Authored by:
Kortnay Woods, Ph.D.
Executive Director Grants and Sponsored Research
The College of New Jersey
Email: woodsk@tcnj.edu
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At predominantly undergraduate institutions, ensuring adherence to federal, state, institutional regulations, processes and requirements can be challenging. Pre- and post-award volume may not necessitate large staff, yet the regulatory requirements remain the same as those for large research institutions.
When I began working at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), one of the first things I did was a research administration institutional assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to determine the extent to which fiscal, research, and regulatory compliance was managed at my new institution. At TCNJ, the work of research administration occurs in many departments. My department, Grants and Sponsored Research (OGSR) housed in Academic Affairs, acts as a research administration liaison with participating departments, and facilitates regulatory compliance institution-wide.
The OGSR has sole responsibility for all pre-award activities. To ensure a seamless transition from pre-award to post-award, pre-award staff share budget and budget narrative information with post-award staff. Post-award staff work in Finance and Business Services, which is housed in the Office of the Treasurer. I have found including post-award in the budget development process ensures budgets adhere to our Office of Human Resource policies, faculty contract obligations, and Uniform Guidance requirements. For research involving students, OGSR involves Graduate and Advancing Education, also within Academic Affairs, and Career Services housed in Student Affairs, to make sure compensation decisions, hiring practices, and related regulations for students are appropriate.
To address regulatory issues such as Financial Conflict of Interest, I work closely with the Compliance Officer, housed in the Office of General Counsel, to review, update, and develop new policies and procedures when necessary. My office also works with the Office of General Counsel on complex sponsored research contract negotiations, such as international research collaborations. General Counsel works on Intellectual Property issues as well.
Research integrity and responsible conduct of research are managed by OGSR, Academic Affairs, and General Counsel with involvement of the Offices of Administration, Human Resources, and Information Technology as needed. In 2017, I established a Sponsored Research Compliance Committee to ensure adherence to research and regulatory compliance unit policies and procedures. The IRB and IACUC committees are separate committees within Academic Affairs. However, the OGSR facilitates RCR training and research misconduct proceedings if warranted.
Inter-office collaborations are essential elements of the research administration procedures at TCNJ. My daily work involves facilitating, establishing, and implementing research administration protocols. Institutional assessments are a tri-annual occurrence at my institution, with the goal to advance a productive, efficient, and seamless culture of research and regulatory compliance.
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