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It is the policy of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to support extramural endeavors of its faculty and staff. A faculty engaged in scholarly research is a faculty equipped to expand the frontiers of knowledge and to promote efficient undergraduate and graduate education. The Master Plan for Higher Education in California states "Faculty Research, using facilities provided for and consistent with the primary function of the State University and Colleges, is authorized." A staff member who obtains funding for programs to enhance student life on campus is also contributing to the mission of the University.
Research and sponsored projects must be compatible with appropriate rules and regulations of the State of California, Trustees of the California State University, Office of the Chancellor, and the University. Most, if not all colleges will allow a faculty member to use external funds to reduce his or her teaching load in order to perform sponsored research. Faculty members employed full time by the University during the academic year may undertake research projects for extra compensation during the same period up to but not more than the equivalent of 1/4th of a full-time load with the approval of the President or his designee. Generally compensation to a faculty member from a contract or grant shall be at no more than the same rate or fraction of total annual salary earned for full-time University employment.
Research projects shall not interfere with the normal use of laboratory, classroom, or other space furnished by the State for the instructional program of the University. Equipment valued at $25 or more purchased or given for research projects carried on in University facilities will become the property of the University or University Foundation, unless prohibited by the funding contract.
Those preparing external funding proposals should familiarize themselves with the procedures and criteria involved. This will expedite processing and, of utmost importance, save time in the on-campus approval and submission process.
Title II of the National Research Act of 1974 established a National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. In addition, laws have been promulgated which establish regulations with respect to the responsibility of any institution that submits a request for a grant or contract for any project involving human subjects (45 CFR 46). There must be submitted with such an application "assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare" that it has established a board to review biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects. "The purpose is to assure that the rights of the human subjects of such research are protected."
The purpose of the legislation is the prevention of any harm, physical, psychological, sociological, financial or other, as a consequence of any activity which goes beyond "the application of those established and accepted methods necessary to meet [the subject’s] needs." Reference here is to any experimental procedure that may in any way be construed as potentially harmful to a human subject.
The University has an Institutional Research Board (IRB) which considers proposals involving such research and assures that the design of the proposed research or activity is such that there will be no harm to any human subject. The Board also maintains periodic scrutiny of such activities to assure compliance with federal regulations. Whenever a proposal is being considered which may come under these regulations, the IRB approval must be obtained before a federally funded proposal is funded or work begun. It is advisable to obtain IRB input before the proposal is submitted to prevent situations in which a funded proposal fails to get approval from IRB in the form that was submitted to the funding agency. The current chair and composition of the IRB is provided under the Membership List. A separate publication, Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Human Subjects is distributed to all personnel who may need it and may be obtained from the Research Office.
All institutions are required to comply, as applicable, with the Animal Welfare Act and other Federal statutes and regulations relating to animals.
Public Health Services policy requires institutions to establish and maintain proper measures to ensure the appropriate care and use of all animals involved in research, research training and biological testing activities supported by PHS. Other Federal agencies have similar requirements.
The Cal Poly Pomona Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) is charged with the responsibility of assuring that research projects on campus are in compliance with applicable regulations.
The Principal Investigator shall notify the Research Office in cases when animals will be used in their funded research projects.
Experience has indicated that the Foundation Accounting Office will be required to provide information to auditors regarding equipment purchased through federal and other grant funds. It places a heavy burden on those who have the equipment if they are required to provide information on short notice. For that reason, the Foundation Accounting Office has established an inventory of all such equipment. The following procedure will be followed in the case of all grants of non-university funds, from whatever source, from which any purchases of equipment are made. Not to be included are items that are categorized as operating expenses or expendable.
For each item of equipment, at the time of delivery, the following information is to be sent to the Foundation Accounting Office:
Equipment is defined as any item having a useful life longer than one year with a cost in excess of $500. Some federal agencies use a lower dollar amount in defining equipment. Agency guidelines should be consulted if there is any question regarding the definition of equipment.
When the grant has been completed and all final reports have been filed, if the granting agency has allowed the University to keep the equipment purchased with the grant funds, the University’s Procurement Office must be notified. This equipment will then become the property of the University and will be tagged and recorded as such.
A copyright gives the exclusive right to the author to print or otherwise duplicate, publish and vend copies of his or her literary, artistic or intellectual production and to license their reproduction or sale by others during the term of the copyright.
In 1991 the Academic Senate recommended and the President approved a University Copyright Policy (AS-777-912/AA). The policy is included in the University Manual and is available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. A comprehensive intellectual property policy has been presented to the Senate for approval in Fall 2002.
Highlights of the current policy:
Any intellectual property subject to copyright protection created with no or incidental institutional support shall belong to the author(s).
Any intellectual property subject to copyright protection created with substantial institutional support shall belong to the university.
In either case, the author(s) should file a copyright disclosure statement with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
The Research Council is currently drafting a comprehensive Patent Policy for consideration by the Academic Senate.
The Constitution and the laws of the United States have provided for the patenting process to recognize the ownership of inventions by individuals. A patent gives the inventor the exclusive right of making, using, or selling the invention throughout the United States for a specified period of time.
