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Establishing an Agreement

Establishing an Agreement

As a U-M faculty or staff member, you may submit your proposal for an international agreement for academic cooperation or educational programs. Below you’ll find the important steps for filing your agreement successfully.

International Agreement Filing Process

The process for filing an International Agreement has multiple steps from initiation and partner negotiation to obtaining final signatures.

Unit-Level Initiation/Partner Negotiation

  • Units discuss collaboration goals and parameters with international partner
  • Prepare draft agreement
  • Complete Proposal Form
  • Secure dean’s signature
  • Submit to the Provost’s Office

Global Engagement Team (GET) Review

  • Screen proposals for export control issues
  • Screen proposals for adherence to templates
  • For non-template agreements, review and comment; send to OGC for legal review
  • Enter all data into database

Office of the General Counsel (OGC) Review

  • Reviews drafts; asks questions; suggests revisions
  • Amended documents sent back to GET/unit for consideration and unit’s discussion with the partner

Signature Process

  • Once all parties (unit, GET, OGC, partner) come to an agreement, Vice Provost for Engaged Learning signs
  • Unit obtains dean’s signature and partner’s signature
  • Unit returns document to GET for U-M records

Step-by-Step Instructions

Allow processing time of at least eight weeks, including legal review, revisions, and final approval. Note: Processing time will be shorter for proposals that follow U-M templates.

Step 1

Utilize standard U-M templates to facilitate faster review and signature.

Templates and Forms

Step 2

Prepare all documents in Word format (.doc or .docx) and in English (additional copies in other languages are permissible).

Step 3

Inform appropriate deans and/or department heads of the proposed agreement and any unit-level resources that may be required to support the proposed activities.

Step 4

Share the draft agreement document(s) with the international institution. If the international institution or sponsoring U-M unit requires revisions to the content or legal language of the U-M template, please use track changes to record any modifications. If using a template from the international institution, also utilize track changes for any revisions.

Step 5

Complete the Proposal for International Agreement Form to provide additional context and activity details for the Provost’s Office. This form is for internal purposes only.

Templates and Forms

Step 6

Send the Proposal for International Agreement Form and draft agreement to the Provost’s Office c/o international-agreements@umich.edu.

  • The Provost’s Office will screen all proposals for export control issues and refer to the U-M export controls officer if needed.
  • If the draft agreement follows a U-M template with no deviations, the Global Engagement Team will review the proposal, request signature, and return the signed version to the sponsoring U-M unit.
  • If the draft agreement does not follow a U-M template, the review team will route it to the Office of General Counsel (OGC) for legal review. OGC will contact the sponsoring U-M unit with questions, concerns, or revisions. The sponsoring U-M unit must send the OGC-edited document(s) to the international institution for review. When both parties come to agreement, the sponsoring U-M unit must send final copies of the document(s) to OGC for processing and Vice Provost’s signature.

Step 7

Obtain corresponding signature(s) from the partner institution and return a copy of the final, signed version to the Provost’s Office for U-M records.