Agreements with Non-US Institutions

• Board of Regents Policy 13-3 (Authorization to Sign Documents)
• UW System Administrative Policy 145 (formerly ACIS 7.1)
• UW System Administrative Policy 146 (formerly ACIS 7.2)
• UW System Administrative Policy 147 (formerly ACIS 7.3)
• UW System Administrative Policy 148 (formerly ACIS 7.4)

As a globally-engaged university, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) must ensure that it is appropriately managing agreements with academic and research institutions based in other countries, including non-US colleges, universities, and research institutes. The Center for International Education (CIE) facilitates and oversees, on behalf of UWM, the establishment of academic and research-related agreements with institutions and organizations based in other countries. This Policy provides guidelines for negotiating and entering into such agreements. 

Procedures for Negotiating, Reviewing, and Ratifying Agreements

1. All proposals for new agreements must be submitted to CIE for preliminary review and approval. 
2. After approval, the negotiation of a draft agreement may be conducted by the sponsoring Faculty, Department Chairperson, Program Director, Dean, or their designee, or, if preferred, by CIE on their behalf. Draft agreements may be of original design or based on templates supplied by CIE. 
3. Once the agreement’s terms and conditions have been negotiated, CIE will coordinate a review of the draft agreement by UWM’s Office of Legal Affairs and the International Committee. The International Committee meets to review proposed agreements four times per academic year, or more frequently as needed. Agreements that simply define a business relationship with no academic course enrollment or credit transfer do not require review or approval by the International Committee. 
4. To be considered for review, proposed agreements must be accompanied by a report that describes the following: (1) the UWM department(s) sponsoring the agreement, (2) the proposed collaborating institution(s), (3) previous interactions and affiliations with the proposed collaborator(s), if any, and (4) the nature and purpose of the agreement. 
5. If a foreign-language version of an agreement is requested, CIE will work with a third-party translation firm to obtain an accurate translation or certification of the translation provided by the proposed partner. The translation service will be paid for by the respective UWM school or college proposing the agreement. On a case by case basis, the English version of the agreement may also include controlling language establishing that in the event of a dispute, the English version of the agreement will prevail. 
6. A 60 percent majority vote by the International Committee is required to approve a proposed agreement and advance it for final signature. 
7. If an International Committee member is the principal sponsor of a proposed agreement, they must abstain from voting to prevent any conflict of interest. 
8. Once the draft agreement has been approved by all of the relevant UWM offices and committees, it may be signed by an individual with appropriate signature authority. 
   1. Only certain individuals at UWM are authorized by the UW System Board of Regents to sign documents creating binding obligations for UWM. 
   2. UWM’s Office of Legal Affairs maintains a list of individuals who are authorized to legally obligate UWM. In general, only the Chancellor, the Provost, the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrative Affairs, and the Vice Provost for Research may sign agreements with third-party institutions on behalf of UWM. 
   3. Anyone who is unsure as to their signature authority should not sign a document until after consulting with UWM’s Office of Legal Affairs. 
9. Other campus representatives, such as a Dean or Director, may indicate their approval as a sub-signatory. Such sub-signatures must follow the official signature and include language, such as “Read and Understood,” to indicate that their signature is not made for the purpose of legally binding UWM. 

1. As a precursor to the above-described negotiations, institutions may wish to establish a ceremonial relationship. The MOI template may be used in such circumstances, available on the Types of International Partnership Agreements web page. 
2. The MOI does not create any financial obligations, or personnel, physical space, or programmatic commitments for UWM. The existence of an MOI allows UWM to provide immigration paperwork to students from the partner institution wishing to enroll at UWM as a “special” non-degree student. 
3. In addition to the individuals identified in Procedure 8 above, the MOI template may be signed by Deans; provided, however, that no changes may be made whatsoever to the attached document (except to complete the names as shaded). This is a limited exception to the signature authority rule described in Procedure 8 above. 
4. Within one month of signature, a copy of the fully-executed MOI must be submitted to CIE, which will share it with the International Committee for informational purposes and record it for future reference. 

January 1, 1982

Original

January 1, 1990

Revised

May 6, 2011

Revised

April 1, 2019

Revised

April 4, 2024

Reviewed

November 5, 2024

Editorially revised