Overview

An academic institutional partnership involves a mutually beneficial collaboration between Miami and a college or university in the U.S. or abroad.

The goals are to:

• Promote access to higher education, including through recruitment of students to Miami University;
• Offer dual enrollment (i.e., College Credit Plus) courses and post-secondary educational opportunities;
• Provide educator professional development;
• Develop and implement dual degree and other combined programs;
• Engage in collaborative research, creative, service, or other educational projects;
• Foster faculty and/or student exchanges, including study abroad or study away.

Process

1. Contact the appropriate Miami office(s) as you begin exploring the partnership. An initial consultation with this office(s) will include an assessment of institutional interest and a discussion of appropriate procedures.
   
   
   • For undergraduate domestic partnerships, contact Kathy Pruckno (513-529-8591) in the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success. Kathy will provide you with general information, make appropriate referrals, and point you to the appropriate templates or forms.
   • For graduate domestic partnerships, contact Jim Oris (513-529-3600), the Dean of the Graduate School. Jim is charged with overseeing the approval of all academic partnership agreements for graduate-level activities.
   • For undergraduate and graduate international partnerships, contact Karla Guinigundo (513-529-5622) in the Office of Global Initiatives.
2. Determine what type of agreement (if any) is needed. If this is the first time Miami University has partnered with a particular institution, it is likely that the first step will be developing a formal and general agreement (also known as a memorandum of understanding or MoU). This formal agreement follows a standard format, expresses the mutual intent to collaborate in areas beneficial to each institution, and is signed by the leadership at both Miami and the partnering institution.
   
   MOUs may lead to more specific activities and goals, which could then be expressed in one of two ways:
   
   
   1.  A "Transfer Advising Program Guide," which provides a curricular pathway between Miami and the partnering institution, using existing and approved curricular opportunities at both institutions, or
   2. A "Detailed Agreement," which articulates the terms of a new (i.e., not previously existing or approved) agreement that involves more specific activity such as academic credit, student and faculty exchange, services, and/or billing. Detailed agreements can take many forms, including (but not limited to): transfer/articulation agreements, international exchange agreements, dual enrollment or College Credit Plus agreements, and joint degree agreements.
3. Submit the MoU or detailed agreement for approval via the online Buyway system. Transfer Advising Program Guides do not need to be submitted to Buyway. These Guides can simply be shared with the partnering institution and posted on websites or shared in other communications.