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Office of Global Engagement

Faculty & Staff Resources

International Agreements (MOAs)

MOA's (Memorandum of Agreement) are collaborative agreements between Texas A&M University-Kingsville and different institutions around the world! 

Faculty, academic departments, and/or colleges wanting to enter into an international academic agreement with an international institution can initiate the process by reviewing the information below.

International Agreement Types 

  • General Collaboration Agreement/MOA:Used as a way of formalizing cooperation without defining how, this type of agreement does not outline specific programming but shows clear intent of collaboration. This general MOA does not vary from the general MOA template and may be finalized quickly. 
  • Reciprocal Student Exchange Agreement (REEP): This agreement establishes the parties’ roles and responsibilities, program requirements and terms and conditions pertaining to the implementation of reciprocal student exchanges between TAMUK and an institution abroad. REEP activities have financial, accreditation, and immigration implications and require a thorough evaluation.
  • Funded or Unfunded Research Collaboration Agreement: These types of agreements provide a framework for collaboration on academic research, addresses intellectual property ownership, and provides for compliance with applicable laws. If they are general enough to use an MOA, the general MOA template will be provided. However, this template is NOT appropriate for relationships that involve any exchange of goods or services, sponsored research projects, activities associated with restricted technologies, or activities that are expected to lead to the development of commercial intellectual property, such as licenses and patents. Please refer to the Office of Research & Innovation for more information regarding these types of agreements.
  • International Service Provider Contract – These types of agreements are used in support of university approved global programs and may be used with either a U.S. or foreign-based vendor (e.g. a university, travel agent, hotel, study abroad provider, etc.) who will provide services necessary to implement all or part of the student program.

International Agreement Activities   

  • Research Activities: Prior to initiating any international research activities or global engagements, all TAMUK employees are to submit the International Collaborations Request Form to the Office of Research & Innovation's Research Compliance team via the link below: 

CONSULT YOUR SUPERVISOR

In the process of establishing a formal international agreement, you should first consult your department head, unit director, college dean or other campus officials, as appropriate.

 PARTNERSHIP CONSIDERATIONS

 Alignment with Texas A&M University-Kingsville Vision & Goals

  • Strength of alignment with Texas A&M vision and goals and the corresponding Texas A&M vision and objectives
  • Articulation of learning, academic, and/or research objectives to be achieved through the potential partnership 

Academic Parity

  • Ranking and accreditation of the international institution
  • Articulation of the value added to the existing academic/research curricula of TAMUK

 Sustainability

  • Fiscal resources available to engage in the international partnership
  • Strength of interest and recruitment methods to support levels of participation
  • Articulation of evaluation mechanisms to determine the success of the partnership

Intellectual and Geographic Diversity

  • The geographic diversity of the partnership in relationship to the existing partnerships
  • Diversity in enrichment experiences and in courses offered

 Academic Requirements

  • Strength of pairing between existing TAMUK degrees and those of the international institution
  • Strength of pairing between existing TAMUK academic requirements and those of the international institution

Program Deadlines

  • Most agreements will not be subject to deadlines but if a current Reciprocal Educational Exchange Program (REEP) agreement will expire during the time a student could be outbound, the deadline for a fully executed renewal agreement is the student study abroad program application deadline.

SUBMIT JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT

The Justification Statement is an internal document that is used to provide a detailed overview to TAMUK administration regarding the background, areas of cooperation, and partnership goals associated with the proposed international partnership. 

Justification Statements are required to be completed and signed by the TAMUK employee proposing the international partnership agreement and their direct supervisor before submitting to the Office of Global Engagement (kunab001@tamuk.edu) to initiate the drafting of the appropriate international agreement.

Once the draft agreement is finalized, the Justification Statement will be included in the review packet sent when routed by the Office of Global Engagement to receive all appropriate signatures at the University level and will stay with the finalized agreement for record keeping and retention purposes.

DETERMINING AND DRAFTING AN AGREEMENT TYPE

Depending on the information provided on the submitted Justification Statement form, the Office of Global Engagement will provide a working draft of the following international agreement types:

  • General Collaboration Agreement/MOA:Used as a way of formalizing cooperation without defining how, this type of agreement does not outline specific programming but shows clear intent of collaboration. This general MOA does not vary from the general MOA template and may be finalized quickly. 
  • Reciprocal Student Exchange Agreement (REEP): This agreement establishes the parties’ roles and responsibilities, program requirements and terms and conditions pertaining to the implementation of reciprocal student exchanges between TAMUK and an institution abroad. REEP activities have financial, accreditation, and immigration implications and require a thorough evaluation. The implementation of a reciprocal student exchange requires a balance of the course credit count of incoming and outgoing students. Per SACSCOC policies, an exchange may not begin until a fully executed agreement exists and SACSCOC has been notified by the Office of the Provost.  Before a REEP agreement may be approved, the program must meet following policies and procedures:

  • Funded or Unfunded Research Collaboration Agreement: These types of agreements provide a framework for collaboration on academic research, addresses intellectual property ownership, and provides for compliance with applicable laws. If they are general enough to use an MOA, the general MOA template will be provided. However, this template is NOT appropriate for relationships that involve any exchange of goods or services, sponsored research projects, activities associated with restricted technologies, or activities that are expected to lead to the development of commercial intellectual property, such as licenses and patents. Please refer to the Office of Research & Innovation for more information regarding these types of agreements.
  • International Service Provider Contract – These types of agreements are used in support of university approved global programs and may be used with either a U.S. or foreign-based vendor (e.g. a university, travel agent, hotel, study abroad provider, etc.) who will provide services necessary to implement all or part of the student program.

COMPLIANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS   

Please note, all international agreements between Texas A&M University-Kingsville and foreign partners are governed by a combination of Federal law, Texas State law, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules, Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), Texas A&M University-Kingsville policies and, where appropriate, Export Control laws. The most up to date agreement templates address these issues but changes are inevitable and unpredictable.

The Office of Global Engagement coordinates with various units on campus to ensure all rules and regulations are satisfied. Some of which include, but are not limited to:

To ensure compliance with the United States Export Control Laws and Regulations, please visit the Office of Compliance for more detailed information prior to the submission of the Justification Statement form.

To ensure that a country is not on the Department of State Travel Warning List visit travel.state.gov website for the most up-to-date travel warnings.

ROUTING FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURES

Once the final draft of the agreement has been approved, the Office of Global Engagement will provide an electronic copy of document to the TAMUK point of contact to secure all appropriate signatures from the foreign partner. The signed final draft should be resubmitted to the Office of Global Engagement to begin routing of the International Agreement Request – Internal Review & Approval Form to receive the appropriate signatures from each of the divisions listed below prior to the agreement receiving final authorization:

  • Division of Finance – VP of Finance or Authorized Representative’s Signature Required
  • Division of Academic Affairs – Provost or Authorized Representative’s Signature
  • Office of the President – President or Authorized Representative’s Signature

Only the President’s signature will be required on the international agreement and all others will be documented on the International Agreement Request – Internal Review & Approval Form. The Justification Statement described in earlier steps will also be a part of the package routed for the President’s signature.

RECORD KEEPING AND RETENTION

All agreements will be printed to receive physical signatures during the routing and approval process at the University level. After all agreement copies are signed by the appropriate signatories, the Office of Global Engagement will distribute the finalized document directly to the foreign partner and to the university’s Procurement Department Services for record keeping and retention purposes. 

Active International Agreements
Partner Country Active Date End Date Agreement Type Internal Requestor 
United International University Bangladesh 2/17/2020 N.D.  Articulation Agreement College of Engineering 
National Service of Industrial Learning - SENIA DR/GO Brazil  10/26/2022 10/26/2026 MOA Only College of Agriculture & Natural Resources 
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano Brazil 11/17/2022 12/31/2027 MOA Only  College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
University of Caldas in Colombia Colombia 11/19/2021 11/19/2026 MOA Only College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Groupe Kedge Business School

 

 France 1/13/2020 1/31/2025 MOA, Student Exchange Addendum, and Faculty Exchange Addendum College of Business Administration 
Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Salvatierra Mexico 7/29/2021 4/31/2031 MOA, Student Exchange Addendum, and Faculty Exchange Addendum College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Park and Biodiversity Commission of Tamaulipas Mexico 7/13/2021 N.D. MOA Only College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
National Changhua University of Education Taiwan 11/15/2019 9/16/2024 MOA, Student Exchange Addendum, and Faculty Exchange Addendum College of Education & Human Performance

 

Below are the international institutions which previously held international agreements with Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Faculty, academic departments and/or colleges interested in collaborating with any of these previous partners are asked to contact, program coordinator, Nicolette Dacke (nicolette.dacke@tamuk.edu) for more information. 

Previous International Partners

Asia

Bangladesh - South Asia

  • American International University - Bangladesh, active 2019-2021

Bhutan - South Asia

  • Royal Thimphu College, active 2019-2023

China - East Asia

  • Guilin University of Technology, active 2011-2016
  • Anhui Agricultural University, active 2015-2020
  • Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, active 2014-2019 
  • Henan University, active 2015-2019
  • Nanjing Forestry University, active 2015-2018 
  • Ningxia Normal University, 2016-2021
  • Northwest Normal University, active 2016-2021 (March)
  • Sias International University

United Arab Emirates, Dubai - West Asia

  • Try Hard Language Training Institute, active 2012-2017

India - South Asia

  • University of Agricultural Sciences, active 2003-2008

Japan - East Asia

  • Nara Prefectural University, active 2018-2020
  • Yamanashi Prefectural University, active 2018-2020
  • University of Fukui, active 2018 - 2023

Kyrgyz Republic - Central Asia

  • International Ala-too University

South Korea - East Asia

  • Chungman National University, active 2011-2016

Taiwan - East Asia

  • Oriental Institute of Technology, active 2016-2021

Kuwait - West Asia

  • Kuwait International University of Science & Technology, active 2010-2015

Vietnam - Southeast Asia

  • Hanoi University of Mining & Geology, active 2016-2021 (February)
  • Petrovietnam University 

Africa

Egypt - Northeast Africa

  • Delta University for Science and Technology, active 2011-2017
  • Assiut University, active 1999-2004

Central America

Belize

  • Citrus Research and Education Institute, active 2013-2018

Guatemala 

  • Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, active 1998-2003
  • Universidad Rural de Guatemala, active 1998-2003

Mexico

  • Center of Biotechnology on Genomics in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico
  • Universidad Autonoma De Tamaulipas, active 2015-2020
  • Anahuac Xalapa University in Mexico, active 2013-2018
  • Northeast University, active 2014-2019
  • Universidad Politencia del estado De Guerrero, active 2009-2014 

Europe

France - West Europe

  • Universite Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, active 1999-2004

Georgia - East Europe/West Asia

  • International Black Sea University, active 2016-2021

Germany - West Europe

  • International School of Agribusiness Management
  • University of Applied Sciences, Schmalkalden, Thuringia

Greece - Southeast Europe

  • The American College in Greece 

Spain - Southwest Europe

  • The University of Cordoba 

United Kingdom - Northwest Europe

  • University Highlands and Islands, Scotland

South America

Bolivia

  • Universidad Autonoma Del Beni, active 2017-2020

Chile

  • Universidad de Vina Del Mar, active 2000-2005 

Colombia 

  • Pontifical Bolivarian University in Bucaramanga, active 2012-2017