1. Academic Affairs Handbook, Board of Regents, University System of Georgia, July 1, 1986.

2. Centers and Institutes policy statement approved by the University Council, January 26, 1993 and revised June 4, 1998.

Centers and institutes constitute an organizational form designed to serve the university's instructional, research, and public service missions which cannot otherwise be served. Though centers and institutes are becoming an integral part of the university, their respective missions should not duplicate those of departments, schools, and colleges. The key ingredient of any center or institute is "value added." Briefly stated, what can it do programmatically that cannot be done at least as well without it?

1. Center
   A center provides an organizational base for research in a given academic area or closely related areas. It often provides a vehicle for interdisciplinary research in a given area involving faculty and students from a variety of internal administrative structures. It may be involved in the offering of continuing education activities related to its area(s) of interest. The center structure may facilitate efforts of the college or university to obtain extramural funding in specific areas. It serves as a formalized link between the academic community and the professional community in the area(s) of focus. A center, however, is not an autonomous structure within the internal statutory organization of a college or university. It is administratively most often an appendage of one of the traditional administrative structures, such as a department, school, or college. A center is not involved in the independent offering of credit courses or degree programs.

2. Institute
   An institute shares the center’s focus on research, provisions of opportunity for interdisciplinary activity, involvement in continuing education activities, values in facilitating efforts to obtain extramural funding, and service as a link between the academic and professional communities. It is, however, a more formal structure and may be equivalent to an autonomous unit within the internal structure of the college or university such as department, division, school, or college. It will, unlike a center be involved in the offering of credit courses and may offer degree programs. An exception to this definition concerns usage in adult and continuing education. One of several formats used to group adult learners for non-credit instruction or instruction earning CEU’s (continuing education units) is the institute. Institutes address specialized areas of concern or practice and add to the knowledge which participants already have on the subject. An institute may be conducted in one day; may involve a series of meetings from one to several days’ duration; or, if continuity is desired, may meet annually. Typically, the pattern of an institute includes a keynote address which delineates one or more problems to be addressed; use of small groups to address the problem(s); and summarizations of small group progress in one or more plenary sessions. (Source: Vice President for Service, approved by the University Council, June 8, 1995).

1. Administrative location
   Centers and institutes may be administratively located within a department, school, college, or other unit or report directly to a vice president. The most decentralized administrative level consistent with meeting the center or institute mission is preferred.

2. Appointments
   Institute and center directors will be appointed with standard review processes which may vary depending upon the executive officer to whom the director reports.

   Tenure-track faculty who participate in center/institutes will be appointed to departments or schools in accordance with normal appointment procedures with the exception that search committees will be formed jointly of department/school and center/institute faculty. Both entities must agree on the employment of a new tenure-track faculty member. Non-tenure track faculty with time budgeted in a center/institute as well as in other units will have their promotions and merit raises managed in a manner determined at the time of appointment.

   Although some portion of tenure-track faculty time may be budgeted in a center/institute, tenure and promotion processes will be initiated through the relevant department or school. However, the departmental review process will be organized to reflect the advice and recommendation of a center/institute if a third or more of the faculty member's appointment is in the center/institute. Merit salary decisions for those faculty with time divided between a department/school and a center/institute will be made jointly.

   Part of the time a tenure-track faculty member has budgeted in a department should include formal instruction. An exception to this teaching responsibility requires the approval of the appropriate department head and dean. This is to insure that center/institute tenure-track faculty have regular contact with the department in which tenure resides, and, in particular, with teaching.

   If a tenure-track faculty member is appointed jointly and the department does wish to recommend tenure but the center or institute does not wish to continue the appointment, then it will be the responsibility of the department, if tenure is approved in the university review process, to come up with the funds required to purchase the faculty time from the center or institute. If the department does not wish to tenure a person, even though the center or institute favors tenure, then tenure will not be awarded (other than through a successful appeal based principally, as our Guidelines now provide, on process). A position vacated because tenure was not awarded will not be allocated by the department for different purposes without the explicit knowledge of the center or institute director and the explicit approval of the cognizant department head, dean, or vice president. Similarly if the services of a non-tenure track faculty member are not to be continued in a center/institute, and another unit sharing that person's services wishes to retain his or her services, then the other unit is responsible for obtaining any needed salary.
   

1. Criteria
   Establishment and maintenance of centers/institutes must be based upon a defined program and defined policies and operating procedures. Their establishment is justified when it is clear that their respective missions support and enhance the programs of the university. Even then, they must have missions which demonstrably cannot be accomplished in an efficient and effective manner by existing departments, schools, colleges, centers, institutes, or other units.

2. Proposals
   Proposals must include a narrative which states center/institute goals and describes how they will meet the above criteria. Proposals should also contain:

A statement of Operating Procedures and Policies. These should include a description of the structure, the responsibilities of any participating units, an advisory committee structure, and the processes for appointment or reappointment.

A description of amounts and sources of anticipated income. Anticipated financial arrangements between the center/institute and other units, if any, should also be described. Sources for funding for the first year should be specified.

A description of the formal arrangements through which faculty will participate with the center/institute and the extent to which each affiliated faculty member will have his or her salary contained in its budget.

A list of participating faculty and their roles in the center/institute. Typically, these would be faculty who have worked together on precursors to the proposed center or institute.

Letters of support from affected departments, schools, colleges, other units, and the administrator who would have oversight responsibilities.

A plan for how unavailable resources are going to be acquired.

A description of anticipated additional staff or faculty, if any.

A description of the responsibilities of any participating units.

Recommendations, if appropriate, for the creation of courses or degrees and how they are integral to the functioning of the institute.

1. Centers/Institutes established after January 26, 1993
   Newly created centers and institutes will be reviewed during their third year of existence in a manner consistent with the University guidelines for periodic review of all academic programs. Following the third year review centers and institutes will be reviewed periodically on the same basis as will be all other University programs.

2. Centers/Institutes established prior to January 26, 1993
   With the establishment of periodic review of all academic programs, all existing centers and institutes will be reviewed. Depending upon circumstances prevailing at the time of review, centers which do not meet these criteria may be recommended for (1) changes in title, (2) changes in function or organization, or (3) dissolution. However, centers and institutes existing at the time that the University Council established program review guidelines (effective July 1, 1990) will not necessarily be required to meet all such guidelines. If their mission is important to the University, exemption from one or more guidelines may be recommended if compliance would serve no useful purpose. Those recommended for functional or structural changes will have a specified time scale over which to make them.

Recommendations for dissolution may be made either (1) as a result of periodic institutional review consistent with program review guidelines, or (2) through typical department, school or college, or institutional processes. Recommendations for dissolution will be made if a center or institute fails to meet the substantive conditions for its establishment or does not provide the "value added" requisite of a center or institute. Any such recommendations should include a statement on how affected faculty and staff will be reassigned.

Recommendations either for significant changes in mission of, or for dissolution of, centers and institutes will be reviewed by an appropriate standing committee of the University Council which in turn will make its recommendation to the Council.

All recommendations for change or dissolution require approval by the President before implementation. If dissolution of an institute is recommended, Board of Regents approval is required before implementation.