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Affiliation Agreement Approval Process

Affiliation Agreement Approval Process

Tufts University, its schools, centers, departments, and units frequently enter into affiliation agreements with both domestic and international partners in order to expand the student experience, conduct and enhance the impact of research and scholarship, and provide opportunities for faculty development.

What is an Affiliation Agreement?

“Affiliation Agreement” is a general term that refers to any inter-institutional agreement between Tufts (or one of its schools or the HNRCA) with a Collaborating Institution or Entity in support of academic cooperation, such as academic programs, co-curricular or service opportunities, and/or exchange of students, faculty, scholars, and staff. They can have different names: Memorandum of Understanding, Memorandum of Agreement, Affiliation Agreement, Exchange Agreement, Cooperation Agreement, Collaboration Agreement, and more.

Affiliation Agreements Approvals

All affiliation agreements require internal approval. Certain affiliation agreements require approval from the Office of the Provost, while others may only require approval from the initiating party’s school dean or director. More information can be found in the internal approval policy.

Affiliation Agreements that Require Office of the Provost Approval

  • Joint degree, dual or accelerated certificate agreements
  • Joint admissions agreements or expedited admissions agreements
  • Consortium agreements
  • Academic agreements, student exchange agreements and student internship or externship agreements outside of the United States
  • Health sciences residency agreements and hospital affiliations with institutions outside of the United States

Affiliation Agreements that Do Not Require Office of the Provost Approval but Require School/Center Approval

  • Academic agreements, student exchange agreements and student internship or externship agreements within the United States
  • Health sciences residency agreements and hospital affiliations with institutions within the United States

Agreements that are Not an Affiliation Agreement

Roles and Responsibilities

  • The affiliation agreement submitter is responsible for all conversations with the Collaborating Institution, ensuring proper versioning of the agreement, and aligning the approval process with any expected deadlines.
  • The Office of the Vice Provost for Education is responsible for maintaining KualiBuild and the movement of e agreements through approvals at Tufts and distributing agreements for signature (unless otherwise discussed).

Approval Process for Affiliation Agreements Requiring Provost Approval

Step 1: Negotiate activity and obtain support from school dean or EAD

  • Discuss the initiative with Department Chair, Dean (or their designee) or unit head, and EAD to obtain their support and learn about any applicable school policies and procedures.
  • Confirm financial needs and support.

Step 2: Complete and submit the Affiliation Agreement Online Proposal Form 

  • Complete the Affiliation Agreement Online Proposal Form using the online system (Kualibuild). Please note that you must be logged into the VPN to access the form.
  • If you already have a Tufts-drafted agreement, upload it (with any proposed changes clearly marked), or upload the collaborating institution’s template or proposed draft (with any proposed changes clearly marked). Include details of any financial arrangements related to the collaboration.
  • If there is not yet a draft agreement, your online proposal form will be routed to a contact in the Office of University Counsel, who will work with you to provide the right template.  If prompted by the KualiBuild workflow to add the new template with any proposed changes, please upload it as instructed.
  • We encourage the use of Tufts’ templates, as this will reduce the amount of time to approve and conclude the agreement, but recognize that there are circumstances when it will be appropriate to use the collaborating institution’s (e.g., if Tufts is sending students or faculty to the collaborating institution, if there are special laws or regulations that apply, etc.).
  • Once the Affiliation Agreement Online Proposal Form and accompanying documents are submitted in the online system, they will be reviewed first by your school/unit, then the Offices of the Provost and University Counsel, and approved or returned with revisions.
  • Please allow at least 15 business days for Provost level review after the submission has received all school/unit-level approvals. Some agreements, especially international agreements, may require input and/or approval from various units as part of the approval process. The Office of the Vice Provost for Education will consult those offices and/or provide additional instructions to the agreement lead if needed.

Step 3: Agreement Routing and Revision

  • After the Agreement has passed all approval steps, including having been approved by Office of University Counsel (and any other relevant  units), your proposal form will be routed for signature to the Collaborating Institution.
  • If the Collaborating Institution proposes any changes to the draft, you may resubmit the draft with the changes clearly indicated in the Affiliation Agreement Proposal Form.

Step 4: Execute the Agreement

  • Following approval of the draft by Office of University Counsel and the Office of the Provost, and the Collaborating Institution, the Agreement is ready for signature.
  • The Office of the Vice Provost for Education will route the agreement for final signature via BoxSign. If the Collaborating Institution requires a different process for signature, please be in touch with ovp.education@tufts.edu  to figure out a suitable process.
  • Upon completion of signatures, the agreement will be archived and recorded for information on active agreements and renewals.

Frequently Asked Questions