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Free Movers

Free movers are students who:

a) either want to spend their exchange semester at an university that is not a partner of our school or,

b) want to spend a full year abroad (e.g. the 4th semester would be the free mover semester) or,

c) rejected the allocated place. 

If you have decided to do a semester abroad as free mover, please follow the instructions below:

You need to inform:

– the Dean of your study programme
– the IO secretariat
– and your Academic Coordinator (Campus Basel, Brugg-Windisch or Olten), of this decision.

The earlier you communicate this, the better for the planning of the free-mover semester.

Deadlines for submission of free-mover university choices:

  • Autumn semester: 30 April (midday)
  • Spring semester:  31 October (midday)

a. Application Dossier

You may submit your application dossier directly to the university you have chosen.

b. Learning Agreement (LA)

You do not need to make a Learning Agreement for the free-mover semester. The credits earned during this semester will be transferred towards your studies by the Dean and student secretariat only upon receipt of the original Transcript of Records (TOR) from your host university.

Note: If you want to spend a full year abroad (e.g. 3rd and 4th semester) and you know this already before the 3rd semester, then you should draw up a “year plan” and take it into account in the 3rd semester LA. A form for such a year plan can be obtained from your Academic Coordinator.

c. Emergency Contact Form

The form must be filled out and submitted before finalising your application dossier. Please proceed as follows:

  • Fill in the required data on the Emergency Contact Form (link)
  • Once the data has been completely filled in, click on the ‘submit’-button on the bottom of the form.
  • In order to be able to submit it, you have to be online.
    NOTE: only forms that were submitted will be accepted in paper
     

With your signature, you give permission for your emergency contact data to be released to emergency personnel. You also agree that any of your emergency contacts listed on the form may be notified in an emergency, as needed.

Students who will pay semester study fees at their chosen host university may write a request to have their semester fees at the FHNW waived, provided the fees abroad exceed the fee charged by FHNW (CHF 710.00).

Such requests should be addressed to the Head of Education, Prof. Dr. Charlotte Hofstetter. Please send your request to the following postal address:

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
School of Business
Pavel Somogyi
Programme Secretary BSc Business Administration (IM)
Von Roll-Strasse 10
4600 Olten

Alternatively, you can attach the document to an e-mail and send it to: pavel.somogyi@fhnw.ch

Once the Head of Education approves your request, you will be informed by e-mail and your semester fees at FHNW will be waived accordingly.

Deadline to submit the fee-waiver letter:

– Autumn Semester 2025/26:  31 July 2025
– Spring Semester 2026: 15 December 2025

Free movers must fill out our end of semester questionnaire/experience report to inform later students about their experiences at the host university. A sufficiently completed experience report is a pre-condition for being eligible for credit transfer.

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