Academic & Research

The Lebanese American University supports a broad range of international partnerships — from individual research collaborations and scholarly visits among faculty members to larger platforms for student programs and joint research projects or laboratories. Many of these activities can flourish without written agreements. But in many cases, a written contract may be needed. The following resources will guide you in determining when a written agreement is needed and walk you through the process of drafting/legal review/approval/LAU signature. Additional questions can be addressed to: international.agreements@lau.edu.lb.

What is an International Agreement?

An international agreement is a document that defines the terms of cooperation between the Lebanese American University and another institution or organization. The Board of Trustees is the legal governing body for the university and has delegated official signature authority for international agreements to the President’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and the concerned academic units and offices depending on the type and scope of the agreement. Please note that agreement documents signed by individual LAU employees who do not have official signature authority for the trustees are not valid.

MOU-MOA Guidelines

This page provides information and guidance to LAU faculty and academic units regarding the preparation, review and approval venues of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), Memorandums of Agreement (MoA), and Affiliation Agreements. The Provost’s Office will serve as the liaison and work with the appropriate offices to assist with routing and finalizing all agreements that fall under the academic umbrella as delineated in the Responsible Offices section below.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The MOU is a document that describes broad concepts outlining terms and details of mutual understanding or agreement, and indicating an intended common line of action. An MOU does not require any party to commit funds and/or create duties or legally enforceable obligations or liabilities.

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA): In contrast to MOUs, an MOA is a document delineating in detail the specific roles and responsibilities, as well as actions to be taken by each party to realize the agreed upon goals. An MOA may include common legal terms that establish a “conditional agreement” through which financial obligations are anticipated.

Affiliation Agreement: An affiliation agreement is between the university and another entity with the purpose of providing an educational opportunity for students such as clinical experience, and internship. This type of agreement must be used with any experiential learning experience requiring student to have a professional liability insurance.

When using the university templates, addendums can be added to contracts and will follow the regular review and approval process.

Responsible Offices

Below are the offices designated and responsible for review/securing approvals in conjunction with the Legal Counsel and delegates of signature authorities. 

* All academic agreements related to credit-bearing courses, student practicum, and academic programs will be processed by the Provost’s Office, thereby ensuring that the agreement supports university goal(s), and complies with accreditation standards and reporting.

** All agreements related to faculty exchange, faculty collaboration, research, and use of facilities etc.  will be handled by the Provost’s Office. The office will consult with the Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) when need be, following the process delineated in the next section.

Guiding Practice Process Map

Purpose and Key Elements to Consider

Besides determining the purpose and details of the agreement one shall consider its contribution to the strategic plan and/or goals of the department/school and university, ensuring that it remains consistent with the mission and values of the university. Other factors to consider are safety, health, financial, and legal restriction associated with the other party. One shall consider relevant efforts and outcomes of old or existing agreements with external party.

Agreement Status

Before attempting to create a new agreement, consider checking if the goals/needs are already addressed in an existing and active agreement. Agreements emanating from faculty should be addressed to the department chair, for follow up with the Dean’s Office. The below chart delineates the process.

New Agreement Write-Up Process

The below chart outlines the process to set up an agreement and secure necessary approvals from all university bodies and entities.

Faculty members, and/or the department chair/program director, are encouraged to propose activities of collaboration with other institutions, provided this reinforces the school mission, and does not conflict with LAU’s mission and values. As such, agreements can be initiated by different stakeholders (e.g., faculty, department, Dean’s Office) and can target different entities at the university (department, institute, school, university).

Concerning agreements involving student exchange, the International Services and Programs (ISP) office is informed by the Dean’s Office to develop a protocol for collaboration (agreement on terms, etc.) that would be incorporated in the MOU or appended as an addendum to the MOU. After finalizing the concerned parties’ signatures, the Provost’s Office will send a copy of the signed agreement to all concerned parties (CC’ing ISP). The Provost’s Office will assist in the implementation of the agreement.

Evaluation

Upon receiving the written agreement, the Provost’s Office will facilitate review by the Legal Counsel and other relevant entities. At least 2-4 weeks should be allowed for review and approval once a draft is completed.  If the agreement requires alternation, the Provost’s Office will contact the initiator to discuss recommendations. The initiator or unit in charge is responsible for notifying the external party of any changes to the agreement.

All agreements should be vetted by the Legal Counsel, and cleared by the Provost’s Office and the President’s Office. A record of MOUs and other academic agreements shall be available at the Provost’s Office, with a copy to all pertinent stakeholders.

Signatories