Forms, Policies & Procedures

Removal of Dangerous Material

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To protect the health and safety of individuals when dangerous materials which could present an imminent danger to life and health are found in University buildings. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Research Misconduct

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   The Federal Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) defines research misconduct as “fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community for proposing, performing, or reporting research results.” It is the policy of the University of Delaware to abide by the OSTP policy in all University research. Any intentional distortion of research data or intentional distortions of information or conclusions derived from research data constitutes misconduct in research and is prohibited by University Policy. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Research vs. Quality Assurance / Improvement Guidance

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP), federal regulations that govern human subjects research (45 CFR 46) requires research with human subjects to be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to initiation.

To determine whether a project constitutes research or QA/QI can be challenging. The IRB does not have the authority to retrospectively review a protocol or provide retroactive approval. It is therefore important to determine whether an activity meets the criteria for human subjects research or a QA/QI initiative BEFORE the activity is initiated.

Use this resource for additional guidance.

The complete policy and more can be found on the UD Research Office’s web site.

Residual Balance Transfer

1. POLICY

   The Residual Balance policy sets forth the final disposition of residual balances on Fixed-Price, Fixed-Rate, and Non-Refundable grants and contracts at the University of Delaware (UD) in which no designation was made by the sponsor as to the use of any unexpended balance.

   This policy sets forth the requirements for justification, approval, and management of unexpended balances for Fixed-Price, Fixed-Rate or Non-Refundable contracts. If assurances and justifications are provided per this policy, an unexpended balance may be transferred to the appropriate residual account defined by the administering department.

   Residual balances will be distributed proportionately between direct costs and F&A costs, with the direct cost amount being transferred to the administering department. The F&A costs will be transferred to the Central F&A pool.

   All residual balance requests require a Residual Balance Transfer form be completed and submitted to the Research Office for processing.

Related Links

• Residual Balance Transfer Form

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Respiratory Protection

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To establish uniform administrative procedures and minimum requirements related to respiratory protection. …

N.B. As used in this Policy the term employee includes students.

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Safe Use and Storage of Compressed Gas Cylinders

1. PURPOSE
   To establish a policy on safe use and storage of compressed gas cylinders.
2. POLICY
   To implement a safety policy on the use and storage of compressed gas cylinders so as to reduce the risk to students, staff, faculty, and the general public. To ensure the safe handling and storage of compressed gas cylinders at the University, the following rules shall be followed: …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Safety Policy

1. POLICY
   The policy of the University of Delaware is to provide the university community with a safe and healthful work environment. Serious attempts will be made to minimize recognizable hazards. It is the intent of the University to comply with all environmental health, safety, and fire regulations and recommended practices. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Safety Responsibilities during Laboratory Principal Investigator Leaves/Absences

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To ensure the safety of laboratory workers during periods when the laboratory principal investigator is absent.
2. POLICY
   1. Whenever a Laboratory Principal Investigator will not be present in the laboratory for an extended period of time it is their responsibility to designate a colleague to oversee their laboratory operations with respect to safety procedures and requirements. The person designated must be familiar with the hazards of the operations begin conducted in the lab or research environment and be empowered to address concerns as they arise. Examples could be a faculty member, the Department Chemical Hygiene Officer, a full-time research associate or limited term researcher; however, the individual must be a University of Delaware employee. Graduate students are not permitted to be designated as the responsible supervisor. …

   The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

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   Policy Details:

   OWNER: Executive Vice President

   SECTION: Campus Safety and Security Policies

   RESPONSIBLE OFFICE: Office of Environmental Health and Safety

   POLICY NUMBER (Legacy): Jul-50

   ORIGINATION DATE: November 1, 2006

   Policy Source Email https://research.udel.edu/forms-policies-procedures/?entry=144336

Secondary Phone Lines

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To establish a review, approval and notification procedure governing the installation of extension phone lines to ensure maximum effectiveness of the enhanced 911 system.

