WHEREAS the Presidents of the Northeast Ohio Universities have, by a memorandum of understanding dated December 10, 1996, affirmed the desirability of reciprocal recognition of each other's graduate faculty, and

WHEREAS full implementation of cooperation among the graduate programs will require that graduate students at each university be able to avail themselves of courses offered at the other three universities, and

WHEREAS it is understood that the realization of the combined potential of all four public institutions of higher education will depend upon the effective and efficient utilization of their complementary academic strengths;

THEREFORE Cleveland State University, Kent State University, The University of Akron, and Youngstown State University hereby agree that graduate programs at each campus are permitted to accept credit for instruction provided at any of the other three campuses.

REPRESENTATIONS:

1. The authority for recognizing graduate course work as appropriate for a given student's degree program will rest with the student's home department. A student wishing to take a course at another of the four universities should show that the course is necessary for his/her program of study, demonstrate that the course is not available at the home institution at a reasonable stage in the student's degree program, and must obtain approval of his/her academic program advisor and graduate department/school/program. The graduate dean may be required to give approval as well if the institution so desires.
2. Only students in good standing who are within time and credit hour limits for their degree may avail themselves of formal course work at one or more of the other three participating universities; the maximum number of credits for such course work may be limited by the home institution.
3. Thesis, research and dissertation hours are excluded.
4. Approval for registration must be obtained from the graduate department/school/program administration of the host institution. The approval of the graduate dean may be required if specified by the institution. Approval by the department and/or the instructor will signify that there is space available in the course.
5. The home department/school/program will utilize a special topics course with a subtitle corresponding to the course to be taken and coded to the host university to enable data extraction and analysis. The special topics section will be controlled and limits on registration will be removed only when the host department or instructor has given permission in writing. The host graduate department/school/program unit will be responsible for recording the grades on the grade sheets and submitting the grade sheets to the respective registrar.
6. The home institution will collect all fees and State of Ohio subsidy entitlement; however, the resulting subsidy earned for instruction provided in this manner will be determined at the end of each fiscal year. This cross registration policy will be reviewed at the end of three years to determine its net fiscal effect.

Claire A. Van Ummersen, President
Cleveland State University

Carol A. Cartwright, President
Kent State University

Marion Ruebel, President
The University of Akron

Leslie H. Cochran, President
Youngstown State University