Developing International Exchanges
Getting started
Preliminary considerations
International activities and academic mobility occur without formal linkages and exchanges, and they are encouraged wherever those relationships fulfill the University's mission of teaching, research, and service. Developing and maintaining an institutional relationship beyond individual academic interests and connections, however, requires planning and commitment by the department or college initiating the exchange. In addition, meeting the expectations of both exchange institutions requires an ongoing commitment of financial and human resources. Examples of such agreements can be obtained from OIP.
Rationale
Address academic benefits to the University of Minnesota and identify the home and partner institutions' strengths relative to the proposed exchange. The exchange should fit within the mission of the University of Minnesota and offer a comparative advantage in relationship to other exchange programs. Consider whether there are existing exchanges in force in the same country or region (see exchanges list) and the relationship of the proposed exchange to ongoing relationships.
Planning and matching interests with the foreign institution
Mutual benefit is the key to successful international exchanges. Departments and colleges should assess participant expectations in both institutions to make sure that exchanges match at the appropriate institutional level. For example, that a University of Minnesota interest in a foreign university's humanities faculty is not met by an interest from the foreign institution's engineering faculty.
Suggested steps
- Make initial contact.
- Agree upon a rationale regarding mutual benefits of exchange.
- Secure aggreement and committment for required resources.
- Agree upon expectations.
- Develop a plan for implementation.
- Determine the interests, size, and scope of the exchange:
- Is it reciprocal?
- Should the exchange balance on an annual basis?
- Consider financial implications and obligations:
- Institutional support for faculty salaries and benefits.
- In-kind support.
- Currency restrictions and cost of living standards in the host country.
- Outside funding sources.
- Establish participant selection criteria (both students and faculty):
- Determine required academic qualifications of participants.
- Consider curriculum adjustments.
- Consider level of language proficiency required.
- Consider credit transfer issues.
- Determine plans for review and evaluation.
- Establish accountability and administrative procedures.
- Finalize protocols/written agreement and work plan.
- Send agreement to Provost's office for approval.
Financial support
Many University of Minnesota exchanges require no external funding and rely on the reciprocity principle. Although there may be no cash outlay other than travel support, the in-kind contributions and repercussions of office space and administrative support should be considered. If outside funding is required, the Office of International Programs can assist the department in searching for sources. Depending on the nature and location of the exchange, supplementary travel funding is sometimes available from internal University sources. (See Funding Opportunities for Faculty.)
Register your agreement
International exchange agreements are required to be submitted to the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost for review once the agreement has been finalized. (See Approval for more information.) The exchanges are then sent to OIP, which maintains an listing of all exchanges in order to document and assess the the impact of exchange programs on the University's international mission.
Informal academic exchange activities (such as faculty visits abroad and individual sabbaticals and teaching leaves) do not need to be documented by official exchange agreements; however, the Office of International Programs also keeps records of these activities as a resource for future activities. (See Informal for more information.)