Developing International Exchanges
Types of exchanges
Exchanges can involve either faculty or students or both and are defined as relationships that support traffic both ways. The University also has a number of international relationships and projects that are not defined as exchanges.
- Informal exchanges — Ad hoc faculty visits, Fulbright awards, leaves, sabbaticals, or unregistered arrangements
- University-wide exchanges — Exchanges that are not associated with a specific department or college
- University of Minnesota exchanges around the world — List of exchanges by world region
A note on nomenclature: The Office of International Programs uses the global nomenclature of the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. IIE developed this nomenclature to track statistics related to international students in the United States, which it publishes annually in its Open Doors report. This nomenclature is now widely used for general international educational exchange purposes.
Informal exchanges
Informal academic exchange activities do not need to be documented by official exchange agreements; however, the Office of International Programs keeps records of these activities as a resource for future activities. (See Informal.)
Informal exchange activities that do not need official exchange agreements:
- Ad hoc faculty visits to foreign institutions for lecturing or research
- Fulbright teaching or research awards or individual sabbaticals and teaching or research leaves (Be sure to refer to OIP's information on funding individual activities)
- Individual arrangements that could be facilitated more appropriately under the University's consulting provisions for faculty
University-wide exchanges
University-wide exchanges must go through special approval channels and should be considered only when the purposes of the agreement cannot be carried out under the purview of a particular college or unit. If a university-wide exchange is contemplated, consult with the Office of International Programs before beginning negotiations.