International Agreements

Recommendations & Best Practices

  • Formal international agreement are a multi- step process that can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

  • It is advised to send all USF agreement draft templates to the corresponding university for draft approval early in the process as to avoid any discrepancies later.

  • No changes to the language of the General Agreement will be automatically accepted. Should you believe there is a compelling reason for changing the approved agreement language, please seek an early meeting with Ms. Morales.

  • It is the responsibility of the sponsoring USF party to send the agreements to the corresponding institution for signatures and to make sure that USF World receives a final copy of all agreements signed by both parties.

  • It is strongly encouraged that English be the controlling language for all international agreements. When English is not the controlling language, a reliable translation of the international agreement shall be completed. The initiator of the agreement is responsible for procuring the translation and the possible costs associated with it. If the agreements need to be translated into another language the sponsoring faculty/staff will communicate with the partner institution. USF World cannot provide translation services to the partner institutions.

  • Early in the planning process, please consider the Feasibility Report carefully. How easy or difficult will this agreement be to implement? How many academic departments / units / colleges at USF could potentially be affected or involved in the proposed exchange? How will the proposed exchange contribute to the goals and priorities to the University / College / Departments involved? Careful thought at this early stage will save time later.

  • If faculty exchange is part of your vision, speak with your department administration (and if needed, college administration) very early in the process as you will be asking for their resource support. Consider whether the exchange be for a short-term experience, a semester, or an academic year. What will be the support stipend, how will you accommodate lodging, office space, access to digital libraries, e-mail accounts, and use of fax and phone both here at USF and at the partner institution? Will immigration documentation be required, and how will you establish international health insurance and possibly emergency evacuation?

  • There are also intangibles to take into consideration such as visitor expectations based on social/cultural differences (and the differing relationships of faculty, students, and/or administrators in universities around the world). Be sure you understand the expectations for teaching load, research productivity, etc.