International Agreements

Agreement for Collaboration

Once the Feasibility Report is approved the faculty/staff involved will be sent a "General Agreement for Collaboration" template. Please note, the language of this document has been prepared and approved by USF General Counsel, and any changes to the document will result in the agreement being null-and-void. As a result, this form can be completed very quickly and faculty/staff can seek endorsement for the proposal from both the Department Chair and College Dean (both of whom will have signed the preceding Feasibility Report).

Send a copy of the draft to the foreign partner institution for initial approval. At this point no signatures are needed, and the partner institution will decide who signs on their behalf, so that neither partner expresses surprise at the language later in the process.

In some cases, the partner institution may require a translated version of the document, and most partners will assist with this aspect of the process. However, it is strongly encouraged that English be the controlling language for all international agreements. When English is not the controlling language, a reliable translation of the international agreement shall be completed. The initiator of the agreement is responsible for procuring the translation and the possible costs associated with it. It also is the responsibility of the USF faculty/staff to ensure all requested changes from their college or the partner institution are made to the draft, and communicate those changes to Ms. Morales, who will then seek General Counsel approval for any alterations to text. This process will ensure the proposed changes are acceptable and are in compliance with SACS.

Once all agreement language is acceptable for both partners, please submit (2) copies to Ms. Morales who will liaise with General Counsel for continuing approval and the Counsel stamp. This is a critical stage – for example, exchange of researchers may require The Office of Research and Innovation give advice on matters pertaining to patents/licensing/royalties, etc. The proposer can then move to the signing stage. Please remember, this multi-step process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, so we encourage faculty/staff to plan ahead and be proactive in the preparation and submission of documents.

The Signing Process

The process for signing the document depends on the circumstances. Please seek the advice of Ms. Morales before you proceed. If the partners are visiting USF our colleagues can often gain most, if not all, signatures at one time. USF World is available to assist with the protocols associated with a signing ceremony should colleagues request this support. Ultimately the appropriate college Dean, the Vice Provost, and the Provost will sign on behalf of USF.

If the USF faculty/staff are traveling to the partner institution they must take the approved stamped version of the General Agreement and secure the partner signatures, then return to USF and submit the agreement to Ms. Morales. She will then ensure the final USF signatures are added to the document. One fully signed and original copy should be shared with the partner institution and a second signed original kept in USF World, which officially maintains records of all agreements for the university. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring USF party to send the agreements to the corresponding institution for signatures or for their records, and to make sure that USF World receives a final copy of all fully signed agreements.

USF faculty can request copies of their agreements for their records at any time by contacting Ms. Morales or by using the Global Discovery Database, using their USF Net ID to sign in and search for existing international partnership agreements by country, city, or institution name. Take a look at USF's global partnerships here: View Partnerships>>