   This policy applies to new construction, existing facilities, upgrading/changing phone system designs or specifications, and any other modifications to existing or planned telephone systems. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Read more

 


Policy Details:

OWNER: Executive Vice President

SECTION: Facilities, Real Estate and Auxiliary Services Policies

RESPONSIBLE OFFICE: Facilities, Real Estate and Auxiliary Services

POLICY NUMBER (Legacy): Jul-45

ORIGINATION DATE: September 1, 1997

Policy Source Email https://research.udel.edu/forms-policies-procedures/?entry=144337

Space Needed for Externally Sponsored Agreements

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To provide a financial mechanism for for sponsored activity.
2. POLICY

   When additional space is needed to support an externally sponsored activity and when funds to rent such space can be negotiated with sponsors, it is financially preferable to charge such rents directly to the sponsored agreements. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Sponsored Project Cost Transfer Policy

1. SCOPE OF POLICY
   This policy outlines University of Delaware (“UD” or “University”) requirements for cost transfers to or from a sponsored project, and applies to all University departments, units, faculty, staff and students involved in externally sponsored research.
2. DEFINITIONS
   1. Cost Transfer – An after-the-fact reallocation of a cost to or from a sponsored project. Cost transfers must meet conditions for allocability, allowability, reasonableness and consistency established under federal guidelines.
   2. Untimely Cost Transfer – An after-the-fact reallocation of a cost from or to a sponsored project that is submitted more than 90 days after the original transaction date.
   3. Cost Principles – Fundamental conditions for ensuring costs are permissible on a sponsored project, including:
      1. Allowability or Allowable – Costs must be permissible under the terms and conditions of the award, including the authorized budget and applicable regulations
      2. Allocability or Allocable – Costs must provide a sole benefit to the sponsored project or provide proportionately assignable benefits to the sponsored project.
      3. Reasonableness or Reasonable – Both the nature of the goods or services acquired and the amount paid must reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.
      4. Consistency – Application of costs must be given consistent treatment within established University policies and procedures; costs for the same purpose must be treated and classified the same way under like circumstances.
   4. Principal Investigator (“PI”) – The individual designated in a grant or contract to be responsible for ensuring compliance with the academic, scientific, technical, financial and administrative aspects and for day-to-day management of the sponsored project (grant or contract).
   5. Sponsored Projects – Externally-funded activities in which a formal written agreement (i.e., a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement) is entered between the University and the sponsor.
3. POLICY STATEMENT
   The purpose of this policy is to ensure University compliance with applicable cost principles and federal regulations set forth for cost transfers per Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 and Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200. Key guidelines under this policy include:
   • Cost transfers must meet conditions for allocability, allowability, reasonableness and consistency established under federal guidelines.
   • It is the primary responsibility of a PI, with support of the department research administrator and the department chair, to determine if all cost transfers are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and applied consistently.
   • Cost transfers should be submitted within 90 days from the date the transaction is originally charged to the sponsored project and must be fully documented and have appropriate authorization.
4. POLICY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
   1. Allowability Considerations
      1. The University recognizes that cost transfers are sometimes necessary to correct bookkeeping or clerical errors in the original charges and to allocate closely related work that may support more than one project.
      2. Cost transfers must meet conditions for allocability, allowability, reasonableness and consistency established under federal guidelines.
      3. It is the primary responsibility of a PI, with support of the department research administrator and the department chair, to determine if all cost transfers are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and applied consistently.
      4. Under no circumstances may costs that benefit one sponsored project be charged temporarily on another sponsored project. Failure to adhere to this procedure will result in improper financial reporting and inappropriate reimbursement from the sponsor.
      5. Frequent, late, and inadequately explained transfers, especially those involving projects with cost overruns or unexpended balances, raise serious questions about the propriety of cost transfers and call internal fiduciary controls into question. This may result in audit disallowances and monetary paybacks including penalties and fines.
      6. The table below provides common examples for determining whether a cost transfer is generally allowable, questionable, or unallowable:

