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The Florida State University recognizes that international collaborations and agreements with partner universities provide invaluable opportunities for students and faculty in this era of globalization. The Florida State University provides support for faculty, department and college efforts to initiate and develop these collaborations and to increase learning opportunities. Our International Agreements are supported by both The Florida State University’s Associate Vice‐President for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Student Affairs. Academic Affairs ensures that agreements meet academic and accreditation standards. Student Affairs ensures that all inbound and outbound students on exchanges receive orientation and support, and that safety and security procedures are in place. The Global Pathways and Exchange Coordinator provides support to develop international agreements and increase student participation in exchanges. A series of guidelines and procedures for setting up and supporting international exchanges is now available. There are three main categories of international agreements approved for use at The Florida State University, depending on the intent and purpose of the proposed collaboration.
Brochure for colleagues at international universities interested in partnering with Florida State.
» Current International Agreements
A Cooperative Agreement is used when The Florida State University and an international institution of similar academic standing agree to explore partnership activities. This document is an agreement to start discussions and identify future collaborative endeavors. These are usually very general and serve to agree to start discussions and identify future collaborative endeavors. Once a specific project has been identified between the two institutions, an addendum needs to be developed to outline the details of said project.
Cooperative Agreements are not appropriate for reciprocal student exchanges where students are enrolled at the host institutions and pay home tuition and fees.
Faculty members interested in initiating an international cooperative agreement are invited to meet with the Global Pathways and Exchange Coordinator to discuss the procedures and support for establishing an agreement. Together, they will complete the “Application of Intent to Establish an International Cooperative Agreement.” To be determined:
A Reciprocal Student Exchange agreement is used when The Florida State University and an institution of similar academic standing agree to a formal exchange of students at either the undergraduate or graduate level. This contract outlines the responsibilities of the institutions as well as the responsibilities of the students. Students pay tuition and fees to their home institutions while studying at the host institutions. Faculty International Student Exchange Coordinators at each institution commit to promoting the exchange and to support inbound and outbound students. Since tuition is waived for incoming students and collected from outbound students, it is essential that the number of incoming students be kept in balance with the number of outbound students at The Florida State University.
There are specific responsibilities of the International Student Exchange Coordinator (faculty member initiating exchange at The Florida State University as well as the counterpart at the partner university) throughout the exchange including a commitment to promote the exchange and to support inbound and outbound students. In addition, the Chair and the Dean at The Florida State University agree to support the exchange and its terms. The Office of Academic Affairs will review numbers of inbound and outbound students per exchange annually, and make recommendations accordingly.
Faculty members interested in initiating reciprocal student exchange agreements are invited to meet with the Global Pathways and Exchange Coordinator to discuss the procedures and support for establishing an agreement. Together, they will complete the “Application of Intent to Establish an International Exchange Agreement.” To be determined are:
The faculty member should also be willing to accept the responsibilities assigned to the Academic Advisor for International Exchange.
Once an International Exchange Agreement is in place the exchange of students can begin. Staff roles and faculty responsibilities are outlined in Supporting an Active Exchange.
There might be times when a plan for a collaborative project does not fit into either of the pre-approved templates for the above agreements. If the intent of the proposed agreement differs from the two outlined above, or if the partner institution has a format for agreements that they want to use, then it is possible to develop an agreement to meet these needs. The agreements not using the pre-approved templates will go to legal counsel for review as part of the internal approval process. Contact the Global Pathways and Exchange Coordinator to discuss the options.