Internships Resources for Faculty

Internship MOU Processing for A&M-SA Faculty & Staff

Here is a recommended process to complete the internship MOU process.

Signing Authorities

Academics

• Provost is the only authority to sign an MOU for Academic Affairs.
• Stephanie Gonzalez and Joni Foster help manage process for the Provost Office.

Other Departments

• The Office of the President/University President signs any MOU’s pertaining to Enrollment. Contract Administrator can sign certain MOU’s not pertaining to these 2 subjects under $100,000. Anything over that, up to $300,000, will be signed by the CFO (Len Cullo).

It is recommended that you discuss with your leadership/chain of command prior to starting this process for your area/department.

A&M-SA Contracts Department

• Deborah Campos-Leon, Contract Administrator, handles all MOUs and Contract Agreements for the entire university. MOU’s must be reviewed and approved first, before they are signed, to make sure that the document meets compliance. Deborah will provide redlines for corrections and missing information as needed.
• ITS has developed a central contracts portal via a Jira/Banner Procurement Portal where all contract and MOU reviews need to be requested:
  https://tamusa.jotform.com/222406648956970
• It takes up to 2 weeks for review (or longer). Do anticipate following up with contracts via the JIRA post by making comments. Do consider deadlines and make it clear when it’s needed to be completed.

The Process

• Check with Contracts to see if an MOU with a company already exists. This will be in the Procurement database, which can be searched by contracts staff.
  • Unless it’s a very specific program or there is funding involved, most MOUs can be utilized university-wide, regardless of the department that initiated the MOU.
  • They can be piggybacked from Systems or any other university; however, Contracts will require drafting/processing an addendum to reference use of that other MOU.
• If your area/department does not have an MOU and would like to utilize the approved Internship Global MOU template, contact the Mays Center at mays@tamusa.edu to get a copy.
  • When filling it out, include the company/partner information in the highlighted areas.
• Upload your request and the MOU using the Contracts Service Request Form.
• Deborah reviews the request (up to 2 weeks or more depending on workload, subject matter, and whether OGC review is required). Once finalized, reviewed, and approved, you will get an approval email and/or JIRA message for your MOU to be sent to the company. The company must always sign first.
• Once the company/organization signs, attach it to the JIRA request so it goes back to Deborah for final review. However, if the company redlines any items, it must be reviewed again and negotiations back and forth will occur, which could take a while.
  • Upload it to the JIRA PROC# on the Contracts Service Request you created originally.
  • You will get an approval notice in JIRA so you can then send it to your delegation authority for final signature. You can request contracts office assistance with this as well.
  • Our Delegation of Authority (Provost, President, and/or Contract Administrator) will sign it. Once signed and executed, it is a valid document. “Executed” means it has been signed by both parties.

Remember: MOU’s are non-binding legally. They are a good-faith agreement between 2 parties. Only Agreements are legally binding.

Important Notes

• Any edits requested by the other party (vendor/company/organization) in Article 2 only require review and approval by the Contract Administrator before the MOU can be signed, to make sure the changes have no red flags or risk to the organization. You will need to add the request to JIRA again.
• Each review cycle will take 2–4 weeks, or longer if changes are required.
• Deborah reviews again and approves in JIRA. Contracts can then send to the Provost/President administrative contact to request their signature and return the document to her once executed.
• Always save your documents using this naming convention: MOU-[Enter Subject Name Here]-Draft (Month Year)
  • Example: MOU-Educare-Draft (August 2023). Deborah will change “Draft” to “Final” once finalized and ready to be signed.
• You will be able to review the progress in JIRA. Deborah will comment on any updates and provide updated attachments and instructions.
• ITS will always save a copy of all executed copies for both MOU’s and Agreements in their database.
  • You will provide the final signed executed copy of the MOU to the company, once executed by both parties, for their records.

Other Recommendations / Issues

• Attach files from outside company MOU sources to the Contracts Service Request Form.
• Your student(s) can still intern at the company while the MOU is being processed. It’s likely there is not already an MOU for the company, so you are helping the university by starting this process.
• If money is involved (not including the vendor/company paying the student), check the contracts website for details.
• Renewals are managed in JIRA as well. Reminders are sent 130 days, 90 days, and 30 days before the expiration of submitted MOUs to remind the initiator to seek an updated agreement.