Section 4: The Lifecycle of an Academic Partnership

Published for 2024-25

4.1 Overview	4.5 Operational and Regulatory Considerations
4.2 Initial Inception	4.6 Memorandum of Agreement
4.3 Procedure for Approval of a New Academic Partnership	4.7 Operation and Monitoring of an Academic Partnership
4.4 Full Proposal Documentation	4.8 Termination of an Academic Partnership
4.9 Academic Partnerships Panel Terms of Reference

4.1 Overview

1.	There are four main stages to the lifecycle of an academic partnership: Inception and approval; Operation and monitoring; Review and renewal; Termination.
2.	The process for management of the lifecycle is situated in Academic Policy, Quality and Standards apart from in the case of student exchange/study abroad programmes, which are managed by the Study Abroad team, and placements and medical electives which are managed by the relevant academic Department.

4.2 Initial Inception

1.	In the first instance, a UCL staff member seeking to instigate an academic partnership must seek initial endorsement to proceed from his/her Head of Department/ Director of Division/Institute and Dean of Faculty. Such partnerships must be considered in line with the policy set out in Part 1 of this framework.
2.	The proposer must then contact the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team who will support the proposal through its lifecycle. Any agreement to proceed with developing the partnership by the relevant Head of Department/ Dean of Faculty must be provided to the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team along with details of the potential partnership.
3.	Advice on how to articulate the partnership activity can be obtained from the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team.
4.	In the case of potential international partners, the department will consult with the Global Engagement team (GE) in order to obtain endorsement for the potential partner.

4.3 Procedure for Approval of a New Academic Partnership

1.	The Academic Partnerships Proposal Form (Annex 8.2) must be completed by the proposer, with support provided by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team. Depending on the nature of the proposal, other departments, e.g., Registry, or particular members of staff, e.g., Teaching and Learning Manager or Finance Manager, may need to be consulted regarding practical aspects of the partnership.
2.	The Joint and Double Research Degree Partnership Form (Annex 8.7) must be completed for these partnerships instead of the Academic Partnerships Proposal Form.
3.	The Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will, with support from the proposer, complete a Due Diligence Checklist (Annex 8.3) and a Risk Assessment (Annex 8.3.1) of the partner institution and partnership activity. Depending on the outcome of these checks Academic Policy, Quality and Standards Additional Financial Due Diligence may be carried out by the Academic Policy and Standards team and/or the Department will be asked to complete a Site Visit Checklist (Annex 8.4) for the proposed partnership. Completed Due Diligence Checklist and Risk Assessment documents will be shared with the partnership proposers prior to consideration by the Academic Partnerships Panel.
4.	The completed New Academic Partnerships Proposal Form, and Site Visit Checklist (as required) are scrutinised and considered for approval by the relevant Departmental Teaching Committee and the Faculty Teaching Committee, or the equivalent committees for research degrees.
5.	The completed forms must then be submitted to the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for final review.
6.	The full proposal, Due Diligence Checklist and Risk Assessment are then submitted to the Academic Partnerships Panel for consideration and institutional approval of the new Academic Partnership.
7.	Approved proposals will be formally approved by the Education Committee or the Research Degrees Committee as appropriate.
8.	Once a proposal has been approved by the Academic Partnerships Panel, the production of a Memorandum of Agreement will be co-ordinated by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team. The draft agreement will be shared with the academic lead for the partnership activity and the Faculty Tutor or Faculty Graduate Tutor, and negotiated with the partner organisation.
9.	Approval for new programmes or modules delivered in partnership must be undertaken in parallel to the academic partnership approval process as per the relevant UCL procedures (see the Programme and Module Approval Framework). Programme approval is required for all joint and double award programmes, dual degree programmes where the UCL award is contingent on the partner institution award and double and joint research degrees. Teaching contribution partnerships will normally also require a level of programme or module approval. Flying Faculty partnerships require approval as a new route to an existing programme, or the full programme approval if the programme is new. The Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will advise the Faculties and Departments on which level of programme or module approval is required for a proposed academic partnership.

