University Policy and Procedures

Policy for FIU By Design

To help the South Florida design industry, the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts has established “FIU By Design” as a Solutions Center to help faculty provide technical assistance, consultation and professional advice and services. FIU By Design is the auxiliary services arm of the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. ​

A consulting service is deemed as on that (a) offers a professional/technical advice on a specific case, rather than research, (b) does not require any signed/sealed documents as an architectural service. Examples of such consulting services include: economic analysis, place-making guidelines, general assessment of physical conditions, development of drawings for reference purposes only, comprehensive auditing and field verification of existing buildings, graphic design, suggestions/advice on how to improve a website, prototype design of an online platform, reconciliation report, cost estaimes, government permitting assistance, field reports, verification os system testing, etc.

Procedures for FIU By Design:

On each potential project or activity, the Director of FIU By Design wil first contact the Director of Pre-Award to determine whether it is a consulting service to be managed throught the College’s auxiliary account or a project that needs to be managed through the Division of Research.​

If the determination is that it is a research project, then the Director, in consultation with the Department Chair, will then determine the appropriate faculty member(s) who should work on the project and initiate the approval process in the College by completing the Electronic Proposal Routing and Approval Form (ePRAF).​

If the determination is that the project is not research or development, the Dean should consult with the Office of General Counsel to determine the need for a contract and liability insurance.​

The Director, in consultation with the Department Chair, will then determine the appropriate faculty member(s) who should work on the activity, and will make sure that the faculty member is not placed in a position of conflict with his/her research agenda.​

a.The work may be assigned to the faculty member as in-load or over-load. The work will be regularly invoiced to the the client, and upon receiving the payment, the Director will pay the faculty in case of an overload.​

i. In the case of an over-load, the faculty is not entitled to compensation over and beyond 1.20 FTE during the course of the project, and the payments to the faculty must be made when the work occurs, not later (even if the payments from the funder come later).​

ii.In order for the remaining proceeds to be used by the Chair to enhance the capabilities of the Department, the Department wil need to justify exemption from Unrelated Business Tax Income (UBIT) with the Controller.​