System Procedure 1A.2.2 Delegation of Authority

System Procedures
Chapter 1A - System & Office Operations

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §136F.06, M.S. 15.06, Subd. 6, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board Policy 1A.3, Part 4, provides for delegations of authority by the Board of Trustees to the chancellor and to the chancellor's designees. The goal of this policy is to ensure the efficient operation of the system and its institutions while maintaining fiscal and administrative integrity. The purpose of this procedure is to help achieve that goal by identifying those situations in which it is appropriate to use delegations of authority and the procedures that should be used when making such delegations.

As used in this procedure, a "delegation of authority" is the formal conveyance from one person to another of the authority to bind Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, the system office or a college or university to a legally enforceable obligation. Any such transfers of powers and duties of the Board and the chancellor are therefore significant actions requiring great care and scrutiny.

Part 1. General Scope of Delegations
The chancellor is accountable for assuring proper delegation of authority to the presidents and employees in the system office. Presidents, after appropriate delegation from the chancellor, are accountable for assuring proper delegation of authority to employees of their institution.

Delegations of authority are limited both in scope and number. Delegations of authority should only be used in the following situations:

where the action to be delegated should be located at the campus level, rather than at the system office, in accordance with board and chancellor policies and goals; and/or
where the actions to be taken are technical in nature and where it is not appropriate to expect the board, the chancellor, or a president to have the knowledge or expertise necessary to take the actions; and/or
where the person receiving the delegation has the training and expertise to use the delegated authority appropriately and knowledgeably; and/or
when the risk of abuse of a delegated authority is minimal or where it can reasonably be controlled; and/or
when the responsibilities of the employee receiving the delegation requires such authority to provide the employee the capacity to carry out his/her responsibilities; and
when there is a method in place to insure proper exercise of the delegation of authority including a monitoring and audit system.

Delegation of authority requires ongoing compliance with applicable statutes, rules and board policies. Delegations shall be as specific as possible with dollar limits indicated, if applicable, to help insure proper accountability. No delegation of authority shall exceed limitations established in statute, board policy, or procedure. State law prohibits persons who receive delegations of authority from incurring obligations which result in the system office or institution exceeding its fiscal year allocation.

Part 2. Authority to Delegate
Delegation of authority to sign all documents on behalf of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, its colleges or universities, the system office and/or its Board of Trustees is vested without limitation in the chancellor. The chancellor may delegate to the presidents, vice chancellors, and his/her cabinet officers the authority relating to their specific areas of responsibility.

The vice chancellors and the chancellor's cabinet officers may delegate to their subordinates specific authority pursuant to the scope defined above. No other persons in the system office may delegate authority.

The chancellor may delegate to the presidents of institutions authority that relates to their institutions. The presidents may delegate to their respective subordinates specific delegation of authority pursuant to the scope defined above. Only the president may so delegate unless the chancellor, in the delegation to the president, specifically empowers another employee of the institution also to delegate.

No delegation shall be made of all or substantially all of the powers held by any persons making a delegation.

Part 3. Authority to Receive Delegations
A delegation of authority shall be commensurate with the employee's role within the organization. No delegation shall be made to any person whose level of responsibility within the system or college or university is lower than the level of person who reasonably could be expected to understand and act in respect to the powers being delegated. Unless specifically authorized by the chancellor in respect to system office employees, or by the president in respect to that institution, delegations can only be made to a professional or managerial employee as those are defined by applicable personnel laws, rules, or agreements.

Part 4. Delegation Management
A system office employee shall be designated by the chancellor to be responsible for managing and monitoring the delegations of authority for the presidents and system office employees. A college or university employee shall be designated by the president to be responsible for managing and monitoring the delegations of authority for employees of the college or university. This includes maintaining official files of all delegations of authority and conducting periodic audits of all delegations to ensure that they are updated as necessary.

Delegations of authority shall be prepared using the template approved by the system office. The original of each executed delegation must be filed with the responsible employee at the college or university or the system office.

Part 5. Effective Dates
A delegation of authority shall become effective on the date the delegation form is fully executed unless a later effective date is specified on the delegation form.

Delegations shall be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure filing of new or revised delegations or rescinding delegation authority for employees. Authority is automatically rescinded upon an employee's separation from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

The Delegation/Rescission of Authority form and instructions can be found in Finance Connect under Employee Forms.

Procedure History:

Date of Adoption: 08/01/96
Date of Implementation: 07/01/96
Date of Last Review:

Date & Subject of Amendments:

12/15/20 – technical change to Part 5. Delegation/Rescission of Authority form location was updated.

01/08/20 – technical change to Part 5. Delegation/Rescission of Authority form location was updated.

02/07/17 – technical change to Part 5. Delegation/Rescission of Authority form location was updated.

1/25/12 - The Chancellor amends all current system procedures effective February 15, 2012, to change the term "Office of the Chancellor" to "system office" or similar term reflecting the grammatical context of the sentence.

Additional HISTORY.

System Procedure 1A.2.2 Delegation of Authority

Related Documents:

Procedure History: