Student Project Approval Process

Purpose

St. Mary’s University promotes student academic growth through experiential learning. This policy is intended to provide a method to evaluate proposals for student projects to ensure academic opportunities and minimize negative risk to the University.

Approval Process

The student creates a business case with administrative and technical details for design, impact, and maintenance to include all requirements set forth by the course curriculum and at a minimum to include the following:

• Approval Routing Form (Appendix-A)
• Purpose and Background
• Concept and Design
• Benefits expected from the project
• Investment required and ongoing cost
• Project schedule and required resources
• Project plan and funding source(s) to include start-up cost, development, delivery, maintenance, and decommissioning
• Risks and uncertainties of the project such as safety, regulatory, resources, or financial

The faculty member responsible for supervising the project is the initial reviewer of the business case and will attached the approval routing form to the business case. After review and approval, the business case is forwarded to the Dean or Associate Dean of the School in which the course program resides. If approved, the business case is forwarded to the Office Administration and Finance.

The Office of Administration and Finance reviews the business case for risk with regards to student safety, compliance to local, state, and federal standards, and adherence to internal policies and insurance coverage. If approved, the business case is forwarded to the University Police.

The University Police reviews the business case for issues of student and campus security, impact to traffic flow, parking, and emergency procedures. If approved, the business case is forwarded to the Executive Director Facilities Services.

Facilities Services Office reviews the business case for impact to campus grounds, operations and the facilities master plan. If approved, the business case is forward to the Vice President of Administration and Finance.

The Vice President for Administration and Finance (VPAF) has final approval authority for the project. Approval of the project does not imply budget approval. Project funding is the responsibility of the department in which the project resides. The VPAF has the option to forward the project business case to the President’s Office if deemed appropriate due to the scope and impact of the project.

NOTE: If any step of the process results in denial of the project business case, the case reverts back to Step #1 for re-evaluation.

Record Keeping

Student Project Approval Process The project documentation with approval signatures will be filed by the academic department sponsoring the project and by the Office of Administration and Finance. The minimum retention period for the project documentation will be the duration of the project until decommissioning.