Academic Institute Guidelines Policy

An academic institute is an organization sponsored by SUNY Plattsburgh of New York devoted to the study of specific topics, issues or areas. The study should be interdisciplinary and may consist of scholarly or applied research or creative activities.

The following suggestions for procedures to establish academic institutes at Plattsburgh are intended to insure that institutes constitute more than a collection of people interested in a particular subject. The procedures should insure that an institute contributes to the long-range mission of the college, that an institute survives the interests of the specific faculty involved in its founding, and that it has the full and continued support of faculty, administrators and others involved with it.

Guidelines

1. An academic institute needs to be based in an existing administrative unit (e.g. the Office of a Dean, or Provost and Vice-President). The administrative unit will be responsible for supplying support services to members of the institute. The administration may provide seed money to initiate support and to administer the institute. All institutes are urged to seek external support through the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs, and the college reserves the right to require an institute to be self-supporting.
2. An academic institute needs to establish a steering committee or appropriate administrative organization to help coordinate, along with the administrative office, the activities of the institute. The person or persons involved will work with a person or persons from the appropriate administrative office in arranging meetings, symposia, classes, or other activities appropriate to the working of the institute.
3. Proposals for institutes should demonstrate why the goals and activities to be pursued can be done best through an institute, rather than any other form.
4. Proposals for institutes should show what kind of groundwork has been laid in preparation for developing an institute. For example, please describe and evaluate:
   
   1. What kinds of activities and projects have already been developed or completed?
   2. What kind of faculty, professional or community expertise has been enlisted?
   3. What kind of research has been pursued?
   4. What kinds of resources (libraries, laboratories, organizations)?
   5. What kinds of courses relating to the area of the institutes have been offered?
5. There must be evidence of a long-term commitment to the goals and activities of the institute, as reflected in an annual report presented to the head of the administrative unit within which it is based, including the following:
   
   1. There must be evidence of a long-range commitment of faculty and other involved with an institute. This commitment should generally take the form of grants or other sources of outside funding, and should reflect (or demonstrate) the fact that the activities of the institute constitute the primary research or teaching interests of some of the involved.
   2. There must be evidence of a long-range commitment of departments to the institute; this may take the form of an assurance to maintain a position in the department in an area of relevance to the proposed academic institute.
   3. There must be evidence of a commitment on the part of the administration to support the activities of the institute.
   4. There ought to be evidence that the institute is seeking external support.
6. There must be evidence of the potential contributions of the proposed institute to the educational mission of the college. The potential contributions may be in the area of research, program or course development, or community service.
7. There must be evidence of long-range planning for the activities of the institute. There should be at least a list of proposed activities to be sponsored by the institute on a fairly regular basis.
8. The initial duration of an institute shall be three years unless a decision is made to renew it. Such a decision shall be made after a process of self-study and assessment by the Deans’ Cabinet constituting itself as an Institute Review Board. After the initial period institutes will be reviewed for renewal every three years for an additional term. This process is intended both to provide for long-range planning and to phase institutes in and out as resources and interests change.