ECHE - Erasmus Charter for Higher Education

ECHE (Erasmus Charter for Higher Education)

An accreditation granted by the European Commission giving the possibility to higher education institutions from EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme to be eligible to apply and participate in learning mobility and cooperation activities under Erasmus+. Higher Education institutions from the Western Balkans third countries not associated to the programme can apply for and be granted an ECHE for the purposes of the Call for Proposals on the European Universities, to which they are eligible.
The Charter outlines the fundamental principles an institution should adhere to in organising and implementing high quality mobility and cooperation. It states the requisites the institution agrees to comply with in order to ensure high quality services and procedures, as well as the provision of reliable and transparent information.
_{Source: Erasmus+ programme guide 2024, Glossary of terms}

Every year, the European Commission – via the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency – publishes a specific call for proposals that sets the detailed conditions to be followed, and qualitative criteria to be met in order to be awarded with an ECHE. This call is available on the website of the Executive Agency. You can also consult the website Erasmus Charter for Higher Education for additional details.

After the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education is awarded to an organisation, a unique Erasmus Charter for Higher Education Code, sometimes referred to as Erasmus code or ECHE code, is assigned to the organisation, and the organisation will be listed on the latest list of higher education institutions holding an ECHE. The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education is valid for the full duration of the Erasmus+ programme (up to 2027), with an extended validity date for projects that start in the final year of the Programme, and may last up to three years (for example, up to 2030).

ECHE in the Organisation Registration system

After the ECHE is awarded, the ECHE code will be visible in the Organisation information, available in the Organisation Registration system.

Example of ECHE in Organisation information in Organisation Registration system search

When updating information for an organisation awarded with an ECHE in the Organisation Registration system, the ECHE code will be visible in the Accreditations section of the Organisation details, but it cannot be changed. See Organisation Registration Guide and Modify Organisation in the Organisation Registration system for details.

ECHE in Application forms

When applying for a grant, accredited grant or higher education mobility consortium, an awarded Erasmus Charter for Higher Education code may be required from the applicant and partner organisations, depending on the action type of the application.

Where required, after providing the OID of the applicant or partner organisation when filling in the form, the ECHE will display in the organisation details of the form.

ECHE accreditation in Application Form

See the pages Participating Organisations in applications and Add organisations to an application for details.

ECHE in Beneficiary projects

In beneficiary projects, when viewing or updating organisation details, the Erasmus code field is visible and shows the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education code, if relevant for the action type of the project.

Erasmus code field in Organisation details

The ECHE code can also be used to retrieve the organisation details when adding an organisation to a project, by filling it in the Erasmus code field, if available for the action type of the project.

Erasmus code can be used to add organisation to a project

See Participating organisations in projects for details.

The Erasmus code can also be used in the Import-export files, instead of the OID, to add participating organisations to the project.

ECHE - Erasmus Charter for Higher Education