Academic agreements are formal, written, contracts where Michigan Tech and one or more external institutions/organizations agree to collaborate to offer educational programs and experiences.
As these agreements fundamentally represent an obligation of the University, per Board Policy 11.13, only Michigan Tech's President, or duly authorized employees, may approve such agreements. The General Counsel's office maintains a list of current delegations of signature authority.
Types of Academic Agreements
The definitions below are used internally at Michigan Tech. Some definitions are guided by accreditor/federal government definitions, while others are based on institutional culture. Agreements originating from other institutions/entities may use these terms differently.
All agreements managed by the Provost’s Office will be categorized into one of the agreement types below.
Affiliation Agreements
An agreement between an educational institution and an external organization (e.g., hospital or clinic, another institution) that provides experiential learning opportunities, such as clinical rotations, practicums, student teaching, internships, fieldwork, or exchanges. These agreements are legally binding, define liability (and may require liability insurance), and overall act to protect the university, host organization, and participant. They also provide a clear framework for the experience and establish the roles and responsibilities of the involved parties.
While also a form of experiential learning, Cooperative Education (Co-op) agreements are initiated by the student and follow a simplified process.
The main types of Affiliation Agreements used at Michigan Tech include the following:
Clinical Education Agreements
Clinical education agreements, sometimes referred to as clinical internships, are written to ensure the safety and quality of the student learning experience at a specific clinical site. The agreements outline the roles, responsibilities, and liabilities of each party.
Mobility Agreements
Mobility Agreements facilitate the travel of students, faculty, staff, and research activities beyond the Michigan Tech Campus. Exchange, Faculty-Led study away and abroad, and International study away agreements are all examples of mobility agreements.
Articulation Agreements
An arrangement between institutions that agree in advance to accept each other’s credits in transfer, often in partial fulfillment of one or more specific credentials. Each institution teaches its own curriculum and courses, and an agreement can be made regardless of the other institution’s accreditation status (i.e, with international institutions).
Articulation agreements may be made at the undergraduate or graduate level, may be for incoming or outgoing students, and in all cases, they serve to streamline the transfer process for students.
Consortium Agreements
Consortium agreements, sometimes referred to as consortial arrangements, are formed between two or more accredited institutions to provide some portion of one or more aid-eligible educational programs.
Consortium agreements can be used to facilitate the domestic mobility of students, allowing the opportunity to take courses as a guest at another institution while continuing to be enrolled at the home institution. Consortium agreements can also allow enrollment at each institution to count towards a student’s total financial aid award.
- If you are interested in an agreement that allows students to use financial aid for study abroad / international exchanges, refer to the types of Mobility Agreements above. Note that any international agreement is governed by University Policy 3.01.
Contractual Arrangements
A contractual arrangement is used when an institution outsources or subcontracts some portion of an educational program (a degree or certificate program) to an institution or entity that does not have an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes most international institutions and corporations.
Contractual Arrangements are reported to the HLC.
Joint and Dual Degree Agreements
These are agreements to offer degree programs in cooperation with one or more partner institutions. These agreements combine aspects of student mobility, articulation, and consortium/contractual agreements.
Memoranda
There are two main types of Memoranda used at Michigan Tech: MOUs and MOAs. These documents are used to coordinate the University's authorized activities with another entity. These are both generally "agreements to agree", but there is a difference in their specificity and how binding/enforceable each is.
Reverse Transfer Agreements
Reverse transfer agreements facilitate the awarding of associate degrees to students who transfer from a community college to a four-year university before completing their associate's degree. These agreements give students the ability to request that their four-year university credits be evaluated for application toward their associate’s degree.
As reverse transfer agreements are not specific articulation agreements, and it is the college granting the associate’s degree that is evaluating and transcribing the transfer credit, these agreements are directly managed by Transfer Services.
The registrar’s office maintains a list of current reverse transfer agreements.
Academic Agreement List - Under Review
Note: the list below list is being actively revised to better reflect our active agreements. Please reach out to the provost's office if you have specific questions.