Memoranda of Agreements

Specific Information to help you in Developing an International Agreement

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The following items are the minimum specifications that must appear in the text of a Memorandum of Agreement: 

Review Process:

An agreement begins in the College with a visit to the IPECC representative. The University requires a justification statement for the potential agreement before going forward to determine if the agreement meets the College’s and University’s strategic goals and objectives. Once it is determined that the agreement will go forward, it is sent to the Office of International Outreach for review and routing. All MOAs that do not follow the model and/or include a research component will be routed through TAMU Research Services (TAMU RS) for review. Agreement creators should be aware that this will add additional time to the routing process and therefore are encouraged to begin the process early.

Students:

If undergraduate and/or graduate student admission to Texas A&M University is proposed, the agreement should state that prospective students will be subject to admission requirements of all students engaged in similar programs. If necessary, the agreement should address any special conditions for waiving these admission procedures. If the agreement will not follow the standard sample formats, then the document must be routed to the appropriate office for approval. 

Agreements often encourage the exchange and/or enrollment of students. Typical levels of student involvement are as follows:
Degree-seeking programs — When this is specified, students at Texas A&M will be encouraged to enroll in the foreign institution’s degree-seeking academic programs and vice-versa. A&M students will complete their degrees at the host university. All tuition and fees are paid by the student to the host university, and no reciprocity is required.

Non-degree programs — When this is specified, students at Texas A&M will be encouraged to participate in a specially designed program at the foreign institution and vice-versa. Students are typically not enrolled as regular students at the host institution, but instead are registered as “non-degree seeking” students. Any expenses incurred are the responsibility of the student. No reciprocity is required.  Credit hours are transferred back to the home institution after the program is completed.

Reciprocal Educational Exchange Programs (REEP) — When this is specified, students at Texas A&M attend classes at the foreign institution and vice versa as non-degree seeking students. The advantage to a REEP is that students enroll and pay tuition and fees at their home university while attending the host university, and credits are transferred back to the home institution. The regulations for this type of program are governed by the State of Texas. Reciprocity is required, and parity must be achieved over a five-year period. For additional information on this type of program contact the Study Abroad Programs Office at 845-0544.

Justification for Proposed Agreement:

A justification document is required by most colleges to begin the routing for an agreement.  This justification should include background and introductory information, purposed areas of cooperation, and other considerations. See template in the model section.

Immigration Information:
If exchanges of faculty or students are proposed, be aware that certain U.S. immigration rules apply to visiting scholars and students. For more information on student immigration issues contact the International Student Services Office at 845-1825. Information on faculty/scholar immigration issues can be obtained from the International Faculty and Scholar Services at 862-1719.

Financial Responsibility:
If any fiscal commitments are involved, they should be listed specifically in the Program Agreement, not the MOA. Each Program Agreement must state the specific department, institute, or University unit that will be responsible for meeting any expenses incurred under the agreement.

Contacts:
The committee, office, position or person designated as the agreement’s campus contact at Texas A&M University and at the foreign institution should be noted in the Program Agreement. The program agreement lists either the position title (i.e., Department Head of Electrical Engineering or Academic Advisor for Political Science Department) or an individual’s name (generally used with faculty contacts). The Texas A&M contact person will be responsible for knowing what activities take place under the agreement. He/she may also have specific administrative duties. Any correspondence to the foreign institution should include a reference to the foreign contact person. The addendum includes more information including each of the contacts’ information (i.e. name, title, mailing address, phone, fax, email, website and other pertinent information).

Areas Involved:
The Program Agreement must list the department or units involved and, if necessary, the specific field of study or types of projects that will be carried out under the agreement.

Collaborative Research:
If the collaboration may involve proprietary rights over potentially copyrightable or patentable material, then those rights should be planned in consultation with the Office of the Vice President for Research and should be appropriately addressed in the Program Agreement. When specific collaborative research is planned, an intellectual property rights statement must be included as part of the Program Agreement or as an addendum.

Intellectual Property Rights:

When a specific research project is conducted by the parties, a separate agreement will be prepared by your sponsored projects office.  Applicable agreement terms such as publications, patents, copyrights, etc., will be included.

Dates:
An umbrella MOA and/or Program Agreement should include a statement that the agreement will remain in effect for five years and is renewable by mutual written consent. Additionally the documents should clearly state that the agreement would take effect on the date of the final signing.

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• Glossary of terms
• IPECC College Representative List
• Search the MOA Database
• Letter of Cooperation: What is it?
• What is a Memorandum of Agreement? What is a Program Agreement?
• Joint/Dual degree guidelines
• Specific Information
• Stages of Development of Agreements
• Procedures for creating University-Wide REEPs
• Letter of Cooperation Model  
• Memorandum of Agreement Model  
• Standard Program Agreement Model  
• Justification Model  
• REEP Program Agreement Model  
• Joint/Dual degree Letter of Cooperation Model  
• Joint/Dual Degree Program Agreement Model  
• Joint and Dual Degree Verification Certificate

Routing Flowcharts

• Memorandum of Agreement Flowcharts
• Multi-Institutional Degree/Certificate Programs Flowcharts
• Letter of Cooperation for Joint and Dual Degree Flowcharts
• International Agreement for Joint and Dual Degree Flowcharts