to be handed over on a date in early May Final examination session Deliberation end of the academic year Closing ceremony of the academic year and dinner offered by the College Distribution of the final exam results Students leave their hall of residence College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 1
General information 1. Semester dates The academic year will start on Tuesday 10 September 2013 and will end on Friday 20 June 2014. The College semesters will be as follows: - first semester: Tuesday 10 September 2013 - Friday 20 December 2013. - second semester: Monday 6 January 2014 - Friday 20 June 2014. 2. Arrival dates Students following the introductory course Welcome day: Monday 26 August 2013 Address: Dijver 11, BE-8000 Brugge. Tel.: +32-50-47.71.11 - Students will be welcomed by members of the Student Affairs Office and Academic Assistants from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. - Please note that it is not possible to move into your residence before Monday 26 August 2013. (A list of youth hostels in Bruges can be found on http://www.brugge.be/internet/en/toerisme/logies_restaurants/hotels.htm - Students following the introductory courses must confirm their participation to the secretary of their study department before the deadline mentioned in the letter received concerning the introductory courses! If the College does not receive a confirmation, the room in a student residence will not be available on the arrival date. Students not following the introductory course Welcome day: Monday 9 September 2013 Address: Dijver 11, BE-8000 Brugge. Tel.: +32-50-47.71.11 - Students will be welcomed by members of the Student Affairs Office and Academic Assistants from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. - Please note that it is not possible to move into your residence before Monday 9 September 2013. (A list of youth hostels in Brugge can be found on http://foto.brugge.be/dl/logies2012.pdf). 3. Students who are not able to arrive on one of the welcome days (e.g. due to visa problems, etc.), should inform the College about the exact date and hour of their arrival (by e-mail: student.affairs@coleurope.eu). The room in a student residence will then be available upon arrival. If a student arrives unannounced in Bruges, we cannot guarantee that the room in a student residence will be accessible immediately. Therefore, students arriving unannounced, especially in the afternoon, will have to wait until 22h30 before moving into the residence! (The staff responsible for the residences is not always present in the afternoon - the night watchman starts working after 22h30.) 4. Self-financing students should be aware that they will only receive the key to their room in a residence after having settled all fees for board and lodging. In principle, all fees have to be paid before the beginning of the academic year. Self-funding students may in certain circumstances be allowed to pay in (max.) three instalments. College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 2
5. Enrolment deposit/security deposit (not applicable to students from ENP countries): in order to guarantee the place offered to you to study at the College of Europe, you must pay an enrolment deposit of 200 prior to the date indicated in your admission documents. Should you decide to withdraw from the College after that date, your deposit will not be reimbursed. If you decide to withdraw, please inform the Admissions Office of the College as soon as possible (admissions@coleurope.eu), so that we may offer your place to another student. If the College has not received your deposit by the date indicated in your admission documents, your place will be withdrawn and offered to another student. Your enrolment deposit automatically serves as your security deposit during your year at the College and will be reimbursed after the academic year, provided you have settled all debts, caused no damage and, if applicable, have returned the key of your room. 6. Security deposit (only applicable to students from ENP countries): Please see also your admission letter A security deposit of 200 will automatically be deducted from your pocket money by the College. This amount will be reimbursed to you after the academic year, provided you have settled all debts, caused no damage and have returned the key of your room. 7. Students participating in the introductory course have to pay the fee ( 500) covering registration as well as board and lodging (except meals on Sundays) before the start of this course. 8. All students should fill in and send the Emergency Contact Information form and Medical Certificate to the Admissions Office before 19 August 2013! Students who fail to send the Medical Certificate before this date and have a medical problem which needs to be taken into account for the room lottery, will not have the opportunity to move into another room upon their arrival in Bruges! College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 3
Residence information 1. The College has 8 residences which are all located in the centre of Bruges and not far from the main College campus buildings Dijver and Verversdijk. 2. Each hall of residence offers private rooms with internet connection as well as a private bathroom. However the smallest residence Rozendal with 10 student rooms has common male/female bathrooms. In the halls of residences you will find sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, duvets and cutlery in each student room. 3. Each room is fully furnished with: bed (width 90cm x length 200cm), mattress, night table, office desk with chair and desk drawer, armchair, cupboard, bookshelf, coat hanger. 4. Washing machines are available in each residence. 5. Microwave ovens and kettles are available in each residence. The use of portable cookers or hot plates of any kind as well as electrical equipment other than razors, hair dryers, radios, stereos and computers in the rooms is strictly forbidden. 6. The College does not foresee computers in the student rooms. Therefore we strongly advise you to bring your own portable computer which can be connected for free to the WIFI in all College buildings. 7. The size of the student rooms in each residence is around 15m². Each room has its own private bathroom (± 1,70m²) except the rooms in the Rozendal residence which have common male/female bathrooms. 8. The College halls of residence are not designed to house couples. All rooms in the halls of residence are exclusively for single occupation. If you wish to live in Bruges with your partner, you will have to rent accommodation in town. In this case we advise you to come to Bruges before the beginning of the academic year in order to find lodgings. Students choosing this option only have to pay their tuition fees; if they are recipients of a full scholarship, the College will deduct the cost of their tuition fees and return the difference to them. 9. Only officially registered students at the College may stay overnight in College residence rooms. 10. No pets are allowed in the residences. College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 4
