The purpose of the Docket Resource Guide
is to provide information and guidance on the preparation and submission of Docket items that are reviewed by the members of the Board of Regent's Finance and Planning Committee and considered for approval at regular meetings of the Board of Regents.
Docket Contact
The UT System Institution Docket Coordinator is Sherill Boline. For assistance, contact her at 512.499.4558 or e-mail at sboline@utsystem.edu. Below are other contacts related to specific Docket questions or items:
What is a Docket
The definition in Merimam Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary states in part that a docket is "a brief written summary of a document, a formal abridged record of the proceedings in a legal action, a register of such records, a calendar of business matters to be acted on, an identifying statement about a document, to inscribe with an identifying statement, to make a brief abstract of and inscribe it in a list, and to place on the docket for legal action."
The Docket for The University of Texas System is a list of routine items in a consistent summary format. These items require reporting to the Board of Regents and/or approval by the Board of Regents based on recommendations following administrative approval by the appropriate System Administration official. Dockets become a part of the official minutes of The University of Texas System Board of Regents' Meetings.
Why do items have to be approved by the Board of Regents?
The Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System for the governance of The University of Texas System, Rule 10101:
Sec 1. Authority of the Board of Regents. The Legislature, which is given the duty and authority to provide for the maintenance, support, and direction of The University of Texas by Article VII, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution, has delegated the power and authority to administer The University of Texas System to the Board of Regents in broad terms. (See Texas Education Code, Section 65.11 et seq.) Texas cases construing these statues have held that the Board of Regents has wide discretion in exercising its power and authority and that the rules adopted by the Board of Regents have the same force as statutes. The System's lands and buildings are state property subject to the control of the Board of Regents as the State's agent.
How to obtain approval from the Board of Regents
There are two ways to obtain approval from the Board of Regents outlined below. Please note that for certain specified items, the Board of Regents has delegated approval authority to a System Administration official and there is no further requirement of inclusion of these items in the Docket for approval by the Board of Regents or report to the Board of Regents.
- Agenda Item - The agenda for a regular quarterly Board of Regents' meeting is the primary mechanism for recommending items that require prior Regental approval. For assistance with agenda items, refer to the Agenda Manual.
- Docket - For certain specified items, the Board of Regents has delegated administrative approval authority to a System Administration official with subsequent presentation of these items to the Board via inclusion in the Docket for approval and/or reporting. The Board of Regents, based on the recommendation contained in the agenda of the Finance and Planning Committee, then approves the Docket.
Submit as an agenda item any item identified by an executive officer or institution president as a matter of such significance to require prior approval of the Board of Regents, in accordance with Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 10501.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Docket Preparation
The Docket Resource Guidel are intended for use by the institution docket coordinators. Contact the docket coordinator at the institution for specifics as to what is needed when submitting an item for inclusion in the institution Docket.
A Docket Template file with the following preset formatting is available for Docket coordinators on the UT System Docket Portal.
- Portrait style
- Microsoft Word
- Letter size
- Arial font, 12 point
- Top, left, and right margins are 1 inch
- Footer margin is 1/2 inch
- Align left
- Abbreviations or acronyms are generally prohibited; exceptions are states and well-known abbreviations such as U. T., M.D., Dr., etc.
- Adjust the introductory paragraph in each section, as needed, for singular or plural language.
- Do not use hard returns to advance to the next page. Insert page breaks.
- Do not include anything on the Docket that cannot be verified from the Docket support.
- Docket support is required for all items except Amendments to the Budget as support is available online through the Request for Budget Change (RBC) System. Institutions are responsible for maintaining the "original" support document.
- References used in this guide include the Regents' Rules and Regulations. These rules can be viewed online at: http://www.utsystem.edu/bor/rules.htm.
- Policies referenced in this guide can be accessed online at: http://www.utsystem.edu/policy.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Information:
Docket gifts and pledges with a value of more than $1 million that are unrestricted, restricted for a current purpose, or restricted for an addition to a planned gift, but do not result in an upgrade of endowment level, include a request for matching funds or amend the terms of the planned gift.
The full amount of a pledge should be docketed when the original pledge is made. No additional amounts should be docketed as the pledge payments are received.
