This policy was developed for the purpose of providing faculty and staff with the requirements for the approval, modification, and review of sequential and dual degree programs between UW–Madison and a university in another country¹. The policy also provides information about curriculum and governance structures; suggests standards for admission, continuation, and completion for each program; and offers possible models for these sequential and dual degree programs. Thus, this policy is designed to reduce barriers to develop such collaborations.

¹ This policy was modeled after a similar set of guidelines produced by Texas A&M.

Introduction and Overview

There are many modes of collaboration with international universities. Faculty, staff, and administrators who are planning collaborations should consult the companion document “Modes of International Academic Program and Course Collaborations” for details and information about accessing policies that pertain to those approaches.

Some collaborations with international universities do not require the full approval process. For example, a “Letter of Agreement” may be sufficient in some cases, especially when collaborations revolve around a single student or arrangements between faculty members rather than between programs. See the section below entitled “Is a sequential or dual degree agreement necessary?”

Sequential and dual degrees are defined in Table 1. Sequential and dual degrees are most useful for graduate and professional programs. For undergraduate programs, other mechanisms are typically more appropriate (transfer of credit and undergraduate admission, study abroad, and student exchange programs).

Proposals for sequential or dual degree programs will be considered only for programs in robust academic health. If the UW–Madison program was recently established, it must have passed the joint review stage before being eligible. The program should have been reviewed within the past 10 years, have active processes for curricular and program revision, have an active assessment program, and be in good standing with any specialized accreditation agency if relevant. Programs that have outstanding academic issues or that are low‐ enrollment are not candidates for sequential or dual degree arrangements.

Sequential and dual degree arrangements can be resource-intensive and departments will need to be prepared to provide the additional support for students in the program.

Students in a sequential and dual degree program will apply to, be admitted to, and enroll in a formal, named option associated with the degree program. Thus, a component of the approval process will be to request approval for a formal, named option. Academic program review for sequential/dual degree programs will be conducted on a five‐year cycle.

As described in Table 1, new modes of collaboration will, in general, require approval from groups referred to as “program faculty.” The nature of “program faculty” varies widely among different academic programs, in some instances including all of the faculty members in a department, in other instances the Executive Committee of a department, in yet other instances, a subset of faculty in a department, or faculty from more than one department. Consequently, defining the nature of approvals required to demonstrate agreement of “program faculty” will require exploration and consultation. (Consult Faculty Policies and Procedures for more information about faculty roles and responsibilities.)