Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence

The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence (OVPAE) processes the following types of domestic agreements related to academic programs:

• Affiliation Agreements (e.g., fieldwork agreements)
• Articulation Agreements
• Memorandum of Agreement (e.g., within-system articulation agreements)
• Memorandum of Understanding

International agreements relating to academic programs should be submitted to the Office of Global Engagement for processing and approval.

All agreements should be submitted to AcadPro@hawaii.edu to begin the review process.

Process

To have an agreement approved, submit the appropriate memo to the OVPAE (AcadPro@hawaii.edu) along with the agreement and any necessary supporting documentation. Prior consultation with the Director of Program Development and Review typically expedites the approval and thus is strongly encouraged for articulation, MOAs, and MOUs. Consultation is not needed when the unit uses the already-approved Office of General Counsel (OGC) template. 

Affiliation Agreements Checklist. If you are submitting an Affiliation Agreement, please be aware of the following points:

1. Office of General Counsel (OGC) Template (if appropriate):
   • Use the correct OGC template from the options in the policy appendix. Factors to consider when selecting the template are:
     • Directionality of the agreement: Inbound (e.g., non-UH students doing fieldwork at UH facilities) vs. Outbound (e.g., UH students doing fieldwork at external sites); 
     • Clinical/Healthcare vs. Non-Healthcare; and 
     • Entity type (private, state, county, or federal) 
   • If no OGC template is appropriate, send the agreement to AcadPro@hawaii.edu: we will secure OGC approval, which typically takes 4-6 months. 
   • If the unit has already secured OGC approval for its agreement, submit written documentation of OGC approval as an attachment to the transmittal memo.
   • Important: Any changes made to the template must be clearly indicated as changes.
     • Depending on the changes made, OGC review may be required.
2. Effective dates: 
   • The effective start date must be sufficiently in the future to allow time for processing, or, in lieu of the date, state, “effective upon signing.”
   • End dates are required. We recommend 1-3 years from the effective start date, and no more than 5 years. 
3. Affiliation/organization information
   • Ensure that the affiliate’s name and address match the legal records available on sites such as those listed below. If there is a discrepancy or if the organization is not in good standing, we cannot approve the agreement.
     • State of Hawaiʻi Business Registration Division, Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (for businesses including non-profits)
     • Hawaiʻi Charities, Tax & Charities Division, Hawaiʻi Attorney General (for charities)
4. Transmittal memo:
   • To submit the agreement to OVPAE, generate a transmittal memo with signatures on the “from” and “via” lines that precede the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence.
   • Best practice: UH Mānoa signatures secured first; affiliation signatures secured second. (In other words, send the agreement without the affiliate’s signature).
   • Submit the memo (and OCG written approval if applicable) as a separate document from the agreement itself.

Articulation Agreement

If you are working on an Articulation Agreement, please refer to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Strategy’s Articulation and Transfer website for guidelines and examples.