Policies & Compliance

Policies & Compliance for Elon University

Sponsored Programs Post-Award Grant Handbook

Elon Statement of Principal Investigator Eligibility

The following Statement of Principal Investigator Eligibility provides institutional requirements for individuals who may serve as a PI on an externally sponsored project at Elon. Exceptions to this policy may only be made with the prior approval of the Provost’s Office.

Financial Integrity

Administered internally, the Financial Integrity Policy is a resource that allows all Elon University faculty and staff to report workplace concerns dealing with moral, legal, and ethical standards in financial integrity or compliance.

Elon Policy for Sharing Indirect Cost Returns (ICR)

Grants with indirect costs requested will be allocated to the project director(s), dean(s) and department chair(s) as outlined here.

Institutional Review Board

The IRB assesses the risks and potential benefits of the research investigation, ascertains the appropriateness of the methods used to gain participant consent, and protects the rights and welfare of human participants. http://www.elon.edu/irb

Intellectual Property Policy

This policy describes Elon University’s commitment to providing an environment that supports the creation of intellectual property by faculty, staff, and students in the course of their research, teaching, and learning activities. As a matter of principle and practice, the University encourages all members of the Elon community to publish without restriction the outcome of these activities in order to share openly and fully their findings and knowledge with colleagues and the public.

Conflicts of Interest

This document describes Elon University’s policies and procedures regarding conflicts of interest in relationship to sponsored projects involving research, teaching, education, and public service. The purpose of this policy is to protect the credibility and integrity of the university’s faculty and staff so that public trust and confidence in the university’s sponsored activities are ensured. This policy is also the basis for specific certifications the NSF, the PHS and other governmental agencies require from those seeking grant support. Once you become aware of a new actual or potential conflict of interest, the Disclosure Form and Questionnaire found at the end of the document must be completed within thirty days of such awareness and submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Responsible Conduct in Research

This document provides a plan for adhering to the America COMPETES Act. The Act requires that an institution certify that is has a plan in place to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research projects submitted on or after January 4, 2010. PIs should identify students to be hired on NSF or NIH funded projects and inform the Office of Sponsored Programs of the hires within the first week of employment. They then should ensure completion of RCR training for required students and return the completed RCRT form for each student to the OSP within 60 days of employment.

Misconduct in Research

Misconduct in Scientific Research describes Elon University’s policy and procedures related to misconduct in scientific research. The purpose of this policy is to promote academic practices that prevent misconduct in research and to maintain standards to ensure ethical conduct of research and detection including appropriate handling of abuse of these standards. This policy is also the basis for specific certifications required by various federal agencies from those seeking external grant support.

Subrecipient Monitoring

As a recipient of federal sponsored awards, Elon University must comply with the requirements of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) federal regulation 2 CFR part 200 “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards”, and in accordance with University policies, the applicable sponsor regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Prime Award. As the Prime Recipient, the University remains responsible for the management of funds and must comply with subrecipient monitoring requirements. The Subrecipient Monitoring Guide explains the process for determining if the subrecipient is capable of compliantly spending the federal funds and meeting the project goals.

Export Control Regulations

Exports are regulated by several federal agencies. While the conduct, products, and results of fundamental research are generally excluded from federal export or “deemed export” controls, there may be some activities that would not be excluded and would require an export license. These laws impact research, foreign travel and the transfer of technology and information to certain countries. The laws also impose severe criminal and civil fines for noncompliance. It is important that all persons involved in sponsored research/grants at Elon understand the regulations and implementation requirements.

Federal Agency Policies and Regulations

NIH Public Access Policy

To advance science and improve human health, NIH makes the peer-reviewed articles it funds publicly available on PubMed Central. The NIH Public Access Policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication.” Follow this link for more information Public Access Policy | Data Sharing