In accordance with the NSHE Board of Regents Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 10, Section 8 (III), "Institutional contracts and sponsored programs must be submitted to the institution's President for approval of the conditions and/or contents of the contract or sponsored program " The president has delegated authority for oversight of all sponsored programs to the Office of Sponsored Programs.

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) must review, guide necessary revisions, and approve all sponsored program proposals prior to their submission to any external funding organization. Additionally, OSP holds institutional signature authority on acceptance of all sponsored program awards and, thus, must review and approve all such awards before they are finalized. OSP is the only university unit allowed to accept sponsored program awards.

Prior review and approval from the Chair and/or Center Director and Dean are also required for proposal submissions. These prior internal approvals must be documented on an OSP Internal Routing Form , which must accompany all proposals when they are submitted for OSP review.

Faculty and staff are not authorized to commit the institution through proposal submission or award acceptance. Failure to obtain the required university approvals before submission may result in a refusal to accept or support an award or proposal.