Faculty, departments or colleges may develop new International Agreements by completing the forms and steps listed below (forms are available to download from the Resources page). Each international agreement will have an FSU faculty or staff sponsor who is responsible for working with the Program Director, International Initiatives to develop the agreement. Once the agreement has been signed the FSU sponsor is responsible for the activities undertaken under the terms of the agreement.
*University-wide international agreements are signed by the Provost and must go through the University’s official review and approval process. This includes review by the Provost’s designees for International Agreements and FSU’s legal counsel. Acknowledgement type documents, which do not impose any legal obligations on FSU and are not signed by the Provost, do not require review by the Provost’s designees for International Agreements, but must still be approved by FSU’s legal counsel prior to being signed.
Step 1: Identify Program(s) to Be Developed
The FSU faculty sponsor and his/her contact at the international institution need to determine the scope and extent of the proposed relationship, as this will determine what kind of agreement will be developed. Please be as specific and realistic as possible in initial discussions with partners to come to a good understanding of the intent and expectations for the proposed collaboration.
If the proposal is for a student exchange partnership, please consider the level of potential interest among FSU student for exchange at the partner institution. If the partner institution has very courses in English or is in not attractive to students for some other reason, please consider carefully whether an exchange program is the best avenue for collaboration. The Program Director, FSU International Initiatives can provide guidance about the various types of international agreements supported at FSU.
Step 2: Proposal/Intent Process
The FSU sponsor is responsible for completing the internal paperwork for the requested agreement in collaboration with the Program Director, FSU International Initiatives. This Intent form is used to compiles all of the information necessary to initiate and maintain a partnership and to route new partnerships though the internal approval process. Information required on the intent form includes:
For all agreements:
- A justification for such an agreement
- A statement of how the agreement would enhance and comply with the missions of the department and university
- Details about the proposed partner
- Name(s) and contact details of the faculty sponsor at the partner
- Name(s) and contact details of the staff member in the International Office assigned to the agreement (if known)
- Partner’s English Language website
- Summary of the partner’s resources
- Details about the collaborative project(s) to be pursued
- Partner’s accrediting body
- Partner’s signatories for the agreement
Additionally, for exchange agreements:
- Partner’s academic calendar (when terms begin and end). Compatible academic calendars are important to ensure students are able to participate without having to sit out an FSU term.
- List of 10-15 courses available to outgoing and inbound exchange students, including FSU course equivalencies of courses offered at the partner institution
- Partner’s website for exchange students and courses taught in English
- Information on credit conversion and the partner’s grading scale
- Number of exchange places to be developed and the level of the exchange (e.g. undergraduate only, graduate only, or both)
- Which FSU departments/colleges are to be included in the proposed exchange (other departments and colleges should agree to take part in the exchange program and assign a faculty member to assist with inbound and outbound exchange students who want to study in that area.)
- A set of criteria and learning outcomes for the involved students.
- Complete and collect signatures on the Responsibilities of the FSU Academic Advisor form and return signed copy to Program Direct, International Initiatives
- Provide faculty sponsor at the partner with the Responsibilities of the Academic Advisor at Partner Institution form and return signed copy to Program Direct, International Initiatives
Once the paperwork has been completed, the FSU sponsor for the agreement will collect the required approvals from the Department Chair and College Dean.
The signed paperwork should be returned to the Program Director, FSU International Initiatives, who will submit the proposal for administrative review.
Step 3: Draft Agreement
After the proposal has been approved, the Program Director, FSU International Initiatives will draft the agreement. If the agreement deviate from the preapproved template FSU Legal Council and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs will review the agreement.
Step 4: Partner Review and Signature
Once the agreement has been approved at FSU the Program Director, FSU International Initiatives coordinates the transmittal of the agreement to the partner institution(s) for review and signatures.
The Program Director, International Initiatives maintains a database of global partners Database and keeps the agreements on file at the Center for Global Engagement.
Faculty members interested in initiating an international agreement are invited to reach out to the Program Director, FSU International Initiatives to discuss the procedures for establishing an agreement.