Please keep the following in mind when planning your departure from UTRGV:
- If you decide to leave your J-1 program before the current end date of your DS-2019, you must submit a Notice of Early Departure, and submit the request by completing the form below.
- If successfully complete your program, J-1 scholars are given a 30-day grace period at the end of the program. This means that you have until 30 days after your program end date to depart the U.S.
Many scholars choose to spend the 30-day grace period sightseeing around the U.S. prior to returning to their home countries. If you choose to do this, please remember that once you cross the border into another country, your J-1 grace period is over and it is no longer possible to re-enter the U.S. with your J-1 visa.
Complete this form if you would like to appeal the withdrawal fee for your study abroad program.
Appeal Process
If the program withdrawal was due to extreme and extenuating circumstances, students may appeal the withdrawal fee by submitting a completed Study Abroad Withdrawal Fee Appeal Form along with the supporting documentation. Your appeal must be submitted withing 4 weeks of the withdrawal notification.
Application Fee Policy:
You will only be charged a non-refundable $125 application fee when your application is approved by the Office of International Programs and Partnerships.
You will not be charged the application fee if your application is not approved OR your study abroad program is not approved due to low enrolments or other events.
Application process:
This is the first stage of the application process for participating in a faculty-led study abroad/away program. International Programs and Partnerships will review your application. Before being approved for any specific program you will need to meet in-person or virtually with a representative from the Office of International Programs and Partnerships.
This application is for departments at UTRGV planning to host international visiting scholars. The application is developmental and designed to assist departments in collecting necessary information and understanding the nature of the J-1 BridgeUSA program at UTRGV.
What are Agreements of Cooperation?
Agreements of Cooperation, Program Agreements, Affiliation Agreements, or Memoranda of Understanding are all documents that formalize a relationship between UTRGV and another entity, such as a foreign university.
What is the Purpose of this Form?
The purpose of this form is to gather the information necessary to judge whether a formal agreement is necessary to move forward with a project, research agenda, program, or similar activity.
Who Should Fill-in the Form?
Only an individual at UTRGV directly involved in the current or proposed programs for the partnership should fill in this form. By filling in this form, you will be directly involved in developing and maintaining the programs described in this form. You will be the UTRGV champion for this partnership. You will be asked to report out each year on this partnership's progress if it is approved.
What is the Approval Process?
All agreements of cooperation, program agreements, or affiliation agreements with foreign partner institutions are signed by the university's president or one of the designees.
Proposals for new agreements of cooperation or new programs under existing agreements will undergo an internal review process through International Programs and Partnerships' office. Here are the steps that will be required of the UTRGV champion for this new partnership.
- UTRGV champion submits this form.
- An internal review by International Programs and Partnerships personnel.
- Zoom or virtual meeting with the foreign partner, IPP Director, and UTRGV champion. The purpose of this meeting is to identify specific, measurable, actionable goals for this partnership.
- Review by the International Programs Advisory Committee. The IPAC is comprised of faculty and the Director of International Programs and Partnerships. The proposal will either be approved or sent back to the champion for more information or clarification.
- UTRGV champion may be asked to resubmit a proposal based on IPAC review.
- Documents routed for approvals and signatures.
Does UTRGV Need an Agreement of Cooperation or MOU with this Foreign Entity?
Before submitting this proposal, it is important to consider the following points. The review process will look for information in the proposal that addresses each of the points below and rate the proposal's merit accordingly. The answer to all of these questions should be NO. If you answer YES to any of them, reconsider submitting this form.
- Can UTRGV carry out the proposed programs without a formal Agreement of Cooperation? (Reconsider submission and do the project.)
- Are you proposing this Agreement of Cooperation for any reason other than the execution of measurable projects? (Identify real programs and projects before submitting this proposal. Avoid seeking partnerships purely for marketing purposes to enhance your personal or departmental profile.)
- Will this partnership primarily involve other units or individuals at UTRGV besides you? (Do not submit this proposal. Go and convince those units or individuals of the merits of this partnership and ask them to consider submitting the proposal and being the UTRGV champion.)
- Does a relationship with this foreign entity threaten or weaken UTRGV's reputation in the foreign country or internationally? (If the proposed partner has a history of bad press in its home environment, then reconsider submitting this form. If the proposed partner is not a high-quality institution in research, academics, or higher education service, then reconsider submitting this form.)
- Is the proposed partnership only beneficial to one entity, either UTRGV or the proposed partner? (Reconsider submitting this form, or reimagine the partnership before submitting.)
- Will this partnership and its projects involve shared research equipment or payments made between institutions? (A contract is required and not an agreement if either of these two conditions is true.)