11. Rooms are allocated through a system of electronic lottery. Students cannot choose a specific residence. Students will be informed of their residence and room number upon arrival in Bruges and not before. Residences cannot be visited in advance. Smoking is prohibited in all facilities and areas of the College (including all residences). Most of the rooms are equipped with carpet. If for health reasons (asthma, hay fever ) you need a room without carpet, the College needs a medical certificate, duly completed and signed by your doctor, to be sent to the Admissions Office before 19 August 2013 (see General instructions n 8). Students failing to send the medical certificate before this date and having a medical condition that needs to be taken into account for the room lottery, will not have the opportunity to change rooms upon their arrival in Bruges! Students having special needs (e.g. because they are taller than 2m) should inform the Student Affairs Office before 19 August 2013 (student.affairs@coleurope.eu). 12. Breakfast is served from Monday to Sunday in the College halls of residence (7.30am -8.45am). Lunch (12.00am 1.30pm) and dinner (6.00pm 7.30pm) are served from Monday to Saturday in the College canteen. The College provides either a standard or vegetarian menu in the student restaurant. However, no other diet can be catered for. Meals are not served on Sundays nor during the Christmas break or on official holidays. 13. The College cannot provide car-parking facilities to students. College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 5
Practical information 1. Students wishing to send luggage in advance may do so, at the earliest by Monday 12 August 2013, to the following address: College of Europe, Dijver 11, BE - 8000 Brugge, Belgium (opening hours from Monday to Friday: from 8.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. and from 1.45 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.). However, the College should like to warn students that luggage sent by plane or boat often arrives after a considerable delay and may be subject to high customs and other charges, which cannot be paid by the College. 2. All payments for syllabi, course material, print-outs, etc. must be made with the College-Card which you will receive upon your arrival at the College. You will have access to an overview of your payments on the intranet of the College. 3. Each student will get a personal user account and password. You need this account for access to the College computers, printing, e-mail, connecting your own computer, etc. By using the account, you fully agree with the General Acceptable Use Policy for ICT infrastructure. Please check the IT intranet upon your arrival for the most recent information. Specific IT questions can be e-mailed to helpdesk.be@coleurope.eu. 4. a) Courses and seminars are held six days a week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. You should be prepared to accept this schedule and expect quite a heavy workload. Non-compulsory workshops can also take place on Sundays. b) The two working languages of the College are English and French. A good working knowledge of both languages is a prerequisite for successfully following the College academic programme (please check specific language requirements for each programme). If your knowledge of either or both of these languages is lacking in any way, we strongly suggest that you improve it before arriving in Bruges. There will be courses during the first semester for those students showing weakness in either language. 5. Students are asked to inform the College immediately of any change of address (admissions@coleurope.eu). 6. All personal mail should clearly indicate your name and be sent to: College of Europe, Dijver 11, BE-8000 Brugge (Belgium). Insurance Accidents Illness 1. The College does not offer insurance coverage for the personal effects of students in the residences. This applies equally in case of theft and fire. Students are urged to take out private insurance to cover themselves against these risks. 2. Students are insured, for the duration of the academic year (and, where applicable, during the introductory course), against injuries or infirmity resulting from sudden and involuntary external forces, accidents occurring at the College and during College activities in Belgium or abroad, and when travelling to and from the College. College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 6
3. Students are requested to return to the Admissions Office of the College the "Emergency Contact Information and Medical Certificate" duly completed and signed by their doctor, before 19 August 2013. 4. Students should make inquiries with their own insurance company to ensure that they are properly covered with respect to sickness, accidents and medical expenses. They should not forget to bring along the necessary forms and documents proving the coverage of medical costs in Belgium. Certain health insurance companies foresee medical treatment in Belgium on the basis of the European health insurance card which can be obtained from the health insurance organisation in your country or on the basis of a private insurance. 5. The College of Europe foresees two different civil liability insurances: general civil liability insurance and civil liability family life of the student. The general civil liability insurance insures against damages caused by a student to a third party during activities organised by the College of Europe. Damages caused by a student to a third party during activities organised by students themselves will be covered by the insurance civil liability family life of the student, although there is an exemption of around 241 on material damages, which means that in case of an accident the student must pay the first 241 (this price changes every month). There is no exemption in the case of injury to a third party. Reimbursement of Fees 1. No reimbursement of tuition fees can be made to any student once he or she has arrived in Bruges at the beginning of the academic year. Nonetheless, should a fully or partially self-financing student choose to leave the College during the first two weeks of the academic year and should the College decide to accept a reserve candidate in that student's place, then a partial reimbursement of the fees paid by the student leaving the College may be made. The decision as to whether to accept a reserve candidate in such circumstances remains at the discretion of the College. 2. If a student who, at the beginning of the academic year, has opted for board and lodging in College accommodation subsequently chooses to leave the College residence, no reimbursement of board and lodging fees can be made. Bank details College of Europe bank account (Bruges campus): IBAN code: BE46 3800 0058 8236 BIC code: BBRUBEBB ING België NV Marnixlaan 24 BE-1000 Brussels College of Europe - Instructions sheet Page 7