Developing a Student Mobility Collaboration

This procedure is for University of Glasgow staff intending to develop a Partnership Agreement to support a student mobility collaboration for reciprocal student exchange and/or fee-paying study abroad activity with international higher education institutions.

Why is a student mobility partnership agreement needed?

A mobility partnership agreement is needed to:

  • govern the terms and conditions of the student mobility collaboration
  • outline the roles and responsibilities for each institution when sending and receiving students
  • guarantee the requisite degree of quality assurance needed to support a positive student experience.

Partnership agreements must be formally proposed, approved, and fully signed by both sending and receiving institutions before student mobility can take place.

Timeframe for setting up an agreement

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis.

The approval and signatory process for new partnership agreements can be lengthy. The standard timeframe from proposal to active agreement is 6-12 months.

Partnership agreements must be fully signed and active no later than 1 September each year for mobility taking place from September of the subsequent academic year. This timeframe is to allow for adequate promotion, application, and selection of mobility participants at both institutions, and is in line with standard exchange programming timeframes.

Initial research

University of Glasgow staff should download and complete the:

Student Mobility Collaboration Proposal Form

The fields on the form will help to guide you through the information required to establish a successful student mobility collaboration.

Prior to submission, academic staff should discuss their proposal with:

Proposal submission

Return your completed and signed proposal form along with any relevant communications with the proposed partner (if applicable) to: mobility@glasgow.ac.uk

 

Proposal review and approval

There are two internal review and approval stages.

1. Initial review by University Services

Initial review and approval is taken forward by University Services.  

Proposals will be reviewed and scored in line with the weighting and methodology outlined on the proposal form.

2. Approval Group

Once reviewed and scored, the second approval stage sits with an Approval Group comprised of:

  • Dean for Global Engagement (for relevant geographical region);
  • College Mobility Coordinators, with the recommendation they share information and consult with relevant College International Deans;
  • International Recruitment Manager (for relevant geographical region);
  • Head of Global Opportunities.

Note

Timeframe: University Services aims to complete both approval stages and notify the proposer of the outcome no later than four weeks after receipt of a completed form.

Where proposals are approved: See Approved proposals: Next Steps (below)

Where proposals are not approved: Feedback will be provided to the proposer. Where it is clear that the proposed partner is not suitable for standard student exchange, alternative models or avenues for collaboration can also be discussed depending upon School/Institutional objectives.

Next steps for approved proposals

University Services will take forwards the following to transition the proposal to an active partnership:

  • Contact the partner to take forward partnership negotiation and agreement documentation.
  • Conduct a formal risk assessment. As part of risk assessment, single semester or short-term activity only may be recommended.
  • Undertake a site visit which is normally required before signing final partnership agreement documentation (Site Visit template).
  • Additional site visits may not be necessary if a University of Glasgow staff member has been to the partner recently and can provide the required information.
  • Notify the Proposers and Approval Group when the partnership agreement has been fully signed, and is valid for student mobility.