Academic Agreements

The Office of Clinical Partnerships (OCP) serves as ASU’s primary resource for establishing and executing clinical academic agreements. Working in tandem with the Office of General Counsel and with University Risk Management, OCP assists the university’s units with the review of academic agreements such as clinical education/training agreements (including student internships) and memorandums of understanding for clinical research collaboration.

OCP assists ASU in proudly partnering with numerous sponsoring organizations nationwide to offer our students diverse internship opportunities. Internships are an extension of the classroom experience and assist students toward attaining their long-term career goals.

As students receive academic credit for most internships, and to ensure the integrity of the educational environment and the safety of our students, ASU requires that a Student Placement Agreement (SPA) be executed with a sponsor prior to the student’s internship placement. The SPA outlines general terms and responsibilities of ASU and of the sponsoring organization.

Using one of ASU’s SPA templates expedites the review process. There are instances wherein the sponsor requires the use of their organization’s agreement form. Sponsor-generated agreements should be referred to OCP’s Saudia Rodriques-Hill for review.

ASU Administrators and Staff

Only certain ASU administrators have authority delegated from the President to sign specified ASU contracts pursuant to the ASU Contract Signature Authority Policy (PUR 202), or as otherwise authorized in writing by the President. Refer to the Contract Signature Authority information and the policy.

There are certain State and University Required Provisions that, with very few exceptions, must be included in every contract ASU enters into.

With respect to insurance coverage, ASU is generally limited to the coverage provided through the Arizona State Self-Insurance Program and the Division of Risk Management. Student internship insurance coverage includes students working in internship programs sponsored by the University as long as the students are acting within the scope of the program. Professional liability insurance coverage is provided for University faculty and staff when it occurs during the course and scope of their university-authorized activities.

Academic units who request a Certificate of Insurance from the University must provide University Risk Management with:

a copy of the fully-executed agreement
complete and submit the Request for Certificate of Insurance no later than fifteen (15) working days prior to the effective date of coverage

To learn more about SPAs and academic affiliation agreements, including scheduling individual consults or group in-service, please contact Saudia E. Rodriques-Hill.