ITEM______

APPROVAL OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

PERTINENT FACTS

At their regular meeting on August 30, 1996, the Board of Regents adopted a rule requiring their approval of all construction projects in excess of $300,000. At that time, the threshold for the requirement to submit projects to the Coordinating Board was also $300,000. This threshold has now been raised to $1,000,000 for new construction and $2,000,000 for repair and renovation projects. In recognition of the impact of inflation, the number of projects to be funded from the Higher Education Fund, and the increased delegation authority from the Coordinating Board, it is considered appropriate to increase the level of projects requiring Board of Regents approval to those in excess of $500,000. Projects of $500,000 and less would be approved by the President.

Current policy would continue whereby the Board will approve a project budget, and the Board of Regents approval will be required for any change order which would cause the project to exceed its approved project budget, or for any change order which would cause the cumulative sum of the change orders for the project to exceed $500,000. Change orders which do not require Board approval will be approved by the University Architect and the Vice President for Administrative Affairs, in coordination with the Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs. The Board of Regents will continue to be informed of status of construction change orders by means of the Project Status Report (furnished prior to each Board of Regents meeting).

Certain projects (real property acquisitions less than $300,000, Education and General (E&G) repair and renovation projects of $5,000,000 or less, and auxiliary projects less than $10,000,000) can be approved by the Commissioner for Higher Education. These projects require certification by the Board of Regents that certain criteria (attached) are met. The Coordinating Board procedures provide for delegation and it is considered appropriate to authorize the President to sign this certification form for projects approved by the Board of Regents.

RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS

It is recommended that the Board of Regents approve all construction projects in excess of $500,000 and authorize the President to sign the certification form for Board approved projects falling within the Commissioner’s approval authority.

This item was approved