It is the current policy of the University that the benefits from any inventions by faculty, staff, and students are shared jointly with the University under any of the following conditions: the invention is made when the inventor is using funds administered by the University or Foundation; the inventor is an employee of the University and the invention is developed on State or Foundation compensated time; the invention is developed using University or Foundation administered facilities or equipment. University policy on patents is subject to any policies heretofore or subsequently promulgated by the Trustees of the California State University or the Chancellor.
It is the policy of the University that patent rights associated with research funded by private sponsors are to be negotiated by the President or the President's designee.
In 1990 the Academic Senate recommended and the President approved a Conflict of Interest (AS-731-890/AA). The policy is included in the University Manual and is available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. It states:
Each individual of the University community is responsible for acting in an ethical and professional manner. This responsibility includes avoiding conflict of interest, conducting research and instruction in an ethical manner, and protecting the rights of individuals. All members of the community, including members of the faculty, administration, student body and staff, should conduct themselves with the greatest professional objectivity.
In addition, both the State of California and the Federal government require that the recipient of external funds from private sources disclose potential financial conflicts of interest. The appropriate forms are available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. The State of California disclosure form (730-U) must be filed with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs if the sponsor is a non-government entity and the funds received are greater than $250. This state law includes gifts received to support an individual faculty member as well as sponsored programs.
A faculty member who receives a Federal government grant or who participates in a contract paid from Federal funds may accept payment during any quarter when the employee is not on duty as a faculty member. Payment shall be made at the rate of 1/9 of the annual salary for a full month of such employment. If employment is for less than a full month, an hourly or daily rate is employed. This is the annual salary divided by 9. If required, an hourly rate is obtained by dividing the monthly rate by 173.33 hours per month.
The statement of a representative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services audit staff has been interpreted to mean that when a faculty member works on a grant or contract full time for a full academic quarter, one-third of the annual salary may be awarded which is equivalent to the amount the State would pay for one extra quarter’s full-time teaching.
The basis indicated in this section will be used to compute salaries to be paid faculty members on contracts and grants during periods not designated as academic work periods such as days between quarters which are vacations or holidays in the University calendar.
Overtime payment during the time a faculty member is engaged in full-time service to the University may not be permitted by a Federal agency. In case such payment is permitted under the terms of a particular contract or grant, the salary budget will be developed on the same basis as used for off-duty overtime, not to exceed ¼ of full-time as provided by CSU regulation.
Faculty and Staff who are preparing proposals are encouraged to consult the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for assistance in preparing their budget.
Per the Chancellor’s Office guidelines, faculty and/or staff members employed during the academic year may undertake research projects for extra compensation during the same period. Additional employment refers to any employment compensation by Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. that is in addition to the primary or normal employment of a university faculty unit employee. However, a University employee cannot work more than the equivalent of 25 percent overtime. An “average” of 25 percent for a full-time position shall be allowed if the overage employment: (a) is consistent with employment of substantially different nature from his/her primary or normal employment; (b) is funded from non-General Fund sources; or (c) is the result of the accrual of part-time employment on more than one campus. The 25 percent overage shall be calculated as a percentage of full-time workload or, when appropriate, full-time base.
The applicable time period for ten (10) month or academic year faculty unit employee shall be the academic year at semester/quarter campuses, exclusive of time periods between academic years, time periods between academic terms, and the vacation periods of a faculty unit employee. The applicable time period for twelve (12) month faculty unit employee shall be the calendar year, exclusive of the faculty unit employees’ earned vacation periods.
Note that all Foundation salary payments to University faculty and staff are subject to the University additional employment policy. As a result, all PTR forms for University and staff must receive University Payroll approval before processing.
In many cases, an institution contribution is a required part of a request for external funding. Both public and private funding agencies occasionally require such participation, and many federal grants are made on the basis of matching funds.
It is the responsibility of the grant proposer to determine the source of funds within the university. Generally, the budget merely identifies the dollar amount by category, such as personnel services or operating expense. However, to allow for University review and approval, the budget must be accompanied by a statement from the responsible authority identifying the source and amount of the institutional participation and certifying that the amounts indicated or the services offered will in fact be made available if the grant is funded. This statement will be retained in the Foundation files as part of the internal documentation of the proposal. See Required Statement on the Use of Internal Funds and Facilities for statement required with all proposals.
Effort reporting requirements are established by OMB Circular A-21 for all university campuses that receive federally-funded grants. The requirements state that time spent by university employees to work on grants and contracts must be recorded. This is usually done by the Contracts and Grants Administrator of the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. on your behalf, but you should be aware of the type of information you may be asked to provide. The following circumstances warrant an effort report:
1. A University employee who is receiving compensation over their normal salary, funded by a contract or grant through the Foundation.
2. A University employee who is contributing time for work as cost sharing on a contract or grant over and above the time required in their normal duties.
3. A University employee who has been given release time from the University to work on a contract or grant and whose salary or a portion thereof is reimbursed to the University by a contract or grant through the Foundation.
4. A University employee who has been given release time from the University to work on a contract or grant and whose salary or a portion thereof is used as cost sharing or matching funds for the grant or contract.
Effort reporting is not required for an employee hired on Foundation payroll to work entirely on a grant or contract through the Foundation.
