Before launching a COIL partnership, it's important to make sure the agreement is well articulated and that potential legal and financial liability is properly vetted.

If you are an instructor at DU, the Office of Internationalization encourages formalized agreement for new partnerships. Formal agreements however are NOT required for running a COILed course. If you choose to develop the partnership further, below is a summary of two pathways to agreements, templates, and considerations.

Articulated Agreement Types for COIL Partnerships

If you are looking for a partnership beyond COIL or expanding from COIL, either an LOU or MOU may be needed for the collaboration.

Pathway 1 - Letter of Understanding

LOUs are typically a more formal written understanding that codifies the collaboration. It may be a precursor for a more expansive partnership agreement or it may be sufficient in itself, especially if there are no funds exchanged between institutions. LOUs may be used for one-off engagements, COIL pilot projects, and other short-term activities. LOU template.

Pathway 2 - Memorandum of Understanding

MOUs are a broad and wide-ranging document that provides an overview of areas of possible collaboration. MOUs should be used for partnerships that go beyond COIL and include other possible cooperation such as research collaboration, faculty/staff exchange. The purpose is to indicate the intention to cooperate on multiple levels, even though some of the areas of cooperation may ultimately not come to fruition. MOUs are not typically signed with companies and do not normally in themselves involve the exchange of services or money. Some universities require MOUs before any collaboration can begin. MOU template.

Note that DU may already have a signed MOU with the institutional partner. Please check with the Office of Internationalization before commencing the MOU signing process.

Approval Process

All MOUs and LOUs must be presented to the Internationalization Council at an early stage in their consideration so that the Council can discuss them and see whether there are other units on campus that might be able to help with making the agreement a reality. It also permits the Council to help make the possible agreement work within the University’s internationalization goals and framework. When ready to be signed, MOUs and LOUs are routed through the contract signing workflow for comment by Risk Management, Legal Counsel, Business Services, and Internationalization. See University Counsel's Contract Review Process for details.

Any MOU or LOU that has not been discussed in the Internationalization Council will not be approved by Internationalization and will be returned to the originating department. At any time in the process of negotiating the MOU or LOU, the Office of Internationalization can help by providing suggestions and insights gained from its own agreements and those of other departments on campus.