| The State Board of Trustees for Institutions of Higher Learning (BOT) recognizes more than 150 institutes and centers with varying purposes and characteristics. These institutes and centers range from "letterhead" centers providing small interdisciplinary group identity to very large enterprises involving major staffing and space commitments.
As the name of an institute or center should convey its focus in a reasonable and clear manner to those inside and outside the field, we recognize institutes and centers according to their name. However, the chief academic officers also recognized the need to distinguish between institutes and centers that have limited and extended roles and scope. Therefore, the recommendation to the BOT is that those institutes and centers having limited roles and scopes, as defined by the universities, be approved by the respective university establishing the institutes and centers, but those institutes and centers having extended roles and scopes be presented to the BOT for approval.
As formal recognition and approval of these extended role and scope institutes and centers must proceed through formal approval procedures, BOT approval should be obtained before a university publicizes the new institute or center. In requesting BOT approval, the following topics must be addressed:
- Name Choice: Institute or Center
- Purposes and Functions
- Organization
- Overlap and Endorsements
- Evaluation
- Support
- Administration of Grants
- Staffing
- Space
Requests to establish new administrative entities that require Board of Trustees approval should be submitted for staff review to the Office of Academic Affairs of the Board of Trustees for Institutions of Higher Learning before the Board of Trustees November meeting for consideration at the February Board of Trustees meeting or before the April Board of Trustees meeting for consideration at the July meeting. |
