All About Agreements

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All AboutAgreements
Hilde Haaland Kramer Senior Executive
Officer Division of Academic Affairs University
of Bergen
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Outline

• Why Why do we need an agreement when
  establishing a joint degree programme?
• What What should be part of the agreement and
  what should not?
• When When in the planning process should the
  agreement be discussed and signed?

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Why do we need an agreement?

• Good international practice
• Quality Assurance
• Legal obligations
• Legal, academic, administrative and practical
  aspects which have to be agreed upon among the
  partners
• Agreement Curriculum of the programme the
  contractual foundation of a joint degree
  programme
• In addition, the programme has to be approved by
  the appropriate body/ies at each of the
  participating institutions/in each country

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What should be part of an agreement?

• At the University of Bergen, we have made an
  agreement template/model which can be used by our
  staff
• It is not essential that this model is used, but
  that the cooperating institutions agree on a
  programme and organisation that works for the
  group.
• Constraints on the content of the agreement
• The content of the agreement has to be in line
  with the regulations of each university as well
  as each universitys national legal framework
• The agreement should not be too detailed, but
  should leave room for the group to change
  policies and procedures

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What should be part of an agreement?

• Purpose and Scope of the Agreement
• Structure and Organization of the Cooperation
• Programme Structure
• Degree and Diploma
• Student Admission, Registration and Attendance
• Tuition Fees and Students Financial
  Responsibility
• Quality Assurance
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Renewal, Termination and Amendment

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What should be part of an agreement?

• Purpose and Scope of the Agreement
• Name of institutions and responsible units
• The purpose of the agreement
• The provisions of this agreement shall not be
  construed so as to diminish the fully autonomous
  position of any of the institutions.

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 2. Structure and Organisation of the Cooperation
• Formation and mandate of a programme committe or
  similar body
• Name and task of coordinating institution
• Academic and administrative commitment at each
  institution
• Financial plan (annexe)

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 3. Programme Structure
• The name and length of the programme
• Short description of the aim of the programme
• Mutual recognition of study periods
• Student and teacher mobility
• The cooperating universities have jointly
  decided upon the skills, knowledge and
  competencies which the graduates of the xxxxxx
  programme are expected to possess upon the
  completion of the programme.
• Do not include the curriculum description!

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 4. Degree and Diploma
• Name of degree
• Type of diploma joint or double/multiple, what
  will be included (DS and transcript)
• The content and the layout of the diploma(s) and
  the Diploma Supplement(s) should be agreed upon
  at least one semester before the first cohort of
  students are expected to complete the programme.

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 5. Student Admission, Registration and Attendance
• Number of students admitted and admission process
• Recruitment plan
• Registration
• Appeals policy and procedures
• Students will normally be subject to the
  regulations and procedures of the institution at
  which they follow courses and sit for
  examinations in a given semester. They will be
  provided with the same academic resources and
  support services that are available to all
  students at that institution.

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 6. Tuition Fees and Students Financial
  Responsibility
• Tuition fees if applicable and possible exception
• Students financial responsibilities
• 7. Quality Assurance
• The quality assurance plan
• This plan is in accordance with/exceeds the
  minimum standards of quality assurance of all the
  cooperating universities
• The programme committee will deliver an annual
  evaluation report

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What should be part of an agreement?

• 8. Intellectual Property Rights
• If applicable, what about intellectual property
  created jointly?
• Bound by national regulations
• 9. Renewal, Termination and Amendment
• Duration of agreement and process of amending
• Procedure if one institution withdraws or if the
  programme is terminated
• Students should be able to complete their
  courses of study and the programme at all
  institutions

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When should the agreement be signed?

• A Memorandum of Intent can be used and should be
  signed very early in the planning process
• An application for financial support (i.e.
  Erasmus Mundus) can be considered a Memorandum of
  Intent
• The main agreement should be signed in the latter
  stages of the planning process when most, or all,
  legal, academic, administrative and practical
  issues have been thoroughly discussed and agreed
  upon
• The agreement should be signed by rector and dean
  of each institution

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• Thank you for your attention!
• Hilde.Kramer_at_ua.uib.no