When seeking administrative approval by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor, the approval request letter from the president must state that permission has been given to have donor name made public. If no such certification is provided, the donor will be noted as anonymous on the Docket item. The Texas Government Code Section 552.1235 states that a donor's name may not be released or published unless they give express permission. When there is no letter of transmittal from the donor, footnote the following at the end of the description of the gift: "No letter of transmittal from the donor."
The value of a noncash gift is the value of the item on the gift date.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 10501, Delegation to Act on Behalf of the Board
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 70301, Matters Relating to Real Property
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80201, Disposal of UT System Property
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80103, Solicitation
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80301, Capital Improvement Program
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80302, Building Committees
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80402, Major Construction and Repair and Rehabilitation Projects
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80403, Minor Construction and Repair and Rehabilitation Projects
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80404, Institutional Management of Major Construction and Repair and Rehabilitation Projects
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 90101, General Rules for Intellectual Property
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 90105, Execution of Legal Documents Related to Intellectual Property
- Guidelines for Management and Marketing of Intellectual Property
- Trademark Licensing Process
- UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS125, Procedures for Processing Sponsored Research Agreements
- UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS126, Processing of Space Lease Agreements
- UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS128, Consulting Contracts
- UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS130, Vending Machine Contracts
- UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS145, Processing of Contracts
- Office of General Counsel Construction Law Web site
- Summary of Contracts Requiring Board Approval
Definitions:
Contracts - All contracts, agreements, purchase orders, leases, and memoranda of understanding between two or more entities or persons that create an enforceable obligation.
Consulting Contracts - Contracts under which an institution procures consulting services. Consulting contracts are governed by UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS128.
Consulting Services - Services related to studying or advising an institution not involving the traditional relationship of employer and employee. For more information, see UT System Policy, UTS128.
Contracts with Certain Officers - Contracts, regardless of dollar amount, with the Chancellor, a president, a former Chancellor or president, an Executive Vice Chancellor, a Vice Chancellor, the General Counsel to the Board of Regents, or Chief Audit Executive.
Foreign contracts - Contracts with a foreign government or agency thereof.
General Contracts - All contracts that pertain to the operation or mission of an institution except Purchase Orders and Vouchers, Intellectual Property Agreements, Nonintellectual Property-Related Sponsored Research Agreements, Affiliation Agreements, or Program Agreements.
Grant - Contract under which a sum of money is given by an entity or person to an institution for a specific purpose such as education or research.
Intellectual Property Agreement - Any contract, sponsored research agreement, institutional support grant, or intellectual property license that conveys an interest in Board of Regents intellectual property.
Job Order Contract Agreement - A project delivery method for minor construction, repair, rehabilitation, or alteration of a facility if work is of a recurring nature but the delivery times are indefinite and quantities and orders are awarded substantially on the basis of predescribed and prepriced tasks.
Minor Project - Construction project of $1 million or less and for repair and rehabilitation projects of $2 million or less.
Nonintellectual Property-related Sponsored Research Agreement - Any contract or grant sponsored research agreement that does not convey an interest in Board of Regents intellectual property.
Significant Contracts - Contracts identified by UT presidents and executive officers that are of such significance to require the prior approval of the Board of Regents.
Space Leases - Leases entered into by the Board of Regents for the benefit of an institution to provide space for institutional use.
Information:
An institution's dollar threshold may be increased up to $5 million by the Vice chancellor and General Counsel, after consultation with the General Counsel to the Board of Regents, if determined that the institution has the expertise to negotiate, review, and administer such contracts. Unless approved in advance by the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, any increase will not apply to contracts or agreements designated as Special Procedure Contracts by the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel.
Docket General Contracts, Consulting Contracts, insurance settlements, leases of realty (including Space Leases), settlement agreements and Job Order Contract Agreements if the total cost or value to the institution is more than $1 million and Foreign Contracts and Contracts with Certain Officers regardless of amount, in the Contracts section of the Docket (see Summary of Contracts Requiring Board Approval).
Docket Purchase Orders and Vouchers with a cost or value of more than $1 million in the Other Fiscal Items section of the Docket [ref. Sections 3 and 3.1, Rule 10501 of the Regents' Rules].
Do not docket Significant Contracts, instead, submit Significant Contracts as an agenda item [ref. Section 1, Rule 10501 of the Regents' Rules].
In determining total cost or value of the Contract or Space Lease, include all potential contract extensions documented in the Contract or Space Lease. If there are questions regarding calculating the total cost or value of the contract or lease, consult with the Office of General Counsel.
