Creation of an Institute

Institutes are organizational forms designed to further the university's instructional, research, and public service missions in ways that cannot be addressed through traditional structures, such as departments, schools, and colleges. Though institutes are an integral part of the university, their respective missions should not duplicate those of departments, schools, and colleges. Instead, they should offer programs or opportunities that cannot be offered at least as well through existing structures. The key ingredient of any institute is "value added."

Institutes provide an organizational base for university mission-related activities in one or more academic areas. They pursue activities that may include, but are not limited to, interdisciplinary research involving faculty and students from a variety of internal administrative structures, offering credit courses, academic programs, or continuing education activities related to their area(s) of interest, or facilitating efforts of the department, school, college, or university to obtain extramural funding in specific areas. Institutes serve as a formalized link between the academic community and the professional community in the area(s) of interest.

This definition of institute is not to be confused with use of the term "institute" in connection with adult and continuing education. The institute is one of several formats used to group adult learners for non-credit instruction or instruction earning CEUs (continuing education units). Institutes of this sort are typically conducted over a fixed period of time and address specialized areas of concern or practice, adding to the knowledge participants already have on the subject.

Establishment of Institutes

Criteria

Establishment and maintenance of institutes must be based upon a defined program with measurable outcomes, defined policies and operating procedures, and a  defined review process. 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.

Proposals

Proposals must include a narrative that states institute goals and describes how they will meet the above criteria; the statement of goals must include specific outcomes and criteria that will be used to measure progress toward the goals.

The proposal must indicate the administrative unit and the leadership position within that unit to which the institute reports and must designate the process by which the institute will be reviewed. The institute may be reviewed: (a) as an independent unit in Program Review, (b) as part of the Program Review of the administrative unit, (c) by the administrative unit, or (d) in another specified and approved manner. Review should occur no less frequently than once every seven years.

Proposals should also contain:

• A Statement of Operating Procedures and Policies. This should include a description of the structure, the roles and 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 institute and other units, if any, should also be described. A projected budget covering the first three years of operation should be included and should detail expenditures and income expected.
• A description of the faculty and staff necessary to initiate its programs and maintain its operations for the first three years.
• A description of the physical resources that the institute will occupy and utilize during its first three years.
• A list of participating faculty, their home units, and their roles in the institute, including a description of the formal arrangements through which faculty will participate with the institute and will be evaluated for promotion, tenure, and salary increases, and the extent to which each affiliated faculty member will have his or her salary contained in its budget.
• Institutes that offer or plan to offer a degree program must have clear, formal agreements with home units of faculty that guarantee their availability to teach courses needed by students in the program.
• Letters of support from affected departments, schools, colleges, other units, and the administrator who will have oversight responsibilities.
• 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.

For more information on this policy, click here.

To submit a request, please follow the steps below:

• Complete the Curriculum Request Form.
  • When you click on the link above, the form will open in a browser.  You will need to save the form and open in Adobe Acrobat.  This will allow you to complete the fillable form and add your signature.
  • Supporting documentation:
    • Institute Proposal Form
  • Please submit your PDF request to: April Brown at albrown@uga.edu. 
• Institute proposals will need to be reviewed and approved by the Faculty Senate. A representative from your department will need to be present at this meeting to discuss the proposal as well as answer any questions or concerns that might arise.
• Once your request has been approved by both the Franklin College Curriculum Committee and the Faculty Senate, the request will be emailed to the Office of Curriculum Systems and to the Department Head. 
• Please refer to the Institute Approval Routing Chart.

QUESTIONS?  Please contact April Brown at albrown@uga.edu