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Home > About the University > Policy Directory > Cotutelle Guidelines

COTUTELLE GUIDELINES

Date approved:	23 June 2006	Date Guidelines will take effect:	23 June 2006	Date of Next Review:	December 2010
Approved by:	University Council
Custodian title & e-mail address:	Director, Research Student Centre research_student_centre@uow.edu.au
Author:	Director, Research Student Centre
Responsible Faculty/ Division & Unit:	Research Student Centre
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of these guidelines:	UOW Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form (Appendix)
References & Legislation:	Cotutelle Agreements Policy French Ministerial Regulations
Audience:	Public – accessible to anyone
Expiry Date of Guidelines:	Not applicable

• 1 Introduction / Background 3
• 2 Scope / Purpose 3
• 3 Definitions 3
• 4 Overarching Criteria for a Cotutelle Agreement 3
• 5 Fee Arrangements 3
• 6 Budget 4
• 7 Student Progress Reporting 4
• 8 Intellectual Property 4
• 9 Ethics Clearances 4
• 10 Thesis Examination 4
• 11 Agreement Review 4
• 12 Approval 4
• 13 Roles & Responsibilities 5
• 14 Version Control Table 5
• Appendix: UOW Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form 6

1 Introduction / Background

• 1. These guidelines are to be considered during the establishment of a Cotutelle Agreement and when completing a Cotutelle Agreement Proposal. The Cotutelle Agreements Policy and the French Ministerial Regulations should also be referred to. For further advice contact the Research Student Centre.
• 2. Following approval of the Cotutelle Agreement Proposal, a Cotutelle Agreement will be drawn up by the Legal and Commercial Unit, in liaison with the Research Student Centre.

2 Scope / Purpose

Not Available

3 Definitions

Not Available

4 Overarching Criteria for a Cotutelle Agreement

• 1. Approval for a Cotutelle agreement will only be given if the agreement furthers UOW’s research mission. Agreements will only be approved with an institution that has an international reputation at least equal to that of UOW.
• 2. Students enrolled under Cotutelle agreements are to be of outstanding ability and are expected to produce extremely high quality work that makes an original contribution to knowledge.
• 3. Cotutelle agreements at UOW must be signed off by the Head of School, the Dean, the Chair of the relevant Faculty Research Committee and the Legal and Commercial Unit before approval by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research). Once approved by UOW they must also be submitted to the French Ministry of Research and registered with FEAST-France.
• 4. In general, students must satisfy the requirements of both UOW and the French partner University with regard to enrolment, progression and reviews of progress, thesis submission and examination, intellectual property agreements and ethical clearances. Agreement on these processes must be obtained prior to submission of the proposal for UOW approval. Wherever possible, the processes of both institutions should be aligned to avoid unnecessary duplication and burdensome requirements on students.
• 5. If the student is to have access restricted in any way to standard UOW enrolment procedures this must be itemised on the Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form (e.g. if the student is not permitted to take leave from the program for any reason except on medical or pregnancy grounds or to vary his/her enrolment from full to part-time etc).

5 Fee Arrangements

• 1. The student will be enrolled at both institutions. Fees are payable at one institution only (normally the home institution).
• 2. If the candidate is a UOW Domestic Student, they will either be funded by the Research Training Scheme or be granted a tuition fee exemption scholarship.
• 3. If the candidate is a UOW International Student, UOW international tuition fees will be levied on the student. This will apply to all UOW international students that select UOW as their home institution.
• 4. If the student selects the French institution as the home institution, tuition fees will be levied by the French institution as appropriate.

6 Budget

• 1. A detailed budget must be provided on the Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form. Items to be included are:
• a. arrangements for scholarships and other allowances, and travel support for candidate
• b. arrangements for payment of visas and medical insurance, if these are not to be the student’s responsibility
• c. funding arrangements for supervisors/examiners
• d. additional funding for the thesis examination, if appropriate
• e. costs of specialist equipment and consumables

7 Student Progress Reporting

• 1. UOW requires that a student’s progress be reviewed by the Academic Unit within the first 6 – 12 months of candidature and thereafter every 12 months. The Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form must include details of the progress review procedures agreed with the partner institution, including what language the reviews will be conducted in.
• 2. The proposal should describe the procedure that will be put in place to reach a decision on the student’s candidature, under the Cotutelle agreement, should progress be deemed to be unsatisfactory.

8 Intellectual Property

• 1. The proposal should outline arrangements for copyright and intellectual property. Evidence of any agreement reached between the two institutions should be attached.

9 Ethics Clearances

• 1. The proposal should outline arrangements for dealing with Ethics approvals and should cover: whether the relevant UOW Ethics Committee has been consulted (provide details), and whether the equivalent offices at the partner institution have been consulted. Evidence of any agreement reached between the two institutions should be attached.

10 Thesis Examination

• 1. The thesis examination must meet the requirements of both institutions. UOW will require a written evaluation of the thesis by 2 examiners (both external to UOW). UOW does not permit supervisors to be examiners.
• 2. The French Government has determined that the examination of doctoral theses is by way of an oral defence by a jury selected by the student’s institution. Under a Cotutelle agreement, the selection of the jury would be undertaken by the 2 institutions. The oral defence may be conducted by video or audio conferencing.
• 3. Whatever examination procedures are approved must not be any less rigorous than those for non-Cotutelle UOW students.

11 Agreement Review

• 1. Monitoring of the agreement should be constant during the life of the agreement. The proposal should specify the review date and procedures for termination of the agreement.

12 Approval

• 1. Cotutelle Agreement Proposals must be signed off by the Head of Unit, the Dean, and the Chair of the relevant Faculty Research Committee before approval by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research).
• 2. Once approved, the Cotutelle Agreement, drawn up by the Legal and Commercial Unit, must be signed off by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) and the appropriate officers at the French institution. The agreement must be submitted to the French Ministry of Research and registered with FEAST-France.

13 Roles & Responsibilities

• 1. The roles and responsibilities identified in these guidelines are to be referred and adhered to by all UOW staff and students when establishing and/or managing a Cotutelle Agreement.

14 Version Control Table

Version Control	Date Effective	Approved By	Amendment
1	23 June 2006	University Council	New Guideline
2	6 May 2009	Vice Principal (Administration)	Migrated to UOW Procedure Template as per Policy Directory Refresh
3	9 March 2010	Director, Research Student Centre	Future review date identified in accordance with Standard on UOW Policy.

Appendix: UOW Cotutelle Agreement Proposal Form