   Generally Allowable	Questionable	Generally Unallowable
   Correcting clerical errors or mistyped entries Transferring approved pre-award costs from non-sponsored funds to sponsored projects Reallocating costs originally charged to a central administrative location, or when multiple projects benefit Reallocating salary expenses to match effort distributions Transferring between the primary project and subprojects, unless otherwise restricted by the terms and conditions of the award Transferring when prior written approval has been received from the sponsor	Reallocating expenses between sponsored projects when one is in overdraft Transferring expenses to bring an available balance to zero Correcting salary which has previously been certified in an effort report Transferring an expense that has previously been transferred on a separate occasion	Transferring expenses incurred after the sponsored project end date Transferring expenses with insufficient supporting information or justification (“to correct error” or “to transfer to correct project” are not considered sufficient reasons for transfers) Transferring split expenses without an adequate basis or insufficient documentation for determining whether the split is appropriate due to insufficient documentation Transferring expenses between award project periods Untimely cost transfers without justification for the delay and an extraordinary situation adequately documented

5. Timeliness of Cost Transfers
   1. Original charges should be directed to the appropriate benefiting sponsored project. If it is necessary to process a cost transfer that involves a sponsored project, a journal voucher should be initiated promptly and contain sufficient documentation and justification to support the cost transfer that would stand the test of a formal audit.
   2. The timeliness of a cost transfer is determined based upon a 90-day threshold period, calculated from the last day of the month in which the charge first posted in the general ledger.
   3. Untimely cost transfers occurring after the 90-day threshold period must document answers to a series of questions to justify the appropriateness of the transfer. These questions include:
   4. Cost transfers to remove charges that do not meet the cost principles outlined in Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part §200, Subpart E must be completed regardless of timing.
6. Supporting Documentation
   1. Cost transfer documentation must indicate that the PI has approved or directed the transaction.
   2. Adequate documentation related to the cost transfer and original expense must be attached to the journal voucher and kept on file within the department until the record retention requirement has been satisfied.
7. Cost Transfer Approvals and Authorization
   1. All cost transfers will be routed electronically to an administrator other than the originator for approval, and the PI will be copied.
   2. Untimely cost transfers will be routed electronically for Research Office review and approval.
8. PI/Department Responsibilities
   1. Review sponsored research projects on a regular basis (at least monthly) to ensure that all expenditures charged are correct and appropriate.
   2. Submit and approve cost transfers in compliance with university policy and procedures.
   3. Retain all supporting documentation of the cost transfer in accordance with applicable records retention regulations and University policies.
   4. Ensure that all personnel engaged in financial administration of federally-funded sponsored projects are familiar with the University cost transfer policy.
9. Research Office Responsibilities
   1. Develop and implement cost transfer procedures in accordance with the regulations outlined in Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200, Subpart E – Cost Principles.
   2. Assist in the interpretation and implementation of the cost transfer policy.
   3. Provide final approval for untimely cost transfers.
   4. Periodically review cost transfers to ensure compliance with University and federal regulations.

Related Links

General Counsel Page for this Policy

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.

Storm Water Management

1. SCOPE OF PURPOSE
   To assure that University operations comply with best practices for the protection of storm water and comply with the 40CFR Part 122 EPA administered permit programs: The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
2. BACKGROUND
   The EPA has regulated known discharges of contaminates from businesses and industry to surface water for many years. The majority of pollution to surface water now comes from non-specific sources such as pesticide over-applications, motor oil from poorly maintained vehicles, and run off carrying animal waste, construction sediment, etc. In an effort to address this type of pollution, the EPA’s storm water management requirements were established to guide municipalities to reduce contamination of this nature and to educate the public concerning best practices to protect surface water. Procedures to identify and remediate illicit discharges to storm water systems are also part of storm water protection programs.
3. POLICY
   Under this policy it is not permitted for any University employee, student or contractor to place any chemical or chemical containing solution into a drain that leads to the storm water system without prior approval from Environmental Health & Safety. …

The complete policy and more can be found on the General Counsel’s web site.