Docket intercollegiate game contracts with a cost or value of more than $1 million in the Other Fiscal Items section of the Docket; however, do not docket postseason bowl game contracts (postseason bowl game contracts and agreements must be reviewed by the UT System Office of General Counsel and approved by the UT System Office of Academic Affairs).
Docket signed Vending Machine Contracts in order to comply with the requirements of Texas Government CodeSection 2203.005(a). All Vending Machine Contracts must comply with UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS130. As required by Texas Government Code Section 2203.005(b), the institution must forward an executed copy of the Vending Machine Contract to the Texas Procurement and Support Services Division of theTexas Comptroller ofPublic Accounts, indicating the contract has been approved by the Board of Regents and including a description of the location of the vending machines provided under that contract.
Docket Job Order Contract Agreements when the anticipated fees over the life of the agreement exceed $1 million are subject to Board of Regents approval. Regents' Rules Rule 10501, Section 3.1.
Include both "Funds Coming In" contracts and "Funds Going Out" contracts in the Contracts section of the Docket. If there are no contracts with "Funds Coming In" or "Funds Going Out," do not include those headings in the Docket.
Except in the case of Vending Machine Contracts, Docket support must include either 1) a copy of the final negotiated Contract or Space Lease that will be signed by the parties, or 2) a copy of the signed Contract or Space Lease containing the following provision or similar language as noted in UT System Adminisration Policy, UTS145:
This [Contract] is not effective until approved by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System.
Do not include anything in the Docket that cannot be verified from the Docket support documentation.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 40303, Establishing Both Admission Policies and Criteria for Award of Scholarships and Fellowships
Information:
Docket proposed changes to admission requirements and criteria for award of institutional scholarships and fellowships following approval by the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic or Health Affairs.
Proposed changes as identified above and other major policy or programmatic changes must be submitted for review to the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor well in advance of submitting the catalog for printing and prior to announcement of proposed changes.
Changes are to be submitted in congressional form not Microsoft track changes format.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
- Current Operating Budget Rules and Procedures
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 20501, Accounting, Operating Budgets, and Legislative Appropriations Requests
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 30102, General Appointment Information
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 30103, Standards of Conduct
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 30201, Leave Policies
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 31001, Faculty Appointments and Titles
- Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 60202, Endowed Academic Positions
Information:
Standard Docket format must be followed using samples provided in the UT System Docket Portal.
Subsections that appear are:
- Tenure Appointments
- Transfers of Funds
Items applicable to each subsection must be listed in budget order within each subsection.
Request for Budget Change (RBCs) are docketed for Tenure Appointments and Transfers of Funds must follow the current Operating Budget Rules and Procedures.
All RBCs included in the Docket must have approval of the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor and the UT System Controller's Office through the online RBC system.
Tenure Appointments and Other Personnel Matters appearing on the Docket:
- New hires with tenure
- Initial awards of tenure to current faculty
- Honorific naming of Emeritus positions (Dean, Chair, Professor)
- Appointments, promotions, and salary increases involving the president and not occurring during the normal budget approval process
Effective dates for RBCs can be found in Section B, Item 4 of the current Operating Budget Rules and Procedures.
Promotions within tenure ranks (e.g., Assistant Professor) are not required to appear on the Docket.
Award of President Emeritus title is approved via an agenda item and not included in the Docket.
Docket Dual Positions of Honor, Trust, or Profit in the Other Matters section.
Transfers appearing on the Docket:
- Transfers from Unappropriated Educational and General Fund Balance regardless of the amount
- Increases in budgeted amounts of $500,000 or more from income for Educational and General Funds, Auxiliary Enterprises, Designated Funds, Service Departments and Revolving Funds. Increases in Restricted Funds do not require an RBC and do not appear on the Docket
- Increases to Plant Funds of $500,000 or more that result from transfers from Educational and General Funds, Auxiliary Enterprises, Designated Funds, Service Departments, and Revolving Funds
- Transfers from Restricted Funds do not require an RBC and do not appear on the Docket.
Explanations of transfers must provide a clear, understandable summary with minimal abbreviations.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 10501, Delegation to Act on Behalf of the Board
Information:
Items placed in this section will vary. Examples of items include:
- Employment agreements for new athletic directors and head coaches
- Changes to current athletic directors' and head coaches' salaries not included in the annual budget submission
- Purchase Orders of more than $1 million
In the case of Purchase Orders, do not docket purchase orders included in the currently approved institution operating budget or in the Capital Improvement Program budget.
