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For LSU Faculty
For Prospective International Partners
International Program's Development and Outreach (DO) office encourages faculty to initiate viable and relevant international exchanges and research opportunities. Please read the general information below and then proceed to the two required forms (on this page): Request for Approval and Department Responsibility.
1. Determine the type of agreement needed:
a. A Letter of Intent allows all parties to pledge to cooperate in a spirit of greater understanding and to foster collaboration. The letter expresses their intent to establish joint academic activities, such as research projects, academic seminars and guest lectures as well as faculty and/or student exchange, scholarly materials, research reports and publications. The exact conditions of the collaboration are found in a separate International Agreement.
Although the Letter of Intent is not a prerequisite for an International Agreement, it can be a useful diplomatic tool to formalize the intentions of the two parties. Because it can be obtained fairly quickly, it is also useful as proof of international components required to obtain prior funding for certain grants and projects. Alone, it does not provide for faculty and student exchanges.
b. An International Agreement for Faculty Exchange establishes the conditions, requirements and protections for faculty from LSU and partner institutions wishing to exchange teaching posts. These exchanges require the consent and active involvement of the department chairs. Faculty from either institution also may request positions as “visiting faculty.” This arrangement does not require reciprocity. Parties involved are expected to seek any additional funding needed from outside sources.
c. An International Agreement for Student Exchange provides for the reciprocal exchange of students between LSU and international universities. In order for these agreements to be financially self-sufficient, exchange students pay tuition at their home institutions. These funds are then used to pay the tuition of the visiting students. None of the exchange students pays tuition at the host university. Therefore, LSU students must be scheduled to attend the international university before or concurrently with the students' attending LSU. Otherwise, there are no funds available to pay the tuition for the international student.
Since exchanges must be balanced, semester for semester, faculty requesting student exchanges must obtain departmental support and commitment to recruit and advise LSU students participating on the exchanges. (See form "Department Responsibility). Otherwise, LSU will not be able to accept students from the partner university.
d. The final option is a General Exchange Agreement that provides for exchange of both faculty and students as outlined in b and c above.
2. Although a particular department will request an exchange, the final agreement must be established between LSU and the international institution and signed by the LSU chancellor and the equivalent official at the other university. It is, however, possible to specify departments within the text of the agreement.
3. Upon approval of the exchange request, Development and Outreach (DO) will provide the appropriate agreement template to the faculty member requesting the exchange and to the contact at the prospective partner institution. DO will answer all questions and negotiate the final terms of the agreement. DO will copy the initiator of the agreement on all correspondence between DO and the foreign institution. Relevant correspondence between the LSU department and the foreign institution also should be copied to the DO so that the agreements can be completed in an efficient and effective manner.
Any significant changes proposed to the original text must be approved by LSU lawyers. DO will prepare the final official document, obtain the necessary LSU signatures and forward two official copies to the partner university for signing. They will return one original signed document, which will remain on file with Development and Outreach. A copy will be sent to the department initiating the agreement.
4. Academic Programs Abroad (APA) will coordinate all student exchanges, and International Services (IS) will provide important immigration and insurance information to all international faculty, scholars and students.
Funding
How to Develop a Summer Program
LSU Faculty-led Summer Programs
All LSU summer programs are directed and taught by LSU faculty. Any faculty member (professors and instructors) can develop, direct or teach in a program. We are always looking for new locations and fields of study.
Steps for Establishing a Program
It is important to start planning your program well in advance, generally about one year before the program date.
- Determine a potential site(s) and courses to be taught.
- Identify and recruit additional faculty if needed.
- Based on the preliminary information, develop a program proposal following guidelines that are available here or by visiting Jill Clemmons, Summer Programs coordinator, at (225) 578-6814 or jclemm1@lsu.edu. Proposals are reviewed by an advisory committee at the beginning of each fall semester.
If you are interested in proposing a program, contact Jill Clemmons, Summer Programs coordinator, in Academic Programs Abroad, 105 Hatcher, 225-578-6814.
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Welcome to Development and Outreach at Louisiana State University
A Few Guidelines
If you are interested in pursuing cooperative exchanges and projects with LSU, you are invited to visit the Web sites of our various academic departments as well as the Web site for Louisiana’s Department of Economic Development (http://lded.state.la.us/home.aspx?ref=404). The information you obtain will help you determine the overall suitability of a joint endeavor.
In order to establish viable and dynamic collaborative efforts, we ask that each agreement be sponsored by a particular academic or research department at LSU. Therefore, you will want to begin by establishing contact with a member of the LSU faculty specializing in your discipline.
Nevertheless, the most attractive agreements are those that can draw participants from several different disciplines, so that we have a larger pool of candidates and a more active exchange.
Finally, since most LSU students and faculty are not fluent in foreign languages, the majority of our students will request to attend universities where instruction is in English. We definitely do not want to discourage agreements at sites where English is not the language of instruction, but this limitation might affect the overall feasibility of agreements at certain exchange sites.
Type of International Agreements at LSU
a. A Letter of Intent allows all parties to pledge to cooperate in a spirit of greater understanding and to foster collaboration. The letter expresses the intent to establish joint academic activities, such as research projects, academic seminars and guest lectures as well as faculty and/or student exchange, scholarly materials, research reports and publications. The exact conditions of the collaboration are found in a separate International Agreement.
Although the Letter of Intent is not a prerequisite for an International Agreement, it can be a useful diplomatic tool to formalize the intentions of the two parties. Prior funding for certain grants and projects requires proof of international components. The Letter of Intent can provide that proof rather quickly. However, it cannot be used to activate faculty and student exchanges.
b. An International Agreement for Faculty Exchange establishes the conditions, requirements and protections for faculty from LSU and partner institutions wishing to exchange teaching posts. These exchanges require the consent and active involvement of the department chairs. Faculty from either institution may also request positions as “visiting faculty.” This arrangement does not require reciprocity. Participants must obtain their own supplemental funding, as needed.
c. An International Agreement for Student Exchange provides for the reciprocal exchange of students between LSU and international universities. In order for these agreements to be financially self-sufficient, exchange students pay tuition at their home institutions. These funds are then used to pay the tuition of the visiting students. None of the exchange students pays tuition at the host university. Therefore, LSU students must be scheduled to attend the international university before or concurrently with the students' attending LSU. Otherwise, no funds are available to pay the tuition for the international student.
d. Since exchanges must be balanced, semester for semester, requests for student exchanges must have departmental support and a commitment to recruit and advise students participating on the exchanges. Otherwise, LSU will not be able to accept students from the partner university.
e. The final option is a General Exchange Agreement, which provides for exchange of both faculty and students as outlined in b and c above.
2. Although a particular department will request an exchange, the final agreement must be established between LSU and the international institution and signed by the LSU chancellor and the equivalent official at the other university. It is, however, possible to specify departments within the text of the agreement.
For further general information, please contact Jane Chandler.
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