If you're a faculty member seeking to establish or enhance collaborations with international partner institutions, the Office of Global Engagement can help support with information about existing partnerships, research agreement procedures, contact information for relevant personnel, visiting scholar policies, and export control compliance.
Questions?
For more information, you can reach us at 617-522-1240
The Essentials
International Faculty and Scholars at BC
Every year, Boston College hosts hundreds of esteemed scholars from around the world. If you are considering sponsoring an unpaid visiting scholar or a paid researcher, fellow, or part-time faculty member, your first point of contact is your Department Chair or Dean. For unpaid visiting researchers, please first request a visiting scholar appointment letter from the Office of the Provost. Once this letter has been issued, the Office of International Students and Scholars will contact your department and the scholar about visa options. For paid visiting researchers, fellows, and part-time faculty, please contact the Office of International Students and Scholars directly about the process for obtaining a J-1 exchange visitor visa for this person.
Conducting Research with Foreign Collaborators
International collaborations typically involve sharing of intellectual property, materials and equipment, data, technologies, and software, in addition to international travel, hiring on-site personnel, and diverse sources of funding. As such, engaging in research with foreign collaborators can trigger a number of legal and compliance considerations not ordinarily present with domestic collaborations.
Information regarding foreign collaborators, technology and equipment, sources of funding, international site locations, as well as the scope of international research may require disclosure in accordance with federal regulations and Boston College policies. If at any point during collaboration any of the aforementioned components change, it must be reported to the appropriate office.
Compliance and transparency is vital for our rich academic environment. Boston College's faculty and staff are entrusted with the responsibility of being transparent about their international engagements. In order to help BC manage its federal compliance obligations and mitigate potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment, please review Boston College's policies on conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest. For additional support, refer to the offices of:
Travel Advisories
Certain countries around the world are issued travel advisories based on national recommendations. According to the Department of State, a Level 3 warning indicates a high warning and that you should reconsider travel. Level 4 advisories are given to sanctioned countries and can be found on the Department of Treasury’s website.
Consult Export Controls for a list of countries where extra precautions are needed with respect to traveling with personal or university computers, phones, or other electronics. For information regarding vaccinations and health notices while traveling to countries with advisories, visit the Center for Disease Control's site.
International partnerships & MOUs
When approached by a foreign university or other foreign entity to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or other agreement, your primary points of contact are your Department Chair, your Dean, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Engagement.
Even if they do not involve any financial or other resource commitments, these international agreements can raise a number of complex issues not ordinarily present in domestic arrangements.
Check with this list (on the Office of Global Education website) and with the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Engagement to see whether Boston College already has an agreement with that institution. The Office of the Vice Provost for Global Engagement may have an appropriate University template agreement, and will advise on signing authority, any accreditation or reporting issues, and whether a review of the Office of the General Counsel is required.
In addition, prior to entering into such agreements, international parties need to be screened in accordance with the University’s export controls procedures.
When the agreement is signed, please submit the original document to the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Engagement.
Things You Need to Know
Procurement Abroad
When planning to purchase goods or services from foreign vendors (for instance, consultants or law firms), contact Procurement Services. You may also need to consult the Office for Sponsored Programs if the procurement is occurring under federally sponsored projects, which may set forth rules restricting foreign procurement.
IT and Data Security
Before traveling abroad with your computer or mobile device, be sure to review the BC's safety tips about information security while traveling.
Contact the Office of Research Security, Integrity and Compliance (RSIC) regarding possible export restrictions on the devices and data that you plan to bring with you. Also remember to use Boston College's VPN to access specific computers or servers behind BC's firewall, or to access confidential BC information from home that should be encrypted (scrambled) while traveling. Review guidelines on using BC's VPN below.
The University has been notified that, in order to comply with U.S. law, Duo, Zoom, and Canvas will restrict usage of their services from the following countries/regions sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC):
- Cuba
- North Korea
- Iran
- Sudan
- Syria
- Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine
BC faculty, staff, and students who are based in, or travel to, OFAC-sanctioned countries or regions will no longer be able to use Duo (two-factor authentication); Zoom (teleconferencing); or Canvas (learning management system).
Questions about compliance with U.S. export law while traveling can be addressed to Export Controls within RSIC.
Questions regarding the IT impact created by Duo's, Zoom's, and Canvas' service changes should be addressed to ITS.
Data Transfer and Privacy Protection
If your research involves the transfer of personally identifiable information, you should consult the Institutional Review Board/Office of Research Protections as your first point of contact, to confirm that adequate protocols are in place to mitigate harm against those to whom the data relates.
In certain cases, such as in Europe, the transfer of personally identifiable information may implicate the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or other applicable privacy laws. Often, the party making the transfer will require that the recipient researcher agrees to a date use or data sharing agreement. These agreements need to be reviewed with Information Technology Services and the Office of the General Counsel to confirm that the technology security requirements and other obligations can be met by Boston College.
Export Controls
Boston College follows the United States' comprehensive lists of restrictions on academic collaborations, research materials, and equipment.
Information, equipment, technology, and other exchanges within the framework of academic collaborations with foreign nationals, on campus, in the United States, or abroad, should stay within compliance. When traveling as an affiliate of the Boston College community, you are required to adhere to Boston College’s policies on international travel regarding export controls. If you are traveling with samples, materials, equipment, or sensitive data, please contact Export Controls or visit their website for more information and forms.
Research Protections
If you are planning to conduct international research, there are a number of protections and disclosure policies to be aware of and follow. Please consult the Office of the Vice Provost for Research regarding Intellectual Property, Export Controls, and Boston College's Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the early stages of your research for guidance and assistance in filling out any required forms. In many cases, you will need to seek local IRB approval from the country in which you conduct research, in addition to Boston College's IRB approval. Be sure to stay compliant in disclosing details of your research according to university and national regulations.
Intellectual Property
The Scholarly Communication Librarian at the University Libraries is available to offer advice and assistance on issues relating to the use of copyrighted materials, working with publishers, and other copyright issues.
Please be mindful of the University’s Intellectual Property Policy and consult with the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing to confirm that there are adequate protections in place to ensure the security of the research and protection of intellectual property. Any contracts or licenses with foreign parties should be reviewed in accordance with University policies.
International Shipments
All faculty, staff, and students are required to submit an International Shipping Form prior to shipping items abroad. The Office of Research Security, Compliance and Integrity (RSIC) will review the submission and determine whether a license from the U.S. Government is required for the shipment. FinaI RSIC approval, and a license if applicable, is required, before the item can ship