Construction Project Approvals
Effective Date: January 21, 2022
Contact: Facilities Planning and Management
Introduction
The Board of Regents Policy Manual requires construction projects with a budget of $1 million or greater to be approved by the Board Office or the Board of Regents. Projects under $1 million are to be approved by the university. This policy establishes the required university approvals for projects under $1 million, and for projects which must be submitted to the Board Office or Board of Regents.
The Facilities Planning and Management Department (FP&M) is responsible for the design and construction of a safe, comfortable, and usable physical environment for the university community. This includes ensuring that design and construction of university facilities complies with all applicable building codes; federal, state and local regulations; Board of Regents policies and university standards.
Policy Statement
The president shall approve the following projects:
- Projects with a total budget of $2 million or more for construction of a new facility; addition to an existing facility; or alteration, conversion or complete replacement of an existing facility.
- Projects of any budget amount with special review conditions, including:
- Use of debt, internal university borrowing or gift financing,
- Potential political, public or university community interest,
- Siting of permanent improvements or changes to land use,
- Long-term impacts on multiple university units (other than normal construction disruption or inconvenience) or
- Agreements with organizations outside the university.
- Although not necessarily a construction project, any acquisition, disposal, sale, lease or easement of real property requiring Board of Regents approval.
The Capital Project Advisory Committee (CPAC) shall review construction projects and real estate actions requiring approval by the President. Project submissions shall be approved by the Senior Vice President, Athletics Director or equivalent senior leader responsible for the unit requesting the project.
Projects of the following types of work and budgets do not require CPAC review or approval by the president.
- Alterations, conversion, or replacement on the same site, of an existing facility with a budget under $2 million.
- Maintenance, repair or replacement of existing facility components due to deteriorated condition, obsolescence or life-cycle replacement, of any budget amount.
- Construction work on an existing facility primarily for code or regulatory compliance, or to improve energy efficiency, of any budget amount.
Projects that do not require CPAC review and approval by the president are to be approved as follows:
- Projects under $100,000 shall be submitted and approved in accordance with the procedures of FP&M and the university division, college, department or other unit desiring the project.
- Projects with a budget between $100,000 and $1,000,000 require approval by the Senior Vice President for Operations and Finance.
- Projects over $1,000,000 require approval of the Senior Vice President, Athletics Director or equivalent senior leader responsible for the unit requesting the project, before being submitted for approval by the Board of Regents Office or Board of Regents.
Procedures for project submission and approval may be found at the listed resources below.
All design and construction of university facilities, interior and exterior, must be approved by FP&M. This includes, but is not limited to, new construction, remodeling of interior spaces, installation of equipment that requires permanent attachment or connection to building utilities, attachment of items to exterior of buildings, modifications to the grounds of campus, and installation of items on the grounds of campus. FP&M will determine, after consultation with the requester and appropriate university officials, the most appropriate methods of executing each project.
The procurement of architectural services, engineering services, construction managers, construction contractors and specialized consultants related to the planning, design and construction of university facilities shall be executed or coordinated by FP&M.