Uncovering the Structure of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between Higher Education Institution and Stakeholders: A Move Analysis

This qualitative study utilized move analysis aimed at uncovering the structures of Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Stakeholders. Fifteen (15) corpora were analyzed based on the framework of Salim (2008) and the World Meteorological Organization (2012). The result of the study reveals that the most frequent moves and steps in all the corpora gathered were Move 1 (M1) Title, Move 3 (M3) Date of Agreement, Move 4 (M4) Parties’ Identity which consists of Move 4 Step 1 (M4.S1) Parties’ Names, Move 4 Step 2 (M4.S2) Parties’ Address, Move 4 Step 3 (M4.S3) Parties’ status/position, Move 5 (M5) Aim of the MOU, Move 6 (M6) Content including its steps: Move 6 Step 1 (M6.S1) Scope of understanding, Move 6 Step 2 (M6.S2) Mutual expense and reliance, Move 6 Step 3 (M6.S3) Confidentiality, Move 6 Step 4 (M6.S4) Implementation and termination and Move 6 Step 5 (M6.S5) Modifications. Further, Move 7 (M7) Signatures including its steps: Move 7 Step 1 (M7.S1) Names Move 7 Step 2 (M7.S2) Addresses and Move 8 (M8) Focal points. Overall, it is important to note that there are variations that exist in certain local adaptations and differences in how MOUs are constructed and written. Therefore, the result speaks that the widely accepted conventions of writing MOUs in the research locale highly vary from the existing moves which are mentioned in the theoretical framework of the study. This justifies the intent of the research which was to investigate the structure of MOUs since new results were found and explained in this paper. Keywords: Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs), stakeholders, higher education institution, qualitative-move analysis, Province of Davao del Norte