USFQ is always interested in new agreements - especially ones that are of mutual benefit to both USFQ and the Partner Institution. Agreements can be custom-tailored, sophisticated, and very specific, or they can be general and simple. Below is a sample agreement that is general. General agreements are nice because they allow for flexibility once the agreement is in effect and once the people involved in the institutions begin to interact and new possibilities emerge. View a sample Memorandum of Understanding.
KINDS OF AGREEMENT
We can think in terms of four kinds of agreements - even, uneven, quasi, or partial. Here is an explanation of these:
- The Even Agreement: In an even agreement, it is possible that no money will ever change hands. This is called a "1 to 1 even exchange" agreement. In a perfect world, a foreign institution sends one student to USFQ, and USFQ sends one student to that institution. The student simply pays tuition at their home institution and is entitled to take a full load at the other institution. Due to our increased international popularity, we prefer to establish this kind of straightforward 1:1 agreement.
- The Uneven Agreement: Even though we like 1:1 agreements, various factors do sometimes lead to special concessions and/or conditions in the agreement.
Such exceptions sometimes occur when the foreign institution agrees to give USFQ students additional financial assistance as an incentive to increase the number of USFQ students coming to their institution; we like that, too, since it increases international opportunities for our students. Often the living and travel expenses inhibit the Ecuadorian student from being able to participate in exchanges, and additional help is needed to make the exchange work. In these cases, an uneven 2:1 ratio might be established (ratios are based on the number of semesters exchanged). This can be negotiated between the two institutions. Here is a typical scenario:
A 2:1 agreement is established, with additional aid by the foreign institution for USFQ students:
- Two foreign students come to USFQ for one semester.
- One USFQ student goes abroad for one semester, but receives additional aid from the partner institution abroad (travel reimbursement, book stipends, room and board, etc.).
- The Quasi-Agreement: We also like to include quasi-agreement details into our memorandums of understanding. In this kind of agreement there are no limits to how many students can actually be sent to each other's institutions. Quasi-agreements basically stipulate that if the ratio is exceeded by one of the universities, the other university can still send students if they simply pay tuition. This payment continues until the original agreement ratio is back in balance. Payment can be made directly by the student, or the university can collect its normal tuition and then pay the other university. Let's continue the example:
Say that we have the above-mentioned 2:1 agreement and your university has already sent its two students for one semester each, but has not received any USFQ students. The actual count is then 2:0, which is to say that the agreement is out of balance (i.e. your institution owes us a semester). Then Jane Smith decides she wants to come to USFQ. The quasi-agreement makes it possible for her to still come to USFQ by paying USFQ's tuition. She can either pay the normal tuition to your institution and you will pay USFQ its tuition, or she can pay us directly (this is up to you). If a USFQ student then wanted to go, the student would still pay USFQ tuition, as per the normal agreement. Your students would stop paying USFQ its tuition once the balance was back at 2:1 (i.e. once USFQ sends enough students to your institution to get the agreement back in balance).
- The Partial Agreement: In this kind of agreement uneven balances are either limited or not allowed. Sometimes legal requirements require universities to enter these types of agreements, even though they halt the exchange of students if the ratio becomes uneven (or uneven to a certain specified degree). To continue with the example:
In this case "Jane Smith" would not be able to come to USFQ because your institution is forced to work within the exchange agreement and tuition cannot be exchanged.
Making Conctact.
If you have already spoken with someone at the university, you are probably well on your way to establishing the agreement and are brainstorming exciting new ways to collaborate.
If you represent an institution of higher learning, and you are viewing this website without having made a contact at USFQ, you may contact the Director of the Office of International Programs to begin discussing how your institution and USFQ might work together. It is likely that the Director of the OIP will put academics from the two institutions in touch with one another to discuss details that will be academically attractive to one another.
Resident Coordinators in Ecuador
