Original Date: 9/1/1995 * Last Revision Effective: 11/23/2021
Policy Contact: Vice President, Administrative Services
Purpose
The following procedures are established to meet the requirements for implementing policy #6820 – Grants and Contracts.
Procedures
Grant Proposals and Contracts
Before a Bellevue College (BC) faculty or staff member submits a proposal or application for outside funding, the vice president of administrative services (VP AS) must review it for applicability to college programs, contractual obligations, potential legal and liability issues, costs to the college (whether direct or indirect), restrictions on use of funds, and any other issues.
Grants that are considered charitable gifts (as defined in RCW 19.09) are required to go through the Bellevue College Foundation (foundation), a separate 501(c )(3) entity. These charitable gift grants are reviewed by the executive director of the foundation. If there is any possibility that a potential grant to the foundation could create legal or liability issues or costs to the college, the proposal will be submitted to the VP AS for additional review.
A faculty or staff member must contact the BC grants office prior to beginning the grant development process. In the case of charitable gifts, the grants office will coordinate with the foundation.
In the case of grants managed through the grants office, the director of grant development or designee will assist with a grant pre-approval case statement and submit the case statement to the grant pre-approval committee (GPAC). If the GPAC approves the concept, the grants office will assist with research and development. If no immediate grant opportunities are identified, the grants office will continue to monitor for opportunities for one (1) calendar year before the case statement must be approved again by the GPAC. Prior to submission to the GPAC, the grants office will also notify the lead faculty or staff member of other applicable processes, such as supervisor approvals and compliance with BC Institutional Review Board procedures or significant financial interests’ disclosures.
For grants administered through the foundation, faculty and staff members should contact the executive director of the foundation or designee.
The director of grant development or their designee will prepare a BC signature approval form and other required materials to the executive director of the foundation and/or the VP AS for review. The director of grant development will forward the form and grant packet to the appropriate signature authority, established by BC 1150P Contract and Purchasing Signature Authority (Procedures). The college president, even in cases where they are the applicable signature authority, will only sign a grant proposal or application after the VP AS has reviewed the documents.
If the grant proposal is accepted and the grant is awarded, BC will follow the contract procedures outlined in 1150P.
Fiscal Controls and Record-keeping
Strict controls on expenditures and record-keeping are required to ensure that BC complies with federal and state law and with the regulations and guidelines of the funding or contracting agency. With limited exceptions for some foundation grants, the BC budget office assigns a unique account code to each grant or contract project to aid in tracking income and expenses. The administrator of the area in which the grant or contract activity will take place has primary signature authority for the grant or contract accounts. This administrator should also assign a staff member to keep fiscal records and monitor the grant or contract budget.
Fully-ratified, original-signature copies of all contracts, agreements and awards are kept in administrative services or the foundation office, depending on where the grant is administered. The originating office is responsible for providing fully-ratified documents to administrative services or the foundation.
Delegated Signature Authority
The president has delegated signature authority (and record-keeping responsibility) for certain types of contracts as outlined in Procedure 1150P.
Ownership
All supplies and equipment purchased with Bellevue College grant or contract funding become the property of Bellevue College. In some cases, items purchased under a grant to the foundation may remain the property of the foundation.
Relevant Laws and Other Resources
Policy #1150 Contract and Signature Purchasing Authority
Procedure #1150P Contract and Signature Purchasing Authority (Procedures)
Policy #3655 – Use of Human Participants in Research Activities
Procedure #3655P – Use of Human Participants in Research Activities
Policy #4300 – Investigator Significant Financial Interest Disclosure
Procedure #4300P – Investigator Significant Financial Interest Disclosure
RCW 19.09 Charitable Solicitations
Revision History
Original 9/1/1995
Revisions 5/10/2005; 5/21/2009; 9/24/2012; 10/19/2015; 11/23/21
Approved By
President’s Cabinet
Last Updated November 23, 2021