Class Descriptions

 1. Overview of Sponsored Awards Management

  • Appreciate the important role research administrators play at Penn State
  • Understand the lifecycle of sponsored research
  • Gain awareness of the roles different offices play in supporting research administration
  • Gain familiarity with some of the basic vocabulary and resources
  • Introduction to RA at Hershey and ARL

 

2. Proposal Preparation

  • Create proposals using processing basics per University and Sponsor guidelines
  • Locate and interpret agency guidelines
  • Identify University requirements for proposal submission
  • Discussion of the changes to proposal preparation that have occurred with the move to electronic submissions

 

3. Budgeting I

  • Describe the importance of an accurate budget in a grant or contract proposal
  • Apply basic proposal and award budget/cost criteria from the Uniform Guidance
  •  Define and understand basic budget terms
  • Understand and apply budget principles and calculations
  • Configure and calculate a budget in the context of a hypothetical proposal

 

4. Budgeting II

  • Utilize basic budget building concepts, while integrating advanced budgeting skills
  • Identify and understand components of multitask budgets, subcontracts and cost sharing
  • Reconfigure a basic budget to include advanced budget concepts and recalculate budget categories
  • Distinguish between different types of sponsors and their various requirements and restrictions

 

5. eRA Systems

  • Overview of Electronic Research Administrative systems (external and internal to PSU)
  • Introduction to NSF Fastlane (class participation on Government submission site)
  • Introduction to grants.gov
  • Overview of PSU SIMSbudgets, Cayuse, and myResearch Portal
  • Gain awareness of the important role eRA has had in reshaping the research community at PSU and nationally

 

6. Conflict of Interest & Intellectual Property

  • Explain why a submission to the appropriate compliance committee is important
  • Advise researchers on the required submission process
  • Inform researchers about issues that can affect the status of their research budget
  • Define the various types of conflicts of interest and detail the mandated disclosure process, management plans, and annual reporting requirements
  • Intellectual Property: Determine who owns IP developed at Penn State
  • Identify IP language in research agreements that would be problematic to Penn State
  • Explain to researchers how the OTM can help them manage research inventions and materials
  • Advise faculty about what is protected by copyright and how to copyright their own work

 

7. Research Protections

  • Explain what is covered by Penn State's research misconduct policy and outline the steps in the process
  • Define the terminology associated with research
  • Identify and describe good data management practices
  • Human subject research (IRB)
  • Animal subject research (IACUC)
  • Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
  • Unmanned Aircraft (UA) - Drones Operations
 

8. Research Security (Export and Data)

  • Learn how to handle:
    • Publication Restrictions
    • Export Control Regulations
    • Foreign National Restrictions
    • Proprietary Information
  • Learn how to identify the risks
  • Learn how to collect relevant information
 

9. Soft Skills of Research Administration

  • Working with difficult colleagues
  • Critical conversations with PI's, Supervisors
  • Professional development opportunities for career advancement in Research Administration
 

10. Contracting and Negotiation I

  • Understanding the differences between federal grants and federal contracts
  • Learning how to administer federal grants and contracts

 

11. Contracting and Negotiation II

  • Working with the Commonwealth and the Master Agreement
  • Working with private industry and foundations
  • Confidential Disclosure Agreements and Material Transfer Agreements

 

12. Understanding the Uniform Guidance

  • Differentiate between direct costs and indirect (Facilities and Administrative) costs
  • Identify and minimize potential costs questioned and related audit risks with respect to sponsored programs
  • Administer Uniform Guidance
  • Describe relationship between Uniform Guidance and University policies and procedures

 

13. Personnel and Labor Rules

  • Understand the different types of personnel assignments used by the University
  • Understand the principles and demonstrate the application of pay and effort in accordance with University policy and federal regulations
  • Apply fringe benefit rates to different personnel classes
  • Identify resources and tools available for making effective personnel and effort decisions

 

    14. Procurement, Travel, and Equipment Policies

    •  Select and implement appropriate procurement methods for making purchases
    •  Differences between purchased services, consulting, and subcontracting
    •  Help ensure compliance with the University travel policy
    •  Follow policies and procedures regarding equipment

     

    15. Account Management

    •  Fundamental principles of research accounting
    •  What role does Research Accounting serve
    •  How do grants administration and research accounting interact; who is responsible for what tasks?
    •  Setting up accounts in Simba
    • Checklist for setting up award accounts
    •  Setting up accounts for pre-award costs
    • Manage restricted accounts in Simba
    •  Resources for tracking PI spending
    •  The kinds of reports that CAN be generated
    •  Finalize the financial aspects of the project
    •  Closeout the account in Simba

     

    16. Advanced Project Management

    • Management of subawards and subcontracts
    • Transferring PIs in and out of the University
    • Post-award management of cost-sharing