University of Michigan faculty and staff members often host international delegations or individual colleagues for short-term campus visits to develop educational partnerships, explore research collaborations or simply provide an introduction to the U-M. The following resources and shared templates can aid units in planning for international visitors.
Welcome to the International Delegation Management Toolkit. International partnerships are foundational to the University of Michigan’s global mission. This self-service toolkit provides standardized blueprints and templates for visit coordinators and hosts to streamline the planning lifecycle, ensure strategic alignment, and mitigate institutional risk.
The University of Michigan operates on a decentralized and distributed international education model. Because international engagement is deeply woven into our individual academic disciplines, the responsibility for welcoming and hosting international delegations sits with our individual schools, colleges, departments, and units. The inviting unit is responsible for assigning a visit coordinator, managing the scheduling lifecycle, funding hospitality, and executing the itinerary. This self-service toolkit is designed to provide units with all the necessary blueprints to host visits independently, professionally, and in alignment with university standards.
On select occasions—primarily involving executive-tier dignitaries (such as university presidents or ambassadors) or complex itineraries that organically span multiple schools and colleges—the Global Engagement Team (GET) within the Office of the Provost may provide consultative protocol support or assist with coordination. GET’s capacity to partner on or support these high-level visits is dependent on strategic alignment, sufficient advance notice, and current team staffing capacity.
Access to the toolkit is available only to those with a University of Michigan log-in.
This customizable slide deck is designed to introduce international partners to U-M’s global footprint, research impact, and academic scope.
This section guides you through the complete process of hosting an international delegation at U-M. The Step-by-Step Guide below provides a quick visual overview of the entire visit lifecycle. Below the image, you will find detailed instructions for each of the five phases—Intake & Compliance, Agenda Building, Final Preparations, Hosting, and Post-Visit Follow-Up—to help you run a smooth, well-coordinated, and university-compliant campus visit.
This tab provides a collection of ready-to-use email and letter templates to streamline communication throughout a visit’s lifecycle. It includes scripts for initial intake, internal scheduling requests, official visa support invitation letters, final itineraries, and post-visit thank you notes.
This tab provides a standardized itinerary blueprint for international delegation visits. It features structured chronological blocks for arrival, lodging, and logistical checkpoints, alongside adaptable placeholders for leadership meet-and-greets, campus engagements, and structured breakout sessions. It also includes comprehensive contact matrices and local transportation resources to ensure clear coordination across all internal and external stakeholders.
This tab provides a standardized blueprint for compiling executive briefing documents given to U-M faculty, department chairs, deans, and university leadership prior to a delegation’s arrival. It organizes critical operational and strategic data into a scannable format, highlighting institutional profiles, signature partner initiatives, relationship catalysts, and targeted visitor discussion areas to optimize high-level institutional networking.
This tab serves as a central logistics and protocol reference guide for U-M host units. It outlines suggested gifting hierarchies, campus transportation recommendations, catering and cultural protocols, and tech connectivity setups for visiting international delegates.