4.4 Full Proposal Documentation

Once initial approval to develop an academic partnership has been given, the following documents must be completed and signed off by the relevant parties depending on the type and risk level of the proposed partnership. The following table is intended as a guide as to what is required, although the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will always advise the Departments as to which documents are required for specific partnership:

Documents are required for specific partnership
Academic Partnership Proposal form (Annex 8.2)	This must be completed for all proposals by the proposer. Once completed it should be scrutinised by the Departmental Teaching Committee and Faculty Teaching Committee. The partner institution should also confirm its agreement to certain sections of the form as indicated.
Due Diligence Checklist (Annex 8.3) and Risk Assessment (Annex 8.3.1)	This is completed by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for each new and renewed partnership. Some parts of it may not require completion, depending on the nature and risk level of the intended partnership. A Risk Assessment will also be carried out by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for each new and renewed partnership. These documents will form part of the consideration of the Academic Partnerships Panel.
Site Visit Checklist (Annex 8.4)	This should be completed for all new partnerships, and renewed partnerships where a non-UCL venue is to be used for the provision of part or all of a partnership activity, as advised by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team.
Articulation Agreement Curriculum Mapping (link)	A mapping is required for Articulation agreement proposals where UCL will count credits from the partner institution as part of the UCL degree by admitting the students to the UCL programme with advanced standing. The mapping should include: Evidence of the equivalence of the study workload undertaken at the partner university to the relevant years of the UCL programme (using e.g. credit conversion or learning hours); Evidence of the equivalence of the level of the partner programme to the FHEQ level of the UCL degree (through e.g. an analysis of the assessment methods and/or learning outcomes); and Comparative analysis of the content of the partner programme and the UCL degree to ensure the students possess the relevant skills and knowledge when joining the UCL programme with advanced standing
Joint and Double Research Degree Partnership Form (Annex 8.7)	This must be completed for all Double or Joint PhD proposals by the proposer. Once completed it should be scrutinised by the Departmental Research Degrees Committee and Faculty Research Degrees Committee. The partner institution should also confirm its agreement to certain sections of the form as indicated. The proposer must also follow the standard approval process for Doctoral Programmes set out in Chapter 7, Part B: Programme and Module Approval and Amendment.

4.5 Operational and Regulatory Considerations

1.	The following operational and regulatory issues must be considered when developing a proposal for an academic partnership.

	a)	Marketing and recruitment: how the programme will be marketed and students recruited; what mechanisms are in place to approve any marketing and publicity material produced by either institution.
	b)	Admissions and entry requirements: clarify the process for dealing with applications; clarify any delegation of responsibility to the partner organisation; admissions processes need to take account of both partners’ entry criteria and regulations as well as any PSRB requirements, or joint entry criteria may need to be developed. The entry criteria for partnership programmes should not be lower than for programmes delivered entirely at and by UCL. Any changes proposed to the standard UCL entry requirements, including overseas equivalence of entry qualifications, must be approved by the Programme and Module Approval Panel and documented in the Programme Summary of the relevant programme. English language requirements can never be lower than the standard UCL requirements.
	c)	Assessment arrangements: which assessment regulations will apply to the module(s) or programme(s); who will be responsible for the assessment of students and how will the equivalence of marking practices be guaranteed; which provider’s appeals procedure will be followed and, where appropriate, the relationship between the two procedures; the language of instruction will normally be in English (except for language degrees, where relevant).
	d)	External examiner arrangements: the External Examiner arrangements for the partnership programme must be consistent with the UCL Quality Review Framework; External Examiner(s) have to be appointed for all joint and double/multiple award programmes and the External Examiner(s) need to, on request, have access to samples of assessed work or examination scripts from the partner institution in order to have full oversight of the academic standards for the whole programme; a joint Board of Examiners with representation from both/all institutions should be set up for joint and double/multiple award programmes.
	e)	Financial processes: clarify where, when and how tuition fee income or any other income will be paid and by whom; clarify any invoicing arrangements.
	f)	Learning resources: consider what access to learning resources students require from each partner, e.g. online resources provided by the partner, and how these will be accessed; consider whether staff from each partner organisation will need to access any resources at the other, e.g. library.
	g)	Legal framework: all academic partnerships must be subject to a legally-binding agreement based on approved UCL templates setting out the responsibilities of each party; all legally-binding agreements must be time-limited and undergo review prior to renewal.
	h)	Management arrangements: partnership programmes must be managed in the same way as any other UCL degree programme; an academic lead must be responsible for the management of the programme including liaison with the partner organisation; clarify how the programme will be managed, e.g. by a joint programme committee involving staff from the partner organisation if appropriate, and how this relates to UCL management structures.
	i)	Monitoring arrangements: Departments/Institutes and Faculties must monitor and review academic partnerships within the UCL Quality Review Framework.
	j)	Quality management: as UCL is responsible for the learning experience of students registered on its qualifications, the UCL Quality Review Framework must apply to academic partnerships programmes.
	k)	Award details/certification: in the case of joint or multiple awards: arrangements for the production and content of degree certificates and transcripts must be defined; arrangements relating to graduation processes and/or ceremonies must be clearly laid out.
	l)	Classification: Where the UCL qualification is contingent on credit obtained at the partner institution, the formula for calculating the classification for the programme must be agreed. If the number of credit taught by the partner institution constitutes a maximum of 1/2 of the credits required for the UCL qualification; the partner institution does not use the UCL marking scheme; and UCL is the sole degree-awarding body for the qualification, the grades from the partner institution may be excluded from the classification of the UCL qualification. For jointly awarded qualifications, either the standard UCL, the partner institution or a jointly developed classification scheme may be used. If the standard UCL classification is not used, the proposed classification scheme must be approved by PMAP as part of the programme approval process. The classification scheme for each academic partnership programme that does not use the standard UCL classification scheme must be set out in the programme summary and the additional student terms and conditions for that programme.
	m)	Resources: clarify the staffing resources required, including the academic lead, from both organisations; consider the implications for UCL estates and facilities where relevant.
	n)	Registration and induction: clarify who is responsible for registering and inducting students on the partnership programme, including the registration status of students; in the case of joint or multiple programmes, students must remain registered at UCL during any periods of time spent at the partner institution; clarify whether students will remain registered at both institutions for the duration of the programme; consider any visa requirements and any requirements relating to Student Visa responsibilities; information on the partnership programme must be made available to students, particularly around regulations and procedures, access to learning resources within both institutions, student support and assessment, and any transfer of data between the partners, e.g., personal details, transcripts.
	o)	Student support: students registered at UCL on a partnership programme should be entitled to the same student support services, e.g., for disability, as students on other UCL degrees; clarify how students moving between organisations will access these services and how support will be configured; how student feedback is collected, shared and acted upon by the partner institutions.
	p)	Data transfer what personal data (student and/or staff) is shared with the partner institution and is any of that data special category sensitive data; If the partner institution is based outside the European Economic Area (EEA), Departments must comply with the guidance on Transfers of personal data outside the EEA; data protection issues must be addressed in the Memorandum of Agreement as advised by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team.

