UT Knoxville prepares an annual capital outlay request with three components: projects for which state funding is requested (academic and support buildings); projects that will be paid for by an identified revenue stream (facilities that have a dedicated revenue stream, such as athletic or residence hall buildings); and projects that are institutionally funded.
All projects anticipated to cost above an amount set by the State Building Commission must be disclosed, placed in overall-UT priority on the combined UT list, and approved by the board of trustees, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and the legislature. Projects for which state funding is requested must be justified based on building condition or the need for new space, as demonstrated by space guidelines adopted by THEC.
Until 1969 a total capital outlay sum, based on enrollment, was authorized for each institution, and the institution used it to meet its greatest needs. In 1969, in response to a Legislative Fiscal Review Committee directive, THEC developed a procedure through which each project was reviewed and evaluated through a set of objective standards, which required the inventorying and cataloging of space use at all institutions. Also in 1969 THEC conducted a classroom utilization study through gathering class information from fall 1969 in the Tennessee Higher Education Commission Instructional Cost Study. The original standards were based primarily on the work of Bareither and Schillinger in University Space Planning and had elements that applied to all nonauxiliary space on campus, including areas such as space required for maintenance and operation of the campus, student services and activities space, and nonauxiliary physical education and athletics space. In 2009 THEC issued new space guidelines for instructional and office space (and their associated support space).
In 1971 THEC required that each institution prepare and submit a five-year building and campus improvements program. In 1971 also, legislation authorized the establishment of a revolving fund for project planning. The commissioner of Finance and Administration controlled the resource, and projects that were authorized for architectural planning by the State Building Commission used the funds to cover the cost of plan preparation, with the money being restored to the fund when the project was approved for construction.
In the early 1990s, because the priorities of projects submitted by the institutions varied widely from year to year, THEC required each institution to develop a master plan and to relate its capital outlay request to projects in the approved master plan of the institution.