Policy
UCLA Policy 980: University International and Exchange Agreements
Please read UCLA Policy 980 from the UCLA Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can propose an international academic agreement?
Any UCLA faculty member or senior administrator (an individual holding the title of director or above) can propose an international agreement.
2. Who can approve an international academic agreement?
This can depend on a variety of factors, including the type of agreement and whether or not a standard and approved template is used or modified. It is important to review the process for each type of international agreement as described in UCLA Policy 980 prior to finalizing an international agreement: http://www.adminpolicies.ucla.edu/APP/Number/980.
3. Why can’t a member of the faculty sign an international academic agreement on their own?
These types of agreements must comply with a variety of campus policies, processes and applicable laws. This process protects the faculty member from innocent mistakes that might place him or her, the university and the academic relationship at significant risk.
4. Is an international academic agreement required for professional activities by faculty such as visiting a foreign university, foreign field work, or attending overseas conferences?
Unless these activities involve ongoing collaboration between UCLA units and a foreign organization, or a training program executed by UCLA faculty that involves a foreign organization, there is no need for an international academic agreement.
5. What is the difference between an MOU, a collaboration agreement (CA), an affiliation agreement (AA), and a student exchange agreement?
These distinctions are outlined in UCLA Policy 980 but, in brief:
• An MOU is a nonbinding agreement used to acknowledge UCLA and a foreign organization’s intent to explore the possibility of engaging in a set of activities. An MOU does not involve a commitment of resources and often describes a phase in the relationship that prepares for possible future collaborative activities.
• A collaboration agreement is a legally binding agreement used in situations involving a commitment of resources by UCLA or a foreign organization, often for research related activities.
• An affiliation agreement is an agreement that establishes programs for the training of UCLA members (and others, potentially) abroad and/or the training of foreign participants at UCLA.
• A student exchange agreement is intended to be reciprocal between UCLA and a foreign peer university and is considered when the objectives of the proposed program cannot be achieved through UCEAP http://uc.eap.ucop.edu/
or UCLA Travel Study Programs https://ieo.ucla.edu/
6. When is it appropriate to use a UCLA template?
Whenever possible, the development of an international academic agreement should use a UCLA template developed in consultation with Campus Counsel. UCLA templates cover important issues of concern that both institutions will want to address. Also, using a UCLA template will significantly streamline the contracting process, because the form has been vetted by various campus departments and Campus Counsel.
7. Is there a standardized agreement template I can download?
Only the non-binding MOU template can be downloaded at https://www.global.ucla.edu/collaboration. Templates for the other agreements can be requested from Kathryn Paul, Director of International Collaboration, kpaul@international.ucla.edu.
8. What is the process for generating an international academic agreement?
The link "Initiate an Application" will take you through the steps necessary to generate a non-binding MOU for signature: https://www.global.ucla.edu/collaboration#initiate. If a different type of agreement is warranted, after you complete the online questionnaire, you will be contacted directly.
9. What if a representative from the other institution has already presented an agreement for UCLA’s signature?
It is not unusual for a visitor to arrive on campus with a standard agreement from his/her institution “in hand.” We advise Deans and others not to sign a non-UCLA approved document without first consulting with the International Institute and UCLA Legal Counsel for review. Even though there may not appear to be any real differences between the two documents, UCLA’s template has been vetted by various campus departments and Campus Counsel, and contains approved terms and conditions. If the other party insists on using his or her institution’s document, this will likely delay the signature process (because of the time that it would take to update another institution’s form to include the terms that Campus Counsel and other departments require). Also, it is essential that campus officials have time to review and, if necessary, modify the agreement. It is neither wise nor appropriate to expect UCLA to respond without taking time for due diligence.
10. How do I find out if an agreement already exists with a particular institution?
• It is important to determine if there is one or more existing, valid agreements between UCLA and the institution under consideration. Concurrent agreements are not uncommon, particularly with large institutions. Acknowledging existing agreements should be a component of the dialogue between UCLA and the other institution in preparation to signing an agreement, and would reduce confusion.
