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Establishment of an institutional agreement between the University of California Santa Barbara and a foreign university, institute or corporation

I. Purpose and Scope

These procedures describe the steps for establishing an institutional agreement between UC Santa Barbara  – or any of its individuals, departments, colleges, or schools – and a foreign university, institute, corporation, government agency, or other foreign entity. An institutional agreement is required when there is a commitment of university resources or exchange of faculty and students. (Contractual student exchanges in non-degree programs that occur under the purview of Extended Learning Services [ELS] adhere to ELS policies.)

II. Authority and Coordination

A.  Standing Order 100.6, Duties of the Chancellors

B.  If the proposed agreement is at the school or college level, the school coordinates with the Office of the  Executive Vice Chancellor.

C.  If the proposed agreement is at the individual, departmental, or divisional level, the appropriate dean’s office is the coordinating body for such proposals.

D.  The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor is the office of record for the inventory of all such agreements.

III. Procedures for Establishment of a Formal Relationship with a Foreign University or Institute

A.  Proposal Development at the Department and Divisional Level

1.  Early Consultation: the initiators should consult with interested faculty and the department chair(s) or program director(s) before writing the proposal. Early informal consultation between faculty and the  appropriate Dean’s office is recommended.

2.  If the agreement includes exchange of graduate students, early consultation with the Graduate Dean is  required.

3.  The chair consults with the relevant dean regarding the department’s intention.

4.  If a proposal is at the individual or departmental level, the proponents submit a draft proposal to the department chair for endorsement. If endorsed, the chair submits the draft to the relevant academic dean (see Appendix A for format).

5.  Administrative review includes consultation with the Director of Sponsored Projects in the Office of Research if the agreement contains terms covering human and animal subject protocol, rights in data, export control, confidentiality and/or publication restrictions; the Director of Technology and Industry Alliances if the agreement contains terms covering intellectual property (patents, copyrights or trademarks); and the Graduate Dean if exchange of graduate students and/or graduate programming is involved.

6.  The academic dean informs the initiators of any changes that are required in the final proposal and his or her endorsement of the proposal.

B. Coordination and Campus Review of the International Agreement

1.  If the chancellor is to sign the proposed agreement, the dean sends the final proposal to General Counsel for review and approval.

2.  The dean sends the proposal to the Academic Senate chair with a copy to the executive director, who will coordinate Academic Senate review. Initiators should take into consideration Senate agency meeting schedules when estimating the time required for the approval process.

a.  The Committee on International Education is the lead Senate reviewing agency for such international agreement proposals.

b.  If undergraduate student programming is involved or an exchange of undergraduate students, the proposal is reviewed by the relevant college or school Faculty Executive Committee and the Undergraduate Council.

c.  If graduate student programming or an exchange of graduate students is involved the proposal will be reviewed by the Graduate Council.

d.  Senate reviewing agency comments are sent to the Senate Chair with a copy to the executive director.

3.  The Senate chair sends a Senate response to the dean with a copy to the initiators.

4.  When the Divisional Dean has final approval authority, the dean sends the approval letter with pertinent documentation to the initiators with a copy to the Executive Vice Chancellor for inclusion in the inventory of such agreements. When the Chancellor is to approve, the dean sends final proposal and all documentation, including his or her endorsement, to the Chancellor for approval.

IV. Renewal and Additions/Changes of Agreement

The Department Chair contacts the dean if there are any additions, changes, or a renewal of the existing agreement and the appropriate reviewing agencies will be notified.

V. References

A.  Standing Order 100.6, Duties of the Chancellors

B.  Academic Senate Divisional Bylaws, Part I, Chapter III, Section 3.100.C

C.  Committee on International Education, Academic Senate

VI. Appendix

A.  Proposal format for an international agreement between UC Santa Barbara and a foreign institution must include:

• the names and titles of the initiators and UCSB individuals/departments involved
• the name of the international institution or organization
• the title and description of the program
• the effective date and duration of the agreement
• expected scholarly goals and benefits to each institution
• anticipated size of program; number of faculty/students to be involved at any given time
• list of departments and/or faculty at UCSB likely to be involved in the exchange; and list of departments and/or faculty at proposed institution
• full disclosure of all resource commitments from UCSB or any of its units including faculty and student involvement
• support letters from relevant department and/or faculty
• documentation of any co-sponsorship from other campus offices, e.g., Graduate Division, EAP, etc.

B.  Resources for Visiting Scholars from the Office of International Scholars & Students

A Guide to Commonly Requested Services--Visiting International Students (Who Are Not Registered).

This document was prepared by the College of Letters and Science in consultation with the Academic Senate, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, and the Office of International Students & Scholars, 2006, UC Santa Barbara. For additional information please contact Bryant Wieneke, Assistant Dean for Policy, College of Letters and Science at (805) 893-3627 or Kim Coonen, Executive Assistant to the Dean, Division of Humanities and Fine Arts (805) 893-2586.