2.	When developing the proposal in liaison with the partner institutions, the proposer should consult with colleagues who might contribute to the development and operation of the programme. As a guide, these may include:

	i)	Faculty Tutor/Faculty Graduate Tutor
	ii)	Academic staff involved in the programme
	iii)	Faculty manager
	iv)	Departmental learning and teaching manager
	v)	Departmental/ Institute manager/finance officer (for operational and financial advice, administrative resourcing issues)
	vi)	Central UCL colleagues (e.g. the GEO; Education Services, Admissions, the Doctoral School)

3.	Failure to consult adequately may result in aspects of the proposed partnership programme not working effectively, e.g. students not being registered correctly, or degree certificates not being produced with the correct details.
4.	If staff are unclear as to who they should consult with, they should speak to the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for advice.

4.6 Memorandum of Agreement

1.	Once a proposed academic partnership has been fully approved by the Academic Partnership Panel (and any associated programme approval completed), the proposer must ensure that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is adapted and signed by both UCL and the partner organisation(s). All approvals and renewals are conditional on the signing of a MOA.
2.	The Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will support this process and draft the MOA in liaison with the academic Departments.
3.	It is the responsibility of the UCL academic lead for the academic partnership to ensure they are familiar with the content of the MOA and for ensuring that both UCL and the partner organisation adhere to the responsibilities set out in the agreement.
4.	Advice on the template to be used and finalising of the MOA is available at any time from the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team.
5.	The authorised signatories for Memoranda of Agreement for academic partnerships are set out below with reference to the Council-approved Delegated Authorisation Limits:

Council-approved Delegated Authorisation Limits
Description of the agreement	Signatories
Value of the MoA or potential UCL liability under the MoA of over £250k With an international partner	Chief Financial Officer/Vice-President Operations Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement) Head of Doctoral School (research degrees)
Value of the MoA or potential UCL liability under the MoA of up to £250k With an international partner	Vice-Provost, Education and Student Experience (taught degrees)/Head of Doctoral School (research degrees) Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement)
Value of the MoA or potential UCL liability under the MoA of over £250k With a UK partner	Chief Financial Officer/Vice-President Operations Vice-Provost, Education and Student Experience/Head of Doctoral School (research degrees)
Value of the MoA or potential UCL liability under the MoA of up to £250k With a UK partner	Vice-Provost, Education and Student Experience/Head of Doctoral School (research degrees)

