Guidelines and Procedures for Grant Funded Support

Last Revised: 11/16/04

The purpose of these guidelines and procedures is to document the expectations of Information Technology as it relates to grant funded technical support at The College of New Jersey.

Overview:

As part of all grants, the College of New Jersey assumes certain tangible responsibilities. One of these is the technical support for grant funded areas. All grant funded initiatives are considered part of the college community and therefore should receive the same level of technical support offered to the rest of the college community. This technical support will be provided in the same manner and is expected to be requested in the same manner as it is with the college community.

Hardware:

All hardware purchased by grant funded areas must be reviewed and recommended by Information Technology. If equipment is purchased that does not meet the specification recommended by Information Technology then IT will assume no responsibility for the operation, maintenance, or repair of that equipment. If equipment has been purchased prior to the grant joining the college, IT will review and recommend the level of support that can be provided.

Software:

All software purchased by grant funded areas must be reviewed by Information Technology. If software is purchased without review by Information Technology then IT will assume no responsibility for the installation, operation, or maintenance of that software. If software has been purchased prior to the grant joining the college, IT will review and recommend the level of support that can be provided.

Staffing:

Staffing assistance will follow the same process as is implemented throughout the college. An IT/USS support specialist will be assigned to each grant area. This support specialist will be the primary contact for the grant area. The roles and responsibilities for the support specialist can be found in the User Support Services - Technical Support Specialist job description.

Procedure for technology purchases:

All technology needs are to be identified as part of the initial grant proposal/request. The technical requirements in a grant proposal should be forwarded to the appropriate User Support Services support specialist for review and pricing. Once the support specialist has verified that the technology requests can be supported, they will communicate this to the Principal Investigator (PI) and the Office of Academic Grants and Sponsored Research. When a grant is funded, the PI will work with the support specialist to place orders for hardware and software. All purchase orders that include technology items, must be authorized/signed off by Information Technology and OAGSR before being forwarded to the purchasing department. Failure to obtain IT authorization may result in the purchase of hardware or software that can not be supported by Information Technology. Upon delivery of equipment to the College, IT forwards the invoice to OAGSR for payment.  Before payment can be processed, OAGSR obtains approval from the PI to ensure that appropriate equipment was received and that it is in good order.

Life cycle of grant hardware and software:

As grant equipment and software is unique to the approved assignment, the upgrade or replacement of the equipment and software will be dependent upon the grant funds. When the life cycle of the grant funded hardware and software exceeds the grant duration, it will be assigned to a department or area closely related to the function of the grant until the life cycle is done. At that time the hardware and/or software will be disposed of in the same manner that is consistent with standard college procedures.

Inventory:

A separate inventory for grant funded hardware will be kept in Information Technology. When a grant is ended, IT will be notified by the Office of Academic Grants and Sponsored Research. Current inventory will be reassigned or unassigned by OAGSR. On a yearly basis, a report of current grants from the OAGSR will be compared to the current grant inventory and adjustments to the inventory will be made according to the report.