STEP 1: First Considerations:
Individual faculty who have an interest in developing a partnership with a particular institution or nation, do so because of their own research and teaching interests, a heritage connectivity, or because the other university asked to formalize an agreement and develop a specific academic linkage. A faculty member should ask herself/himself these questions:
(A) Am I willing to devote the time, energy, and personal resources necessary to shape and implement an international partnership and give it priority over an extended period of time?
(B) Is this university or organization going to be a suitable partner for Cal State Fullerton? That is, what is their accreditation status? What similarities do they have with our university or what special differences exist that might be appealing to our students and to other faculty? Does the other university or entity have the capacity [read "financial means"] to launch and contribute to the partnership?
(C) What are the opportunities for third-party support? For example, the US A.I.D.'s program, "TIES" was central to our development of a partnership with the Autonomous University of Tlaxcala in Mexico.
(D) How anxious is the potential partner? The greater the sense of urgency, the more that the university abroad may work diligently to meet our needs. However, it could also mean that the institution has limited resources and is looking to Cal State Fullerton as merely as a connection to illustrate its legitimacy and international stature.
(E) Will a partnership with this institution have sufficient appeal to attract a good participation response from CSUF students? Picturesque settings in Europe, the dynamic changes in China, and heritage connections within the Spanish- or Mandarin-speaking areas of the world are going to be more appealing than say, Scandinavia or certain areas of the Middle East.
These and a host of other considerations can serve to organize conversations within your academic department or unit, regarding the prospects for an appealing international partnership. It is most helpful if others at CSUF share your interest in this location, if not in the specific institution.
STEP 2: Discuss the ideas next with your department chair and college dean:
Such conversations are vital to lay the important groundwork for a partnership and to avoid investing much time and effort in pursuing a direction that is not going to be supported by others. Be prepared to respond to such questions as How will this linkage draw upon and enhance the expertise of our faculty? What is the connection with our curriculum? What will be the appeal to either our CSUF students or to constituent students from abroad? What is envisioned programmatically? --- faculty exchanges, student exchanges, delivery of workshops or a training program, offering a CSUF degree abroad or a focused research project?
Put these ideas into a bullet-form outline of two pages or less to serve as a "roadmap" to guide these initial discussions. The Dean's Office may be aware of special funding sources that can facilitate the project and may also be open to the idea of providing "seed money" to help launch the partnership [e.g., partial support for international travel].
STEP 3: Further discussion with the Academic Programs Office and University Extended Education:
If these preliminary conversations are encouraging and you believe that a solid base of support, then the next step is to engage in a formal conversation with the Associate Vice President for Academic Programs (McCarthy Hall 111) and/or the Director of University Extended Education (College Park 900).
Both offices are the primary authors in preparing formal agreements with international partners. Academic Programs provides general information and advice to faculty and staff who wish to create partnerships and deals with any review curriculum approvals and delivery of academic credit courses or degrees. That office also archives all approved formal partnerships, ranging from "Letters of Intent" or "Memoranda of Understanding" that express goodwill exchanges to "International Agreements" that specify a program delivery and commitment of university resources. The Office of Extended Education helps to define and then delivers specific programs as workshops, training programs, or cohort-based extended learning experiences for groups of visiting scholars or visiting officials. UEE is the unit of the university that is responsible for "Special Session" that are offered outside the regular time blocks in the official university calendar, such as the activities such as those listed above. UEE also is an excellent source of information in dealing with international travel planning and protocols in working with universities abroad.
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