President's Delegations of Authority

The Board of Regents delegates authorities to the president to act as chief executive officer of the University of Minnesota, within the constraints of Board policy. The president may sub-delegate those authorities to employees throughout the organization where appropriate for their position.

President’s Delegations of Authority

Individuals with delegations of authority are able to act on behalf of the University and to bind the University to a legally enforceable obligation. The president may subdelegate or retain any executive management and administrative authority that has been given to the president by the Board of Regents and not otherwise restricted by specific Board policies or directives, to senior leaders who report directly to the president. The president may condition, limit, or revoke any delegated authorities at any time. Authorities retained by the president may not be exercised by any other person, unless expressly specified in administrative policy  or a documented presidential directive.

Sub-Delegations of the President’s Authority

Senior leaders who report directly to the president and to whom the president has delegated authorities may choose to sub-delegate authorities to positions who report to them. In situations where the president has placed a subdelegation limitation on an authority, further sub-delegations are prohibited. These leaders are ultimately responsible and accountable for the proper sub-delegation of the president’s authorities throughout their units, in accordance with this policy.

Delegations of Authority Provisions

1. Delegators may grant authorities only to a position (delegate) within the delegator’s area of managerial control and that is reflected as a direct report in the Position Management Module. The authorities must be granted and exercised consistently with the terms and conditions of the original delegation and with all applicable laws and University policies, including specifically Board of Regents Policies: Reservations and Delegations of Authority, Legal Review of Contracts and Transactions, and Internal Control.
2. Delegators must communicate their delegations of authority (new or revised) to their Delegation of Authority Specialist for their college/campus, in writing and in a format that is accessible to them. Delegators or a representative, typically the Delegation of Authority Specialist, must also notify the delegatee of the change(s).
3. Delegatees must be currently employed in a position with some responsibility for the activity being conducted. When the delegatee no longer holds that position, the authority(s) remain with that position. The replacement who is hired into the position (and associated position number) will automatically have those same authorities, unless the delegator removes or limits one or more authorities associated with the position. If a replacement is hired for the position and is assigned a different position number, sub-delegations must be added to the new position number.
4. Delegatees:
   • must act only within the scope of that delegation, including limiting their actions to the campus, college, or department referenced in the delegation;
   • may choose, at their discretion, to sub-delegate the authority to another position reporting to them if it is not expressly disallowed or limited in any way;
   • may not sub-delegate greater responsibility and decision-making authority than their position has been delegated; and
   • remain responsible and accountable at all times for the exercise of any authority they choose to delegate.

In the event that the delegatee has an individual or institutional conflict of interest as defined by University policy related to an authority that they have, the delegatee must inform their delegator of the conflict and must not exercise the authority until the conflict has been eliminated or managed by the University.

Compliance

Delegatees who act outside the scope of their authority and do not have documented authority to do so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Delegatees with delegations of authorities that require additional approvals (e.g., legal or financial) must ensure that these additional approvals are obtained. (See Board of Regents Policies: Reservation and Delegation of Authority, Legal Review of Contracts and Transactions, and Internal Control.)

Employees who do not have the authority to sign contracts and agreements are prohibited from doing so.

Ambiguities involving Delegations of Authority

In the event that there is an ambiguity or an inconsistency involving delegation assignments, the president or the president's delegate will determine who has the ultimate authority.

Documentation

The Delegation of Authority specialist will retain documentation from the delegator that authorizes any additions or changes to their sub-delegations as well as the notification of change that was provided to a delegatee. This documentation must be made available upon request by the Office of Institutional Compliance or Office of Internal Audit.

Annual Reviews

Colleges/campuses must review delegations of authority at least annually to ensure they are up-to-date and appropriate and communicate completion of this work to the Office of Institutional Compliance. These reviews will be facilitated by Delegations of Authority specialists.