The format for docketing will vary according to the items presented; however, each item should indicate approval by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor.
Use the appropriate docket format for head coaches and athletic directors; initial agreement, renewal, or amendment of the employment contract.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 80201, Disposal of UT System Property
Information:
Standard docket format should be followed using the sample provided in the UT System Docket Portal.
Sales of less than $100,000 should be approved by the President, but no docketing is required.
Sales are reported in the Docket after the item has been sold.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Summary of Statutory Authority for Fees and Charges
Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 40401, Assessment, Collection, and Waiver of Tuition and Fees
Information:
Refer to the Summary of Statutory Authority to determine which fees require Board of Regents approval. The fees marked with a single asterik require Board of Regents approval while two asteriks require President and Executive Vice Chancellor approval.
When a fee is covered by a general statute and a specific statute, the specific statue applies.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 30103, Standards of Conduct
Regents' Rules and Regulations, Rule 40801, Colors, Logo, and Mascot
Information:
Items in this section will vary. This category will include items that do not fall into other sections such as:
- Dual Positions of Honor, Trust, or Profit
- Adoption of a Logo, Color, Theme, or Mascot
All items in this section must have prior approval of the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor before inclusion in the Docket.
Form will vary according to the items presented; however, each item should indicate approval by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Texas Education Code Section 51.403, Reports of Student Enrollment and Academic Performance
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules, Section 5.26, Offering of Small Classes by Public Universities
Information:
Standard docket format must be followed using samples provided in the UT System Docket Portal.
A separate format is available for Academic and Health institutions.
Small Class Reports - while no longer required to be submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, it is still required by statute that they must be submitted annually to the governing boards of institutions of higher education.
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following items previously required docketing; however, due to changes in the Regents' Rules and Regulations, docketing is no longer required. Refer to the specific Regents' Rule for direction on who has approval authority.
- Parking and Traffic Regulations
- Appointment or Promotion of Relatives and Marriage of Certain Employees
- Standard Teaming Agreements
- Plans to Manage Potential Conflicts of Interest
- Hogg Foundation Contracts
- Endowed Chairs and Named Professorships
- Third-year Leaves of Absences
- Teaching Overloads
- Faculty Constitution or Bylaws
- Student Constitution or Bylaws
- Phased Retirement Contracts for Faculty Members
- Sale of Art or Rare Volumes
- Purchase From or Sale To University Employees
- Quarterly Report of MSRDP, PRS, DSRDP, and AHSRDP Plans
- Promotions of Faculty Members Within Tenure Ranks
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review the following checklist prior to submitting the Docket. Ensure that all items have been checked and are correct.
General Items:
- Docket items in correct order
- Correct use of plural/singular language in the introductory paragraphs
- Items referencing money have "$" signs unless the $ is in the column heading
- Cents have been dropped (example: use $5,000 not $5,000.00)
- No abbreviations or acronyms used unless defined
- Page numbers have a space before and after the "-" (Docket - XX)
- Items within a section have been numbered correctly
- Board of Regents meeting date is correct and appears on each page
- Spell check was performed and all words are spelled correctly
- Consistent use of U. T. System Board of Regents
- One space between sentences
- Funds In and Funds Out are docketed correctly
Support:
- Contracts are signed or include alternate language (see Contracts Section)
- All items approved by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor
- Request to place gifts on the Docket must include the donor's approval for their name to be public. If no such statement exists, the donor should be listed as anonymous.
- Support for logos, mascots, colors, or themes must include a full color jpeg file
- No support is needed for Amendments to the Budget as approvals are made using the online RBC system
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The institution docket and support must be uploaded to the UT System Docket Portal by 5:00 pm on or before the due date. Do not mail hardcopy backup to UT System Administration unless support materials are too voluminous or unless otherwise requested. When necessary, mail hardcopy documents to the following address:
The University of Texas System Administration
Office of the Controller
Attn: Sherill Boline
201 West Seventh Street, ASH 5th Floor
Austin, Texas 78701
512.499.4527
Due Dates for Docket Submission:
Dockets are due to the UT System Office of the Controller approximately six weeks prior to each meeting of the Board of Regents. Docket due dates are subject to change. Dates for upcoming docket submissions are available at one of the following links:
[Back to top]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
