Linked below are drafts of four revised and one new Board Policy that will be presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration at the May 22, 2025, regular Board of Trustees meeting. The attached policy drafts are red lined to show the proposed changes. Question or comments regarding these proposed policy amendments can be directed to Ben Beaumont (bbeaumont@uasys.edu).
The proposed policy amendments include:
Revised Board Policy 365.1 Financial Accounting and Reporting – This proposed policy amendment incudes establishing dotted line reporting of finance staff at the departmental and college levels of each campus, division and unit to the campus, division or unit chief financial officer (CFO), and from the campus, division or unit CFO to the UA System Vice President for Finance. This change results from a Board resolution adopted in 2024 to create establish dotted line financial reporting across the system. The proposed policy also creates a new section directing the system to establish and maintain a structured process for the timely and accurate closing of financial periods. The new section prescribes a financial close process to be completed on monthly, quarterly and annual bases by each campus, division and unit, including a comprehensive period close checklist. The policy states that each campus, division and unit CFO is responsible for the financial period close process described in the policy.
Revised Board Policy 425.6 Voluntary Retirement Incentives – Act 249 of 2025 amends two existing statutes regarding the Board’s authority to offer early retirement incentives to faculty and staff members. The Act extends the Board’s ability to offer early retirement incentives to non-tenured faculty and staff on an individual basis and amends a provision regarding the management of early retirement incentive windows to allow the University to make them available to employees who meet the retirement requirements for any state-sponsored retirement program. To comply with the Act, the policy draft proposes combining current Board Policy 425.6 and 425.7 into one policy, which sets parameters for providing early retirement incentives to faculty and staff individually, and for a campus, division or unit to create voluntary retirement Window Incentive Periods with approval by the President. The policy contemplates personnel cost savings for early retirements initiated by tenured faculty members and for those offered to faculty and staff through a Window Incentive Period. For early retirements initiated by the University and offered to faculty and staff individually, the policy specifies the need for written explanations of why a proposed voluntary retirement incentive is the best interest of the University when the basis is not a demonstrated net savings in personnel costs. Upon approval by the Board, the system plans to implement a UA Systemwide Policy and Procedure providing guidance to the campuses, divisions and units regarding eligibility requirements and the calculation of cost savings when considering early retirement agreements.
Revised Board Policy 740.2 Small Projects and On-Call Contracts – Procedures for Selection of Architects or Engineers – The proposed changes provide clarity regarding how architects and engineers can be selected for “small projects,” such as maintenance, minor renovation, repairs or feasibility studies that are not capital projects as defined in Board Policy 730.1. The revised policy would, with respect to small projects, allow a campus to select from among qualified professionals who already have an on-call contract with the campus or from a statement of qualifications either submitted annually or in connection with a specific small project without prior Board approval.
New Board Policy 100.5 Attending Board of Trustees Meetings Remotely – Act 505 of 2025 allows certain governing bodies, including the Board of Trustees, to adopt policies permitting members of the governing board to attend a public meeting remotely under the Freedom of Information Act. Proposed new Board Policy 100.5 meets this requirement and incorporates other requirements in the Act regarding remote attendance by governing board members, public access to remote meetings, and regarding recording and notice of public meetings with remote attendance.
Revised Board Policy 100.4 Rules and Regulations of the Board of Trustees – Audit and Fiscal Responsibility Committee Charter – The Audit and Fiscal Responsibility Committee is required to annually review its charter, which is contained within Board Policy 100.4. The Audit Department is recommending one minor change to the charter to change the name of the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing to “Global Internal Auditing Standards.”