06.A.11 – International Collaborations
Section: Academic Affairs
Area: General
1. PURPOSE
International collaborations enhance opportunities for students, faculty and staff to become globally competent individuals through their participation in bilateral or multilateral inter-institutional agreements in various parts of the world. It is then imperative to build a portfolio of strategically intentional international collaborations with University of Houston System (UHS) and its universities that:
A. Corresponds with their strategic priorities;
B. Reflects and/or compliments the composition of their international students, faculty, visiting scholars, and alumni;
C. Strengthens the teaching, research, and service activities of their core academic disciplines; and
D. Allows for the expansion of global engagement opportunities.
2. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY
An international collaboration is any initiative involving ongoing formal academic cooperation between a UHS university and educational institutions in other countries. These initiatives may involve student mobility (reciprocal and/or non-reciprocal), faculty, scholar, and staff exchanges, joint research or any other type of scholarly and academic collaboration, library and scientific materials exchanges, as well as training and technical assistance, degree granting programs, or establishing branch campuses.
An international collaboration may be identified primarily with one discipline, be multi-disciplinary, may support interaction involving teaching, research, or exchange of students, faculty, scholars, and staff, may include a wide variety of areas and may involve more than one university.
3. POLICY
3.1. Each university is responsible for having in place policies regarding the development, approval, and operation of international collaborations. Such policies shall address the existence of appropriate fiscal controls and adequate oversight of the academic quality and ensure that international collaborations will conform to state and federal law and Board and UHS policies, including this policy, and shall address the following:
3.1.1. Creation and approval of an international collaboration;
3.1.2. Assessment of a proposed international collaboration including, but not limited to, its reputation, benefits and costs, sustainability, compliance, support, liaison and financial self-sufficiency;
3.1.3. Administrative organization of an international collaboration;
3.1.4. Periodic review of the effectiveness of an international collaboration in fulfilling its purposes;
3.1.5. Financial operation and business practices in managing an international collaboration;
3.1.6. Reporting relationships in the management of an international collaboration;
3.1.7. Sunset review of an international collaboration; and
3.1.8. Dissolution of an international collaboration.
3.2. Before any agreement for an international collaboration is entered into, the university president or their designee must approve the creation, existence, and purposes of the international collaboration; or in the case of a UHS agreement, the Chancellor or their designee must approve the creation, existence, and purposes of the international collaboration. Further, the agreement must be submitted to and approved by the Office of General Counsel, or the applicable sponsored research office, prior to final signature by the president or the president's designee of the university, or the Chancellor or their designee for any UHS system-wide agreement.
3.3. Each university is responsible for maintaining a current, electronic inventory of international collaborations that is accessible by the Office of General Counsel, UHS Administration and Finance, and the UHS Office of Compliance and Ethics.
Issued: 04/22/1998
Last Reviewed/Revised: 03/24/2023
Responsible Office(s): Institute for Global Engagement