POLICY 08:16:00

GRANT DEVELOPMENT

The Grant Development office advances the mission and goals of Pellissippi State Community College by providing institutional leadership and support for the identification and cultivation of external funding opportunities, proposal development processes, and grant management & compliance assistance.
Purpose: The following policies are established to delineate responsibilities and establish standards for: A) grant project development; B) grant award implementation; and C) grant award compliance at Pellissippi State Community College.

Grant Project Development:
1. All federal, state, local, private and/or other external grant proposals must be coordinated and submitted through the Grant Development office in order to centralize monitoring of institutional resource commitments and administration.
2. All grant projects must receive internal approval through the established grant initiation process prior to proposal development. The Grant Development office is responsible for maintaining and facilitating the process for grant initiation approval.
3. Grant projects must be in alignment with the College’s Strategic Plan, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and/or other long-range institutional goals or departmental operational objectives. Projects which are not in alignment with the Strategic Plan or other priority initiatives will not be pursued unless initiated through the Grant Development office with the president’s approval.
4. Initiation of grant projects by faculty/staff, departments, or divisions is encouraged Participation in a grant development activity by faculty or staff is considered to be both professional development and service to the College and should be credited and recognized accordingly during annual performance evaluations.
5. In the event that a grant sponsor requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, timely notification to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Assessment, and Planning (IEAP) is required in order to complete an appropriate review. When applicable, IRB approval must be acquired prior to grant application submission.
6. All grant proposals must be reviewed by the Grant Development office and the appropriate vice president/supervisor prior to the grant submission deadline.
7. Before submission, grant proposal budgets will be reviewed by the director of Grant Development and the College’s Grants Accountant. Any in-kind and/or match contributions must be approved by the appropriate departmental vice president/s and the vice president of Business & Finance.
8. All proposed grant-funded salaries and/or other compensation for work on a grant project, including faculty release time must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate departmental dean and vice president in consultation with the executive director of Human Resources and vice president of Business & Finance.
9. Grant proposals/applications must receive final authorization by the president or president’s designee prior to submission. A completed proposal, including project budget, must be available for review at least five business days prior to grant submission deadline, unless a shorter time period is approved by the president and/or the director of Grant Development. Grant proposals/applications requiring 501(c)(3) status must receive authorization of the executive director of the Pellissippi State Foundation prior to submission.
Grant Award Implementation:
1. Grant Award Agreements/Contracts – Signing Authority:
  1. All agreements and contracts affecting and issued to the College must be approved and executed by the president or the president’s designee.
  2. All agreements and contracts affecting and issued to the Pellissippi State Foundation must be approved and executed by the executive director of the Foundation.
2. Grant projects will be administered in compliance with the awarding agency regulations, state policies, College policies and procedures, and TBR policies and procedures.
3. Grant awards will be announced to the public after all congressional, TBR, and college policies and protocols are met. The president or president’s designee will authorize the release of all grant awards to the public.
4. The Grant Development office will maintain a process for and facilitate a post-award grant project meeting for all new grant awards following full execution of a grant award agreement.
5. The principal investigator/project director will notify the Grant Development office upon notification from a granting agency of any scheduled site visit, desk audit, or other audit requests.
6. Unless grant terms/conditions specify otherwise, in- kind and/or other match contributions will be considered part of the restricted grant project and will be documented according to stated commitments in the grant award agreement.
7. Unless grant terms/conditions specify otherwise, indirect costs will be charged to the grant award at the College’s current approved/negotiated indirect cost rate. Exceptions to this must be approved by the vice president of Business & Finance and/or the president.
8. Unless otherwise directed by the president, or specified differently by a grant funding agency, the director of Grant Development serves as the primary point of contact for funding communications and negotiations for all grant-funded projects.
Grant Award Compliance:
1. The College vice presidents maintain responsibility for grant compliance and will monitor grant funded projects to ensure:
  1. Conformity with stated institutional values, purposes, and goals
  2. Clear identification of faculty/staff obligations in relation to grant project goals and objectives
  3. Institutional control of all grant-based activities and expenditures
  4. External grant funding is not being used to supplant operational funding
  5. Each grant project is on schedule to meet its established benchmarks, goals/objectives, and spending plans.
2. The director of Grant Development maintains responsibility to provide the College vice presidents
  with grant project monitoring reports that reflect the status of each active grant’s programmatic and fiscal
  activity. Reports will be provided on at least a quarterly basis. The director of Grant Development will
  provide guidance and recommendations to the College president and vice presidents regarding grant
  project compliance, as needed and/or requested.

Reference Documents: SACSCOC Criteria for Accreditation Section VI, 6.5 Externally Funded Grants and Contracts; TBR Policy 1-03-02-10 Approval of Agreements; TBR Policy A-010 Academic Program Proposals-inclusive

Approved: Executive Council, March 4, 1991
Executive Council, November 16, 1992
Editorial Changes, August 1, 1994
Reviewed/ Recommended: President’s Council, March 6, 1995
Approved: Allen G. Edwards, President, March 6, 1995
Approved: Allen G. Edwards, President, November 17, 1998
Approved: President’s Staff, January 24, 2006
Approved: Allen G. Edwards, President, January 24, 2006
Editorial Changes, July 2008, April 30, 2009, July 1, 2009
Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Council, November 23, 2015
Approved: L. Anthony Wise, Jr., President, November 23, 2015
Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Council, March 28, 2022
Approved: President L. Anthony Wise Jr., March 28, 2022