3.2.13 – Governance and Administration

 

Any institution-related foundation not controlled by the institution has a contractual or other formal agreement that (a) accurately describes the relationship between the institution and the foundation, and (b) describes any liability associated with that relationship.  In all cases, the institution ensures that the relationship is consistent with its mission.

___X___ Compliance   ______ Partial Compliance   ______ Non-Compliance

The Texas A&M University-Texarkana Foundation and Texas A&M University-Texarkana Alumni Association are not controlled by the institution, but have contractual agreements that accurately describe the relationship between the institution and the foundation/association, and liabilities associated with that relationship. Each relationship is consistent with A&M-Texarkana’s mission.

Statement of Rationale for Judgment of Compliance

The Texas A&M University-Texarkana Foundation is not controlled by the institution, but has a contractual agreement (Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)) that accurately describes the relationship between the institution and the foundation.   This memorandum of understanding is updated periodically and is in compliance with Texas Government Code that requires a state agency for which a private organization exists that is designated to further the purposes and duties of the agency, to adopt rules governing the relationship between the organization and the agency.  Texas A&M University-Texarkana and the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Foundation are also in compliance with Texas A&M University System Regulation 60.01.01, Association with Affiliated Fund Raising Organizations.  

Furthermore the MOU describes liabilities associated with that relationship in section 10.0, “Indemnification,” located on page 10.  Each party, to the extent of the laws of the State of Texas, indemnifies and holds harmless the other party, its governing board, officers, employees, agents, and students in their official and individual capacities, from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, expenses, demands, and judgments, including court costs and attorney’s fees, arising out of the party’s performance of this Agreement, except for injury or damage caused by the sole negligence of the other party.”

The relationship between A&M-Texarkana and the Foundation is consistent with A&M-Texarkana’s mission. The mission states in paragraph one sentence two that “A&M-Texarkana offers a broad array of undergraduate and an increasing number of master’s level programs and is committed to meeting the educational needs of its students” and in paragraph two sentence two “…higher education should be accessible for all qualified students, emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in the learning environment.”  The MOU states in section 1.0 Foundation Support of TAMU-T  - “The Foundation’s sole purpose is to provide support to Texas A&M University-Texarkana.”  It further states (in section 1.1) that the Foundation will raise, receive, invest, and administer funds for TAMUT to use for its charitable and educational purposes;(in section 1.2) assist in fund raising activities and development of programs for the benefit of Texas A&M University-Texarkana; (in section 1.3) solicit funds for the purchase of equipment, supplies, faculty travel, support of research, funding faculty chairs, student scholarships, support other educational, research, cultural, scientific, public service, and charitable activities; and (in section 1.4) perform other acts as deemed appropriate in carrying out the mission of the university.

The Texas A&M University-Texarkana Alumni Association is not controlled by the institution, but has a contractual agreement (Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)) that accurately describes the relationship between the institution and the alumni association.   This memorandum of understanding is also updated periodically and is in compliance with Texas Government Code.  The MOA on page 1 paragraph one sentence one states that Texas A&M University-Texarkana Alumni Association is independent of TAMU-T. Paragraph two states that the unique relationship of supporting the mission and goals of TAMU-T has been made. The means to support the mission is outlined in Sections II (page 2) and III (page 3) of the document. 

Section IV (page 3) reflects that no monetary consideration will be paid by either TAMU-T or Association to the other, resulting in no liabilities.

Organizational unit responsible for this requirement: Office of the President