6.	UCL Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team must retain one fully-signed original copy of the MOA and another must be returned to the partner organisation.
7.	UCL Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will keep central records of all MOA signed for academic partnerships under this framework. During the academic year preceding the year when a MOA is due to expire, the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will contact the relevant Department and Faculty to facilitate the renewal of the agreement (unless the Department wishes to terminate the partnership instead, in which case the provisions in Section 4.8 apply).
8.	To ensure that the academic partnership is viable and continues to provide excellent learning opportunities to the students, the Departments must complete Annex 8.5 Academic Partnership Renewal Form for consideration and approval by the Academic Partnerships Panel (APP) on behalf of Education Committee and Research Degrees Committee. An updated Due Diligence Checklist and Risk Assessment for the partnership proposal and partnership institution will also be carried out by the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for consideration by APP as part of the renewal. These documents will be shared with the partnership proposers prior to submission to the APP. Where applicable a new Site Visit Checklist must also be completed to ensure that there have been no changes in the delivery site since the original partnership approval. The renewal of the agreement will not take place until approval for the continuation of the partnership has been obtained by APP.
9.	If there is no APP-approved and fully signed MOA in place for an academic partnership on 1 September in any year, the recruitment of the next intake to that programme or module (if the module is not compulsory) must be suspended until the Memorandum of Agreement has been fully signed. Any APP-approved partnership renewals without a fully signed MOA will be reported to the first Education Committee of the Academic Year following expiry of the partnership.
10.	If a change is proposed to an academic partnership during the term of the MOA (e.g., a programme amendment), advice should be sought from the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team to determine whether the MOA requires amendment. Should an amendment to the MOA be required, the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will draft a Variation of Agreement letter to reflect the change and ensure that this is signed by UCL and the partner organisation(s) in liaison with the relevant Faculty.
11.	A report will be submitted once a term to the Quality and Standards Committee showing all fully signed new and renewed partnerships from the previous term.

4.7 Operation and Monitoring of an Academic Partnership

1.	The academic Departments are responsible for managing the academic partnerships they have, with support from the Faculty and any relevant professional service departments. The Department appoints an Academic Programme Director for the partnership, who is the first point of contact for all matters relating to the partnership and programme.
2.	Departments should also appoint a dedicated member of administrative support staff to assist the Academic Programme Director in fulfilling their responsibilities.
3.	The specific key responsibilities of the Academic Programme Director are set out in the Memorandum of Agreement relating to the partnership. The responsibilities can vary depending of the type of academic partnership, but the following responsibilities normally apply to taught degrees: acting as the first point of contact for the partner institution at UCL; having an oversight of marketing and recruitment of students as well as admissions and registration of students on the programme at UCL; ensuring that the teaching and assessment processes are carried out as per respective institutional requirements; assuring the academic standards and quality management of the programme in line with institutional and external national requirements, including student engagement and feedback processes for all parts of the programme; the day to day management of students registered on the programme; liaison with academic and professional services staff at UCL and partner institution as appropriate; ensuring external examiner(s) are appointed to the programme, and liaising with the external examiner(s) as appropriate; ensuring that all information published and made available to students and other stakeholders through both institutions is accurate, up to date and reliable; ensuring that information on the students’ achievement, performance and registration on the programme while they are based at the partner institution is obtained and processed by UCL as necessary for the purposes of managing students’ records and awarding the degree; ensuring that the conditions and terms stated in the Memorandum of Agreement are adhered to within UCL.
4.	Most academic partnerships (as set out in the Memorandum of Agreement) will require a Joint Management Committee, which includes representatives from both/all institutions and meets at least annually to discuss developments and issues relating to the partnership and programme. A template agenda for a Joint Management Committee can be found in Annex 8.8. Further terms of reference and operation for each Joint Management Committee are set out in the relevant Memorandum of Agreement.
5.	Where an academic partnership has a Joint Management Committee, the Department is required to provide the minutes of the meetings from the previous academic year, to the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team via apqs@ucl.ac.uk by the 1st October.
6.	Academic partnerships are periodically reviewed as part of UCL’s Internal Quality Review processes (see Chapter 9: Quality Review Framework).
7.	The viability and operation of an academic partnership are evaluated upon the renewal of the relevant Memorandum of Agreement (see Section 4.6).

4.8 Termination of an Academic Partnership

1.	Termination of a collaborative partnership may be categorised in one of three main ways as follows:

	i)	Termination of the partnership by UCL before the term of the Memorandum of Agreement has finished;
	ii)	Non-renewal of the Memorandum of Agreement when its term has expired. This may be by mutual agreement of both institutions or by one institution or the other not wishing to continue the collaboration;
	iii)	Termination by the partner organisation before the Memorandum of Agreement has reached its full term.

