S96-1 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR ORGANIZED RESEARCH AND TRAINING; INSTITUTES; CENTERS; MUSEUMS; NAMING; REVIEW

Legislative History:

Supersedes S88-2.

At its meeting of February 5, 1996, the Academic Senate approved the following Policy Recommendation presented by Nancie Fimbel for the Curriculum and Research Committee.

ACTION BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT:

"Approved as University Policy" Signed Robert L. Caret, 2/22/96.

WHEREAS, We wish to update the Policies and Procedures for Organized Research and Training Units to be in compliance with current practice and priorities of the University; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the attached document (Policies and Procedures for Organized Research and Training Units at San Jose State University) be adopted as policy.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

FOR ORGANIZED RESEARCH AND TRAINING UNITS

AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

Preamble

Research is recognized as a vital part of the academic activities of a modern university. Research can involve the lone scholar, the collaborative effort of a team, or a large but coordinated group. Because of the diverse ways in which research and training may be carried on, organized research and training units established within the university are recognized as efficient means to fulfill the research and training functions. To facilitate the process and coordinate the effort, the following basic procedural and operational policies related to the organized research and training units have been developed.

Separate research and training units, with their own budgets and administrations, may be organized within the university when there is a clear indication that they will aid the research and/or enhance the teaching and public service of participating members of the faculty and that their activities will continue on a reasonably permanent basis.

a. The major purpose of organized research and training units is to facilitate communication, planning, and coordination of investigative efforts among faculty members and students attracted to a particular area of knowledge.

b. In carrying out their programs, organized research and training units may seek financial grants and provide funds, facilities, and advice for coordinated programs or for independent studies within their subject fields. Funds may be from contracts, grants, or gifts; but the value of the program to the campus--not the availability of funds--shall be the criterion for establishing or continuing an organized research and training unit.

c. A research and training unit may be organized and established under any of the following names that seem appropriate according to these definitions:

1. Institute. An institute is an agency established primarily for the coordination and promotion, on a continuing basis, of ascertained faculty research needs and interests organized around a broad subject area. Normally, the breadth of the subject will be reflected in research projects and programs which cut across department, school, college, or even campus boundaries. An institute, however, may also be proposed when needed by a single department to coordinate broad and varied research activities.

Public service activities and programs stemming from research conducted within an institute or from the professional interests of participating faculty may also be undertaken.

2. Center. A center is an agency, which may be established within an institute, college or department to further research interests of the faculty in a designated major area.

3. Bureau. A bureau is an academic agency engaged primarily in public service activities including training and in facilitating research, in one or more academic departments, related to these activities.

4. Non-Departmental Laboratory. A non-departmental laboratory is a research organization, headed by a director who is a faculty member, with a research staff which may include non-faculty personnel.

5. Station. A station is a unit equipped with facilities for research conducted by academic departments and divisions on one or more campuses.

6. Museum. A museum is an organization for the preservation and use of collections employed in research for the benefit of academic departments, and for the public. These latter functions are similar to those of non-departmental laboratories and stations.

d. The creation of an organized research and training unit should not be proposed without clear and strong evidence that long range needs and interests of the faculty and the university will be served thereby. Organized research and training units shall be established in the following way:

1. Two or more faculty members who are committed to serious and sustained research in the subject field that will be the focus of the unit shall propose its creation to the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research after approval by the appropriate college dean. The proposal shall include the names of those initiating the proposal, name of the unit, a statement of the purpose of the unit, a table of organization, and the following additional information:

Proposed focus of unit and its relation to the university mission

Anticipated effects on the teaching and research program of department(s) to be affected (e.g., time away from class by participants, involvement of students)

Staffing (e.g. eligibility for participation by faculty, employment of students, need for administrative or secretarial personnel)

Financing, including a 5-year business plan and commitment of state resources

Housing (e.g., need for university space, furniture, equipment and support for maintenance of physical facilities)

2. The AVP for Graduate Studies and Research shall review the proposal and consult with the chair(s) of department(s) most directly affected by the proposal and with the dean of the appropriate college, as needed, regarding the merits of the proposal. The AVP for Graduate Studies and Research may request revisions to establish conformity of the proposed unit with the standards established by this policy.

3. When convinced these standards have been met, the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research shall then submit the proposal to the Research Committee of the Academic Senate. The Research Committee shall consider the proposal and make recommendations to the Provost. The Provost shall review the proposal with accompanying recommendations and submit the materials with his/her evaluation to the President.

4. Final action on the proposal shall be taken by the President. The original copy of the proposal with approval signature (or not) shall be returned to the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research for acknowledgment to the appropriate college dean.

5. Proposed changes of a substantive nature (e.g., name, focus, location) shall be reviewed by the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research. The AVP for Graduate Studies and Research shall then submit the proposal and his/her evaluation to the Research Committee of the Academic Senate. The Research Committee shall consider the proposal and make recommendations to the Provost. The Provost shall review the proposal with accompanying recommendations and submit the materials with his/her evaluation to the President.

e. Each organized research unit shall be administered by a director, nominated by the faculty members of the unit. The director shall be appointed by the dean of the college in which the unit is housed and shall normally serve for a period of three years. Operating procedures, including the selection and retention of the director, shall be developed by each unit. The name of the director and a copy of the operating procedures shall be submitted to the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research.

f. The college dean is responsible for the fiscal health of each ORU under his/her supervision. Limited state support, commonly in the form of office or resource space and time for the director, is a decision prerogative of the dean. Funding from the President or the Provost will not generally be available, unless there is a demonstrable all-university service performed by the unit, and requests to seed activities such as conferences, or to provide secretarial support, cannot be honored.

Organized research and training units may not handle money directly. Administration of finances, except for that support coming out of the state budget, for all organized research and training units will be handled by the San Jose State University Foundation in accounts in the name of the unit.

Each director shall be responsible for his/her account(s). The unit account shall consist of funds derived from unit activities including conferences, publications, and donations. Distribution of any indirect costs earned by the unit shall follow the current Foundation policy.

g. Directors of established units shall submit an annual report to the appropriate college dean, who shall review and forward the report to the AVP for graduate Studies and Research. These reports are due on the last day of the spring semester. The report shall describe the accomplishments of the unit and provide a full accounting of income and expenses. At intervals of no more than five years, each unit shall be examined by the Research Committee of the Academic Senate. The purposes for which the unit was initially established and the emergence of further or changed aims shall be reviewed. One of the criteria used in ORU reviews is the capacity of the ORU to become and remain financially self-sustaining. The committee shall submit a report to the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research recommending (or not) the continuation of a unit.

A recommendation to continue the unit shall be acknowledged in writing by the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research to the appropriate college dean, with a copy to the Provost and the University Curriculum and Research Committee. If the Research Committee recommends termination of a unit, the recommendation shall be forwarded to the Provost with a copy to the appropriate college dean. The Provost and the dean shall confer regarding the unit and the Provost shall make the final decision to continue or terminate the unit. The decision shall be in writing to the appropriate college dean, with a copy to the AVP for Graduate Studies and Research and the University Curriculum and Research Committee.

h. No organized research and training unit shall offer regular academic curricula and confer degrees. However, units may advise on curricular matters, and faculty members holding unit appointments may supervise students who seek academic credit for research or training supported by the unit.

Faculty titles shall not be conferred by organized research or training units nor shall academic tenure be acquired solely through service in such a unit. Non-faculty research positions shall be in accord with university research and personnel policies.

Matters concerning copyright and patents shall be handled in accordance with university policy.