Board of Regents Policy Establishment of CSCU Centers and Institutes

The purpose of this policy is to define CSCU Centers and Institutes and present guidelines that provide common requirements for their establishment, evaluation, and continuation or discontinuation. CSCU Centers and Institutes are non-degree granting academic entities with self-sustaining, substantial source(s) of funding that are engaged in research, instruction, or clinical or other services.

This policy covers academic centers and institutions and requires that the Board of Regents (BOR) approve the initiation of centers and institutes. Each center or institute will be reviewed every seven years by the BOR. These requirements ensure financial sustainability and that the mission of the center or institute is being achieved.

Other institutional entities such as a Student Center, Health Center, Women’s Center, Career Center and Teaching Center provide pertinent services and/or support to students, staff and/or faculty, and typically do not require board approval.

Centers and Institutes can be remarkably similar and distinctions between them are often lost over their useful lifetime. However, Centers have an instructional or research focus, while Institutes focus on clinical, community or public service. Often there is significant overlap between these foci. Proposals should identify a primary purpose to initially determine whether “Center” or “Institute” is more appropriate.

Centers and Institutes can be formed or established as a consequence of external funding (e.g., federal grant, industry partnership), in response to institutional needs (academic resource for students or faculty) or state-wide initiatives (training or diagnostic resource), or as a result of interactions among interested groups of faculty members with shared interests, expertise, or focused mission to address particular problems, research questions, or scholarly activities. Centers and Institutes can range in scope, areas of focus, organizational structure, funding models, and review procedures. Centers and Institutes may be established for a specific purpose, may have a finite lifetime, may expand into broader structures over time, or narrow to a more disciplinary focus.

Centers and Institutes:

• are formally approved academic units located within or alongside the traditional academic hierarchy of department/school/college.
• provide a vehicle for cross-disciplinary or cross-unit collaboration and partnership to maximize the capacity of CSCU Institutions to address complex problems, conduct research, educate students, and serve the needs of the institution, CSCU system, state of CT, or beyond.
• are organized around a scholarly, creative, research, educational, clinical and/or public service activity that combines the interests and expertise of individuals, departments, schools, and/or administrative units across the institution, and may also draw on the expertise of others external to the campus or Institution.
• strengthen and enrich the efforts of CSCU institutions to fulfill their mission and the mission of the CSCU system.
• may be freestanding or within a department or school/college.
• may be institutional, involving departments, schools, and other units within CSCU or inter-institutional, supporting and promoting collaboration across institutions of higher education within the CSCU system or beyond. Inter-institutional Centers/Institutes should designate one institution as the administrative institution to be responsible for general and fiscal oversight.
• may offer services to constituents beyond the campus community, e.g., individuals as well as private and public entities. While Centers/Institutes by their nature and location serve the campus community, their focus is not exclusively internal.

Centers and Institutes do not confer degrees or offer for-credit academic degree instruction, except in the role of supporting units with such authority. Activities will vary depending on the function of a Center or Institute and may include:

• providing opportunities for professional development of faculty and staff through teaching, research, scholarly and creative activities, and public service.
• affording research, service, and/or experiential learning opportunities to CSCU students, faculty, and staff.
• fostering and facilitating interdisciplinary efforts among disciplines, departments and across colleges.
• publishing journal articles, making conference presentations, hosting forums and otherwise publicizing research results and studies of services rendered.
• providing a clearinghouse or repository for information of interest to professionals and conducting workshops and conferences for continuing education.
• enhancing the curriculum by facilitating and supplementing the academic experience of students.
• developing marketable products and services and facilitating their movement into the marketplace.
• implementing formalized linkages between the academic community and the professional and/or service community of focus in the region or service area.
• other functions as stated in the organizational document and approved following the process described below.