2.	Termination of a partnership by UCL may be for a number of reasons, for example, failure to recruit sufficient student numbers to make the partnership viable, financial matters, quality issues or government changes in the country of the partner institution. These examples are not exhaustive.
3.	The partner organisation may terminate the partnership with UCL for a variety of reasons, some of which may be similar to those given above.
	Termination and Duty of Care to Students
4.	Whatever the reasons for the termination of an academic partnership, whether mutually agreed or by one partner or the other, both institutions have a duty of care to students studying and registered on a programme carrying a UCL award. The duty of care is such that students must be able to complete their programme to the normal timescales. UCL should endeavour to agree an exit strategy with the partner organisation that ensures this duty of care is met for students.
	Exit Strategy
5.	Unless the Memorandum of Agreement includes specific and clear reference to the obligation of both parties to continue to support the students even after the expiry or termination of the agreement until all students have successfully completed their UCL programme or module, the two organisations should agree an exit strategy that ensures all current students can complete their UCL programme. This should be a written document and may take the form of a letter. An exit strategy should also include timescales for current students to complete their programme of study and allow for the possibility of resits, deadline extensions and so forth where there are justified extenuating circumstances.
6.	Where a partner institution cannot provide an arrangement which will provide this duty of care to students, for example, due to insolvency resulting in ceasing to trade, it is the responsibility of UCL to ensure the duty of care to current, enrolled students is met. This may require alternative arrangements for teaching, assessing and providing equivalent learning opportunities for the students.
	Approval
7.	Annex 8.6 Academic Partnership Termination Form should be completed and signed as indicated for partnership terminations that do not involve terminating a degree programme or a route on a degree programme. When complete, this should be submitted to the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team for report to the Academic Partnerships Panel (APP).
8.	The arrangements for termination, duty of care to students and the exit strategy as set out in the termination form must be approved by the Head of the Academic Department and then signed off by the Dean of Faculty or the Faculty Tutor. If the partnership is a non-UK partnership, the Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team will also inform the Global Engagement team of the termination.
9.	Where the partnership termination involves terminating a degree programme or a route on a degree programme, the programme withdrawal process set out in Chapter 7, Part B: Programme and Module Approval and Amendment must be followed instead of using Annex 8.6 Academic Partnership Termination Form. The Programme Withdrawal Form will be also approved by the Academic Partnerships Panel where it includes a termination of an academic partnership.
10.	The Academic Policy, Quality and Standards team can offer advice and guidance on matters to do with termination, exit strategy and duty of care to students if required.

4.9 Academic Partnerships Panel Terms of Reference

	The Academic Partnerships Panel has delegated authority for the regulatory oversight and review of academic partnerships with other organisations (both UK and international) which lead to or involve the award of UCL credit and/or qualifications.
	Specifically, the Academic Partnerships Panel will:

	1.	Review proposals for new academic partnerships:
		a) ensuring that they are consistent with UCL’s mission and strategy;
		b) checking that full details have been provided in the proposal and that all relevant due diligence has been carried out to the Panel’s satisfaction;
		c) considering whether the proposal is in line with the UCL Academic Partnerships Framework;
		d) consider any operational and/or practical issues arising and how these should be resolved;
		e) where appropriate, request amendments to proposals.
	2.	Consider proposals for renewals and terminations of academic partnerships in line with the UCL Academic Partnerships Framework;
	3.	Make a recommendation to the Education Committee or Research Degrees Committee, as appropriate, for the approval or rejection of proposals;
	4.	Where appropriate, consider reports arising from Annual Student Experience Review (ASER) and Internal Quality Review (IQR) relating to academic partnerships;
	5.	Ensure that the appropriate new academic partnerships are reported to the Office for Students in line with Condition 3F of the OfS Regulatory Framework.
	6.	Report to and from the Education Committee and Research Degrees Committee on academic partnership activity.

	Membership
	Director of Education Services (Chair)
	1 x Quality and Standards Manager
	At least 2 x representatives from Education Committee not involved in proposals on the agenda
	Representative(s) of professional services team as appropriate to the agenda

	Membership - Joint/Double Research Degrees
	Pro-Vice-Provost (Doctoral School) (Chair)
	Director of Education Services
	1 x Quality and Standards Manager
	At least 2 x representatives from Research Degrees Committee not involved in proposals on the agenda
	Representative(s) of professional services team as appropriate to the agenda