The following Operating Procedure conforms to the NDU
Student Exchange Policy approved by the University Council and the Board of Trustees.
Exchange/Internship Programs (Managed by OIR-NDU)
Instituting New Exchange/Internship Agreements
We encourage all members of NDU to establish connections with international institutions and to begin the process of designing academic cooperation agreements that are beneficial to their units. The procedure for establishing new agreements is as follows:
1. A preliminary draft of the agreement is generated by the two parties. The originator of the agreement at NDU, whether OIR, Faculties, or NDU personnel (faculty members, staff, or directors) negotiate the terms of the agreement with the outside party, and draft/negotiate the first version of the agreement. We recommend referring to the “NDU MoU Template” and coordinating with OIR to make sure important articles are included in the first draft.
2. Before any signatures (by NDU or the other party), the preliminary agreement should be sent to OIR for review.
3. Once this OIR review is completed and a consensus is reached, OIR will forward the agreement to the NDU Legal Counsel who will provide feedback on the agreement to OIR; OIR will forward the recommendations of the NDU Legal Counsel to the negotiating parties.
4. The final draft that has been approved by all parties will be submitted by OIR to the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs for signatures.
5. OIR will keep a copy of the signed agreements and will forward copies to the NDU originator and to the other party.
Once the agreement is finalized, OIR will manage the agreements, as outlined below.
Assessing Established Agreements
OIR will assess the effectiveness of agreements using three criteria:
1. Number of NDU personnel who participated
2. Exit survey administered by OIR to get feedback from participants
3. Consultation with the units that initiated the agreement
This data will be presented to the Council of Deans for evaluation and discussion.
Renewing Expiring Agreements
Once a decision is reached to renew an agreement with or without modifications, the renewal will be done following a similar procedure to the one used for establishing a new agreement. All agreements have to be approved first by the NDU Legal Counsel who will forward the agreement to OIR who would forward them for signatures.
Managing Agreements
OIR will notify ALL concerned NDU personnel of due dates and application procedures related to each agreement. OIR will collect applications and will organize the review process. Once the participants are selected, the relevant academic units will help students design their curriculum abroad; OIR will liaise with NDU administration and the relevant offices at the partnering institution to facilitate administrative functions, for example student registration, housing, and transportation.
Exchange/Internship Programs (Not Managed by NDU)
OIR will inform students, staff, and faculty of relevant academic, international opportunities provided by extramural institutions. In addition, OIR will identify and nurture such international opportunities that could benefit NDU personnel. OIR will also provide assistance to NDU personnel during the application process.