Funds spent for capital construction in the United States reached $4.3 billion in 1985. As the amount of funds for higher education capital construction has increased, so has the concern for adequate controls on capital spending. The scope and size of the existing physical plants and the number of construction or remodeling projects currently underway call for careful scrutiny of the manner in which public governing boards carry out their responsibilities on the public\u27s behalf.
The primary focus of this study was the involvement of statewide higher education governing boards in the review and approval of capital projects. The stated purposes of the study were (1) to identify the decision-making points in planning capital projects for public higher education facilities, (2) to determine what should be the involvement of statewide higher education governing boards in capital planning, and (3) to develop a model which identified the critical decision-making points for statewide higher education governing boards in capital project planning.
The model was developed based on responses to a survey of state higher education executive officers in eight states and university business officers of selected public universities in the eight states. The results of the survey incorporated into the model show that a statewide governing board\u27s decision-making involvement in capital project planning should include the following actions: approve project scope and budget; approve the program statements; approve selection of architectural consultants; approve schematic design; award construction contract, and accept completed construction project.
This study examined statewide governing boards\u27 responsibility in capital planning, with particular attention to the distribution of decision-making responsibility among the board, the institutions under its governance, and other governmental bodies
