A.
OVERVIEW
Institutes at Mount Royal University coordinate, facilitate and strengthen community engagement,
collaborative research, co-curricular activities and other scholarly, artistic and academic activities.
The Board of Governors has authority, under the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta, to
determine when and if the University formally affiliates with other institutions and to delegate that
power through this Policy and its Procedures. The Board of Governors in approving this Policy,
delegates the power to establish and govern Institutes and establish and govern the relationship
with Affiliated Institutes to the University Provost and Vice-President, Academic (the Provost).
The University also acknowledges the value of more informal research organizations (e.g.,
research centres, collaborations, collectives) that may exist, involving multiple investigators with
shared research objectives. While not formally recognized under this Policy (refer to Standard
Operating Procedure: Establishing and Recognition of Research Collaborations other than
Institutes at Mount Royal University) or approved by the Provost, these groups are supported
by the University through approval by the Associated Vice-President (AVP) Research, Scholarship
and Community Engagement (RSCE) and the appropriate Faculty Dean(s). These groups shall
report annually to the AVP RSCE via the Faculty Deans.
B.
PURPOSE
This Policy acknowledges the importance of Institutes and Affiliated Institutes at the University.
The purpose of this Policy is to outline the process of establishing and reviewing Institutes and
Affiliated Institutes and to identify the responsibilities of Institutes, Affiliated Institutes and the
University
C.
SCOPE
This Policy applies to Institutes and Affiliated Institutes at Mount Royal University.
INSTITUTES AT MOUNT ROYAL
UNIVERSITY POLICY
Policy Type:
Management
Initially
Approved:
August 15, 2000
Policy
Sponsor:
Provost and Vice-
President, Academic
Last
Revised:
May 25, 2015
Primary
Contact:
AVP, Research,
Scholarship &
Community
Engagement
Review
Scheduled:
April 2027
Approver:
Board of Governors
D.
POLICY STATEMENT
1.
PURPOSE OF INSTITUTES AND AFFIIATED INSTITUTES
1.1.
The purpose of Institutes and Affiliated Institutes is to:
a.
Facilitate and encourage collaborative research, knowledge mobilization,
student and community engagement, and multi-disciplinary and
interdisciplinary projects;
b.
Undertake specific types of teaching or training or co-curricular programs
that do not compete with other established internal educational
mandates;
c.
Facilitate the development of multi-institutional initiatives;
d.
Provide for community engagement beyond the University; and/or
e.
To build upon the expertise, competence, and University community and
may also advance the development of new areas of strength consistent
with the University’s priorities.
2.
RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1.
Institutes in this section refers to Institutes and Affiliated Institutes.
a.
Institutes are responsible for ensuring that they are Financially Self-
Sufficient through revenue from endowments or through external cost
recovery (i.e., through grants, contracts and donations);
b.
Institutes must establish and maintain a charter approved by the Associate
Vice-President, Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement
(“AVP, RSCE”). The charter will include the mandate of the Institute and
describe its organization, management structure and membership. The
Charter will be maintained through the 5-year renewal process;
c.
Through its Director, Institutes will report to the AVP, RSCE. This reporting
will include financial, operational and legislative compliance reporting;
d.
Affiliated Institutes will report to a governing body that is external to the
University;
e.
Institutes and Affiliated Institutes will maintain ongoing strategic and
collaborative relationships with University Faculties to further foster
research, scholarly, co-curricular, student engagement, and community
engagement initiatives;
f.
Institutes may establish and maintain an Advisory Committee as outlined
in the Procedures to this Policy;
g.
Faculty members of the University are important and valued champions of
Institutes and may be engaged in an Institute in one of several ways,
including, but not limited to:
i.
Joint appointment to an academic department and an Institute;
ii. Appointment as a funded chair who also holds an appointment in an
Institute;
iii. Appointment as an adjunct faculty member of the University who
also holds an appointment in an Institute; and
iv. Undertaking research, scholarly, co-curricular, student and community
engagement projects through the Institute.
h.
Institutes will comply with University policies and procedures.
2.2.
Institutes and Affiliated Institutes are subject to review by the University as outlined
in the Procedures to this Policy. The University
a.
The University is responsible for ensuring Affiliation Agreements are
properly executed to establish Affiliated Institutes.
b.
The University
acknowledges that
Affiliated
Institutes provide
opportunities to further the University’s strategic direction while providing
a reciprocal benefit to the Affiliated Institute.
c.
The University acknowledges the importance of community need and
community engagement during the establishment and review of its
Institutes.
d.
The Executive Director, Development, and the AVP RSCE, will
communicate with each other at the earliest stage regarding potential
funding sources for an Institute.
2.3.
Institutes and the University
a.
The
AVP RSCE and the Associate Vice-President Development (and
other relevant staff) will work together with Institutes to identify and
develop potential funding sources for Institutes.
E.
DEFINITIONS
(1)
Advisory
Committee:
means a committee of individuals established at the discretion
of the Institute Director of an Institute in accordance with the
Procedures to this Policy.
(2)
Affiliation
Agreement:
means a legal agreement drafted by the University’s Office of
General Counsel, entered into in the name of the Board of
Governors of Mount Royal University and executed in
accordance with University policy.
(3)
Affiliated Institute:
means an Institute at the University that is established by an
Affiliation Agreement with a Financially Self-Sufficient third party
through which research and scholarly activities are developed
and coordinated.
(4)
Board of Governors:
means the Board of Governors of Mount Royal University.
(5)
Director:
means the individual who is administratively responsible for an
Institute and is normally an employee of the University.
(6)
Financially Self-
Sufficient:
means an Institute that, once fully operational, has annual
revenue that equals or exceeds expenditures and the approved
budget for the following two years show a similar balance. Due
to the cyclic nature of gift agreements and grants, self-sufficiency
will be evaluated in a multi-year context.
(7)
Institute:
means an Institute at the University that is a Financially Self-
Sufficient entity through which research and scholarly activities,
community engagement, co-curricular activities and other
academic activities are developed and coordinated and that has
been established in accordance with the Procedures to this
Policy.
(8)
Policy:
means the Institutes at Mount Royal University Policy.
(9)
University:
means Mount Royal University
F.
RELATED POLICIES
G.
RELATED LEGISLATION
•
Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act
H.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
•
Mount Royal University Institutes Procedures
•
Mount Royal University Affiliated Institutes Procedures
•
Establishment and Recognition of Research and Scholarship Collaborations other than
Institutes at Mount Royal
I.
REVISION HISTORY
Date
(mm/dd/yyyy)
Description of
Change
Sections
Author
(Position Title)
Approver
(Position Title)
08/15/2000
NEW
02/25/2003
Policy Rewrite
All
06/05/2007
Policy Rewrite
All
05/25/2016
Policy Rewrite
08/11/2017
Editorial
– formatting
Director, University
Secretariat
01/22/2020
Editorial
Template Update
Policy Specialist
University Secretary
04/04/2023
Minor update
All
RSC Institutions Policy
Working Group
ELT