• UCLA’s International Institute maintains an online database with records of all known international academic agreements and institutional partners (https://www.global.ucla.edu/collaboration).
• The website contains general information about the agreement and identifies a faculty contact or coordinator.
• Please contact the faculty coordinator of the agreement directly or e-mail agreements@international.ucla.edu if you would like more information on a specific agreement.
11. Why does Policy 980 speak of “MOU fatigue?”
UCLA discourages the practice of signing MOUs as part of protocol events. The proliferation of MOUs that do not lead to tangible results weakens the effectiveness of these agreements and can affect UCLA’s reputation.
12. What is the difference between student exchange and other study-abroad programs?
• Student exchange programs typically involve a bilateral and reciprocal exchange of students over time. While most exchange agreements specify a one-to-one exchange of students between UCLA and the other institution, there might be instances where a different ratio is specified. Student exchanges always involve a commitment of resources on the part of both UCLA and the foreign institution. Student exchange agreements generally specify that UCLA students will pay fees here and study abroad, while the international exchange students pay fees at their home campus and study here. Please carefully consider the implications of student exchange agreements – it is often the case that more students from foreign institutions wish to study at UCLA than UCLA students studying abroad. Thus, there is often an economic and faculty workload imbalance that results from unequal exchange of students.
• Two common and effective study-abroad programs are UCEAP programs http://uc.eap.ucop.edu/ and UCLA faculty-led Travel Study programs https://ieo.ucla.edu/
13. How much financial detail should be provided in a collaboration agreement, affiliation agreement, or student exchange agreement?
• All financial obligations – including program fees, any student support, teaching or research assistantships, travel expenses, housing, medical insurance coverage, or maintenance allowances – must be specifically stated in the agreement. If no such commitments are intended, a general provision should make this clear.
• Activities which may involve expenditures such as equipment or vehicle purchases, long-term housing, overseas hires, overseas trips lasting longer than 90 days, UCLA salary commitments or other such financial obligations that could have tax or other regulatory implications need to be reviewed by the UCLA Office of Corporate Financial Services. Please contact Michael Williams at michaelwilliams@finance.ucla.edu.
• Training programs that are revenue-generating require a budget that must be submitted for review and approval by Corporate Financial Services. Please contact the Business Contracts Unit at businesscontracts@finance.ucla.edu.
14. Who is responsible for administering the initiatives outlined in the international academic agreement?
• The UCLA academic unit specified in the International Academic Agreement will be responsible for the administration and implementation of an agreement.
• The academic unit is also responsible for obtaining commitments from relevant campus entities for the allocation of resources in support of the agreement – including office space, staffing, funding for exchanges of visiting scholars or students, tuition waivers, health and liability insurance, travel expenses, housing and the like.
15. What is the role of the “coordinator?”
One or more coordinators from UCLA and the other institution must be designated by name at the time an international academic agreement is signed. This can be a faculty member and/or an administrator who will be responsible for administering all terms of the agreement including submitting a status report to the International Institute in year 4 for MOUs, CAs, and AAs and at the end of year 2 for student exchanges.
16. For what period will the agreement remain valid?
All international academic agreements must have an ending date. In most instances, a period of two to five years is sufficient for implementation and evaluation of the proposed affiliation/collaboration activities; and three years for student exchanges. All international academic agreements must be reviewed prior to the expiration date to determine whether it will be renewed in its current form, modified or allowed to expire.
17. Is it possible to have a foreign language version of the agreement?
UCLA academic units should be sensitive to considering requests by foreign institutions to produce a translated version of the English-language international academic agreement. It is the responsibility of the UCLA academic unit to provide appropriate translation and verify that the translation is appropriate and accurate. Should there be discrepancies between the English-language version and the translated version, the former prevails.
18. I’ve heard a lot about foreign influence. Where can I find out more information and what I need to do?
Please review this memo from the EVC/Provost’s office: https://evc.ucla.edu/announcements/foreign-influence.