What Does RIC Require?

Just as you have responsibilities to the sponsor in requesting a fair, justified, realistic and efficient sum for your program, so are you responsible to the College as well in providing clear notices for, tracking and managing your grant. This is true for proposals that are pending or awarded.

• Am I eligible to manage a program with the College?
• What are my responsibilities to the College prior to proposal submission?
• What is the exact relationship between grant-funded programs, the College and I?
• What if I want release time or a "course buyout"? Who do I contact?
• What do I do if I would like to provide tuition waivers for students?

Am I eligible to manage a program with the College?

Full-time faculty and staff are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) on sponsored programs. Please consult the Eligibility policy for a full description and list of exceptions. Generally, any person not eligible to serve as Principal Investigator may serve as co-PI with a RIC faculty member.



Further, you must read and understand the RIC Conflict of Interest Policy, and disclose any such potential conflicts, to be considered for project director status.

What are my responsibilities to the College prior to proposal submission?

As we have mentioned previously, we ask advance notice of your intent to file a grant proposal and require that you include a summary form on submission of the proposal to our office. This is for your benefit as well as ours: it allows us to be prepared for your proposal and set administrative campus parties in motion to ensure your proposal receives full and timely support. However, as our summary form states it is your responsibility to contact your department chair and Dean to receive their approval and notify them of your program. In other words, it is not only our signature and approval that is required for a grant proposal to leave the office: Support departments, deans, chairs and Vice Presidents should also know of your intent to file by use of the summary form. For example, would you submit a proposal for a program involving a new computer lab without speaking to User Support Services, the department which provides IT support for the campus?


Further, when your grant is funded you must clearly distribute any payroll, monitor your budget using the tools provided to you and also fulfill the sponsor's programmatic reporting requirements. These responsibilities are discussed further in our postaward management guidelines, entitled "Spending Your Grant Money".

What is the exact relationship between grant-funded programs, the College and I?

Without exception and because of the majority of research and sponsored activity occuring on campus grounds, Rhode Island College is the formal applicant organization on grant proposals. You submit the proposal to the College for review, the College approves it and you submit the proposal. This is true for electronic or paper submissions, so please be aware of deadlines and submission methods and remember that we are available to assist you. The Office of Research and Grants Administration negotiates and enters into agreements with sponsors. Principal Investigators are not allowed to authorize agreements on behalf of the institution. College policies and procedures are still used, as you will learn when purchasing items for example, and College resources will support your program. You are known as the project director or "Principal Investigator" (PI for short). This means that while you are officially recognized as the programmatic point of contact for your project you have a responsibility to the College, as well as the sponsor, to effectively manage and support your sponsored program while still following College policy. You will become professionally responsible for management of the award budget while ORGA assists you with any questions and reviews the allowability of costs. Note: We do not track the overall status and availability of your budget; that will be your responsibility. Also, with few exceptions, the College owns and maintains the facilities and support mechanisms you will use in your sponsored activity. Ownership of equipment and supplies purchased with grant funds fall to the grant program itself.

What if I want release time or a "course buyout"? Who do I contact?

It is possible to negotiate teaching release time in a grant proposal in order to dedicate more time and effort to your sponsored activity. However, this act still requires the approval of your department chair and Dean so that they may effectively plan for your absence. Receiving or requesting sponsor approval for release time does not guarantee College approval. You must furnish this information to us (along with approvals and signatures) when you send in the summary form with your proposal.

What do I do if I would like to provide tuition waivers for students?

Providing tuition waivers for students is possible if and only if the grant program pays for all other associated course costs, such as for the teachers and room. When those costs are covered, the Office of Continuing Education determines a campus-wide cost per student, per credit hour that you may use when determining the amount of money needed for the tuition waivers. That rate is found on our Proposal Preparation Data page.

Project Management Eligibility