Global Partnerships

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives activities operate at a variety of levels, including individual students and faculty members, teams and classes, programs, departments, centers, colleges, and the University as a whole. Many of our engagement activities have been, and will always be, carried out by individuals and without formal institutional commitments or agreements, however, the spread and effectiveness of such activities can often be enhanced through formal institutional agreements of the University with foreign institutions and agencies.

Agreements coordinated by the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives include:

  • Long-term (3 or 5 years is typical)
  • With other institutions of higher-learning, although institutions/agencies that are concerned with education, outreach and/or research are occasionally engaged
  • Bi-lateral, although multi-partner agreements/consortia are also occasionally produced.

Current Agreements

Read a full list of all current International Agreements.

The two most common agreements processed by the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives are:

1. General International Memorandum of Understanding (GIMOU)

This is an umbrella agreement that states a general intent to collaborate. It provides basic information about both institutions, but does not articulate specific activities, nor commit resources. In addition, GIMOUs can facilitate certain types of visas applications or prove inter-institutional collaboration for joint grant proposal submissions.

2. Reciprocal Student Exchange Program (RSEP) Agreement

This is an agreement for a two-way student exchange facilitated by UNL’s Education Abroad Office. Usually, students participate for a minimum of one term and take classes for credit. Outgoing students pay tuition and fees to their home institution; these funds are then used to host the incoming exchange students. Equal numbers of participants from each institution is important to maintain financial accounts.

If you want an agreement that does not fall into one of these two categories, please contact the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives directly. Other types of agreements may include (but are not restricted to) non-reciprocal student exchange, study abroad programs, faculty/scholar/staff exchanges, degree completion programs, dual and joint degree programs. In each case, a GIMOU should already exist or be created at the same time as more specific agreements.

Agreements that are NOT processed by the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives include:

  • Specific research collaborations, materials exchanges, and training and technical assistance projects (Contact Sponsored Programs)
  • Agreements between UNL and third-party providers/sponsors of international programs
  • Agreements concerning international business arrangements
Ceremonial Documents:

All agreements created by the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives must be signed by the Chancellor on behalf of the Board of Regents. If you wish to have a document for a signing ceremony, but the Chancellor will not be attending, then the Office of Global Partnerships & Initiatives recommends that the GIMOU be completed first, and at the ceremony, use a certificate that states that the certificate is a ceremonial reiteration of the completed document.