Agreements for International Activities

Common scenarios that require an agreement:

• Students going abroad to study temporarily for a short-term, semester, or yearlong program
• Students coming from abroad to study temporarily at UMN for a short-term, semester, or yearlong program
• Students or faculty participating in an exchange program, where UMN and another institution abroad are both sending and receiving students or faculty for a short-term, semester, or yearlong program
  • Learn more about developing student exchanges.

This is not an exhaustive list! In general, anytime that University resources—beyond faculty or staff time—are being committed to an activity abroad, an agreement may be needed. When in doubt, contact [email protected] and we will help you determine if an agreement is needed.
 

Common scenarios that usually do not require an agreement:

• Short-term scholarly or networking visits from abroad to UMN, or from UMN to an institution abroad
• Guest lectures or event hosting
• UMN and an international entity outlining a commitment to a general intent to collaborate
  • This is known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or “handshake agreement.” MOUs are usually unnecessary and are discouraged in most cases. Instead, once plans for a program are finalized, the appropriate agreement should be signed (e.g., exchange agreement, study abroad agreement, research agreement, etc.). MOUs should only be used when absolutely necessary (e.g., when an MOU is required as part of a grant application).

There are also some types of agreements that are not administered through the GPS Alliance. These include grants, which are managed by SPA, and international exchange or study abroad that involves clinical training affiliate sites. When in doubt, contact [email protected] and we will help you determine if an agreement is needed.
 

Most agreements are established and maintained at the collegiate level. Each college may have different requirements around how a study abroad program, exchange program, or other type of international partnership gets approved to move forward to the agreement stage. Once the requisite internal protocols are followed and the time comes to draft an agreement, a UMN employee from the requesting college/unit must submit a GPS Alliance Agreement Request Form. Similarly, if an existing international agreement requires an amendment, such as an extension to the end date or the addition of a new sub-program (sometimes called a Schedule or Scope of Work), the GPS Alliance Agreement Request Form needs to be submitted. 

Within a couple of days of submitting the form, a GPS Alliance representative will send you a customized agreement or amendment template ready for you to put the finishing touches on before sending it to the other party for review.

Once the agreement has been reviewed and approved by both the requesting unit and the other party, GPS Alliance staff gives a final review of the agreement and sends it to all parties for electronic signatures via DocuSign, unless other arrangements are requested. Once all signatures are gathered, electronic copies of the fully executed agreement are shared. The full process is outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures for Requesting GPS Alliance Agreements.

Questions? Reach out to [email protected]!