1. Consult Your Supervisor
In the process of establishing a formal international agreement, you should first consult your department head, school or unit director, college dean or other campus officials, as appropriate. If you are unsure who to contact, each college has designated a representative that provide information regarding their units procedures.
2. Partnership Considerations
- Strength of alignment with Texas A&M vision and goals and the corresponding Texas A&M vision and objectives
- Articulation of learning, academic, and/or research objectives to be achieved through the potential partnership
- Ranking and accreditation of the international institution
- Articulation of the value added to the existing academic / research curricula of Texas A&M
- Fiscal resources available to engage in the international partnership
- Strength of interest and recruitment methods to support levels of participation
- Articulation of evaluation mechanisms to determine the success of the partnership
- The geographic diversity of the partnership in relationship to existing partnerships
- Diversity in enrichment experiences and in courses offered
- Strength of pairing between existing Texas A&M degrees and those of the international institution
- Strength of pairing between existing Texas A&M academic requirements and those of the international institution
3. Create a Proposal Form
This is an internal document used to provide information to the individual delegated to sign these agreements. It provides insight, background, and long/short terms goals of the partnership. Contact globalsupport@tamu.edu for the Proposal Form template.
4. Determine and Draft an Agreement Type
Your International Agreement College Representative can help you decide what type of agreement is needed. At this time, schedule to meet with your College Representative or email Global Engagement at globalsupport@tamu.edu, to discuss specific interests for collaboration with the approved foreign partner. To simplify the international agreement process, our office has developed a series of templates and supplemental resources to assist in developing a specific agreement. In order to reduce processing and review time, please use approved templates whenever possible. To view the available agreement templates, including the Justification Statement go to Agreement Types and Programs.
5. Compliance and Other Considerations
To ensure compliance with the United States Export Control Laws and Regulations. Please visit the Division of Research, Export Control section.
To ensure that the country is not on the Department of State Travel Warning List visit the travel.state.gov website for travel warnings.
Compliance
Please note, all international agreements between Texas A&M and foreign partners are governed by a combination of Federal law, Texas State law, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules, Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), Texas A&M University policies and, where appropriate, Export Control laws. The most up to date templates address these issues but changes are inevitable and unpredictable.
Our office coordinates with various units on campus to ensure all rules and regulations are satisfied. Some of which include, but are not limited to:
- Immigration Services for Faculty & Scholars, Dean of Faculties, https://isfs.tamu.edu/
- International Student Services, https://global.tamu.edu/isss
- Office of Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies, https://vpr.tamu.edu/
- Education Abroad Office, https://global.tamu.edu/ea
- Contract Administration, Division of Finance & Administration, https://contracts.tamu.edu/
- Curricular Services, Office of the Registrar, https://registrar.tamu.edu/curricular-services
Translation
If the international collaborator requires a version of the agreement in a language other than English, it is the responsibility of the collaborator to provide the translated version. In the event of a discrepancy between the two versions, the English version precedes. Each Party shall retain at least one copy of each language. Contact us for assistance with the translation proofing process.
Timeline
Depending on the type and scope of the agreement, you should expect the process to take anywhere from 3 months to a year to complete. At minimum, an agreement must be drafted, reviewed, vetted for compliance, approved, and routed for signatures before it can be implemented. Therefore, it is important to plan ahead and start the process as soon as possible.
6. Routing for Approval and Signatures
Once the draft of the agreement is finalized, the Global Engagement will route (either electronically or physically) for all appropriate signatures at the University level and the foreign partner. They will coordinate with College Staff to obtain College level signatures. Electronic signatures may only be used if the foreign partner will accept electronic signatures.
All international agreements at Texas A&M must comply with President’s Delegation of Authority for Contract Administration (https://rules-saps.tamu.edu/PDFs/25.07.01.M1.01.pdf) which provides information about who is authorized to sign various types of agreements or contracts. These often depend on the anticipated dollar amount for the contract. The individual identified within the delegation is the only Texas A&M University signatory required for the agreement or contract. However, Colleges/Departments may want, or be required by their college/division, to add additional signatories.
All international agreements must be signed according to the University’s Delegation of Authority to be legally binding. The Dean and other representatives of the respective College, department or unit may also sign agreements as a show of support or according to their College’s processes. The Justification Statement described in earlier steps must be part of the package routed for the Vice Provost’s signature.
7. Record Keeping & Retention
For those agreements that require physical signature, Global Engagement will print the necessary number of agreements, and all must be signed. After all the agreement copies are signed by all appropriate signatories, Global Engagement will distribute them accordingly.
For those agreements that are finalized via electronic means, Global Engagement will print one copy for our records and email the electronic file to the International Agreement Representative for distribution to the Parties.
We encourage the individual college to keep a comprehensive record of the international agreement, to request a copy please contact globalsupport@tamu.edu.