Agreement Types

Common types of agreements

These are the types of agreements that are most commonly supported and maintained through the Office of the Vice-President (International, Innovation and Enterprise).

Feel free to contact the International Agreements Team to discuss your proposal.

Memorandum of Understanding/Letter of Intent

Though not required in most cases, non-binding MoUs may support specific funding applications, articulating specific anticipated projects between partners, or facilitating collaborative programming that may not require a full program agreement. The scope and purpose of the MoU should be clearly defined.

Student mobility

Facilitates mobility of undergraduate or graduate students that may involve coursework, internships, research placements, fieldwork experiences, clinical placements or any combination thereof. Exchanges involve mobility in both directions with the expectation of an overall balance between incoming and outgoing students.

Faculty exchanges and visiting professorships

A formal agreement is not generally required to facilitate faculty mobility, but an agreement may be appropriate where there is an exchange of specific obligations between the partners, or where both partners are committing to financial support for a visiting professorship.

Shared credentials (joint and dual degree programs)

Provides students with the opportunity to undertake a program of study collaboratively delivered by two or more institutions resulting in either a jointly delivered degree, or a degree from each institution, and receive formal recognition on their transcript/parchment upon graduation. Notably, these are often complex agreements that require significant time to develop, including several necessary governance approvals internally at the U of A.

Articulation/credit transfer programs

Allows students to complete part of their degree requirements at one institution and transfer those credits to a separate institution where they complete their degree. Credit transfer mechanisms may include a block transfer of credits, curriculum alignment, or full curriculum adoption.

Transnational education

Supports collaborative degree programs and joint schools with international partners in the delivery of in-person or distance educational programming. For these activities, it is essential to clearly define the obligations between partners, including financial obligations as well as rights and responsibilities regarding the ownership of the course content.

Service agreement

Outlines contractual details for collaborations where the U of A is providing specific services, including short course programming, tailored course delivery or curriculum development.

Funding agreements

Our team is experienced with developing and reviewing funding and granting agreements including those with Global Affairs Canada, inter-institutional agreements for Erasmus+ mobility funding through the European Commission and other national entities seeking to support specific research, and cultural and/or linguistic initiatives.

Other

The International Agreements Team additionally supports contracts regarding consortiums, recruitment agent services, sponsored student programming and International Visiting Student Programs, among others.