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Board of Governors details new oversight and reporting rules for university centers and institutes
Summary
A Board of Governors official briefed the Senate Education Postsecondary Committee on an updated regulation that defines three categories of university centers and institutes and adds public reporting, annual certification and notification requirements for Florida's public universities.
The Board of Governors updated its regulation for university centers and institutes and is requiring greater transparency and oversight, Emily Sykes, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, told the Senate Committee on Education Postsecondary on an informational agenda item.
Sykes said the state university system is home to “over 500 centers and institutes across the state of Florida,” and that the revised regulation defines three categories of units—statewide centers, legislatively established centers, and university-established centers—and sets criteria for establishing, modifying and disbanding them.
The new rules require universities to notify the chancellor within 30 days when an institute or center is established, modified or disbanded; to publish a public inventory of active centers and institutes on each university website; to submit an annual report listing active centers and any audit findings; and to obtain an annual certification from the university president or a designee that centers and institutes comply with state law and Board of Governors regulations.
The board’s regulation also adds a specific category for centers and institutes created by statute, Sykes said, noting there are “35 that are outlined in statute and law currently,” some of which retain separate statutory reporting provisions. She said the one statewide center in the system at present is the Small Business Development Network at the University of West Florida, which is governed by an interuniversity memorandum of understanding.
Senator Jay Harrell, chair of the Appropriations Committee, asked about funding sources for centers and institutes and whether private dollars support them. “How are they funded? Are there, private dollars coming into these institutes?” he asked.
Sykes replied funding varies: some legislatively established centers received appropriations when created and have recurring base funding; others rely on federal grants, university support, industry partnerships and private donations. She said universities must monitor their own centers and follow campus policies about when to maintain or disband an institute, and must report reviews, audits or inspector-general findings to the Board of Governors office.
Sykes said the regulation’s aim is transparency and accountability across the system and that the public-inventory requirement will let users locate each university’s active centers and institutes from the system website.
The committee’s consideration of centers and institutes was informational; members did not vote on policy changes during the meeting.
