Contract & Grant Certificate Program

The Sponsored Projects Training for Administrators in Research (STAR) program is a comprehensive certificated training program developed by the UCSB Office of Research to meet UCSB’s research administration needs. The program’s goals are to improve campus understanding of regulations, policies, and procedures; to strengthen internal controls; and to provide staff members with access to key resources and contacts when they need help.

The program is designed for employees with duties and responsibilities related to contract and grant administration. Participants are welcome to take one or several courses in areas of particular interest to them—or they may opt to earn a certificate in the STAR program.

The certificate program offers 11 required courses. The courses are provided in two series. Track A is offered from September through June. Track B is offered February through August. Three courses, CGC0809, CGC0810 and CGC0811 are only offered once per year and are open to all students. Students may take courses from either track to complete their certificate. To earn a certificate, you must take all 11 classes. Staff members who wish to earn a STAR Program Certificate must complete the coursework in one or two years.

1. Overview of Contract and Grant Administration (2 hours)
This introductory course provides an overview of the administration of sponsored projects at UCSB and lays the foundation for later courses. Topics covered are campus research rankings, the Office of Research infrastructure and role, shared responsibilities, the general legal principles and policies that guide research activities, resources to help locate and secure extramural funding, and tools, such as the Office of Research website.

Track A Course Code: CGC0801A
Offered: Tuesday, September 18, 2007; 9:00am-11:00am
Instructors: Karen Hanson, Nancy Lewis, Carla Whitacre
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0801B
Offered: Thursday, February 21, 2008; 9:00am-11:00am
Instructors: Karen Hanson, Nancy Lewis, Carla Whitacre
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

2. Cost Principles and Cost Accounting Standards (3 hours)
This course covers the primary federal regulation governing what costs may be included in proposal budgets and charged to contracts and grants: OMB Circulars A-21 and A-110.

Track A Course Code: CGC0802A
Offered: Thursday, October 4, 2007; 9:00am-12:00noon
Instructors: Connie Feeley
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0802B
Offered: Thursday, March 20, 2008; 9:00am-12:00noon
Instructors: Connie Feeley
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

3. Introduction to Proposal Submission (3 hours)
This course provides basic instruction on preparing a proposal, securing the appropriate approvals, and submitting to the funding agency. Topics covered are eligibility to serve as principal investigator, types of proposals, interpreting sponsor guidelines, completing sponsor application forms and internal forms, including appropriate use of various research titles and pay rates for employees, and proposal revisions.

Track A Course Code: CGC0803A
Offered: Thursday, November 1, 2007; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Cora Diaz, Cara Egan-Williams, Cindy Ponce
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0803B
Offered: Thursday, April 17, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Cora Diaz, Cara Egan-Williams, Cindy Ponce
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

4. Proposal Budget Preparation (2 hours lecture, 2 hours lab)
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the components of a proposal budget, including salary and benefit costs, equipment, participant support, supplies, and indirect cost calculation. This course will also include interactive exercises for preparation of proposal budgets and the ORBiT Data Sheet. Course consists of lecture and one of two offered lab sessions.

Track A Course Code CGC0804A.
Offered: Thursday, November 8, 2007; 9:00am-11:00am
Lecture Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)
Lab A: Thursday, November 8, 2007; 1:00pm-3:00pm; Location: Phelps IC Lab 1525
Lab B: Friday, November 9, 2007; 9:00am-11:00am; Location: Phelps IC Lab 1525
Instructors: Lynne Van Der Kamp, Michele Crawford/Brett Fortier, Kevin Stewart

Track B Course Code CGC0804B.
Offered: Thursday, April 24, 2008; 9:00am-11:00am
Lecture Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)
Lab A: Thursday, April 24, 2008; 1:00pm-3:00pm; Location: Phelps IC Lab 1525
Lab B: Friday, Friday, April 25, 2008; 9:00am-11:00am; Location: Phelps IC Lab 1525
Instructors: Lynne Van Der Kamp, Michele Crawford/Brett Fortier, Kevin Stewart

5. Business Contracts and Subawards (3 hours)
This course focuses on how to determine the difference between subawards and business contracts, the process for establishing both types of agreements. Sponsored Projects will cover the process of how to propose, establish, maintain, modify and close a subaward. Business Services will present on topics pertinent to planning conferences and events, business contracts, personal service agreement, facility use permits, and university insurance requirements.

Track A Course Code CGC0805A
Offered: Thursday, December 6, 2007; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Cora Diaz, Kimberly Tapia, Guilia Brofferio, George Hopwood
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code CGC0805B
Offered: Thursday, May 15, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Cora Diaz, Kimberly Tapia, Guilia Brofferio, George Hopwood
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

6. Negotiation and Acceptance of Awards and Gifts (3 hours)
This course focuses on the various actions and issues that arise during the period between the submission of a proposal and the award of a contract or grant, and covers the roles of the key players of the University and the Sponsors. Denial and withdrawal of proposals, pre-award costs, revised budgets, requests for approvals to spend (RAS), content of award terms, campus award processing, and the UCSB award synopsis are all topics explored in this course. Identifying the differences between gifts and grants will also be discussed.

Track A Course Code: CGC0806A
Offered: Thursday, January 10, 2008; 9 am–12 noon
Instructors: Cara Egan-Williams, Kevin Stewart, Cindy Smith
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0806B
Offered: Thursday, June 19, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Cara Egan-Williams, Kevin Stewart, Cindy Smith
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

7. Post-Award Administration (3 hours)
This course addresses several aspects of post-award administration and will include presentations from selected campus representatives. Topics are award set-up, department responsibilities, obtaining campus approvals for post-award actions, travel, equipment management, reporting requirements, and closeout.

Track A Course Code: CGC0807A
Offered: Thursday, February 7, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Vaughn Boyle, Guilia Brofferio, Joanna Yates, Lisa DeWolf
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0807B
Offered: Thursday, July 17, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Vaughn Boyle, Guilia Brofferio, Joanna Yates, Lisa DeWolf
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

8. Financial Management (3 hours)
This course addresses the financial aspects of administering an extramural award. Financial topics reviewed are cost transfers, re-budgeting, direct costing, overdrafts and balances, close-out procedures and reports, and Personnel Activity Reporting.

Track A Course Code: CGC0808A
Offered: Thursday, March 6, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Connie Feeley
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

Track B Course Code: CGC0808B
Offered: Thursday, August 21, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Connie Feeley
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

9. Research Administration and Compliance I (3 hours)
This course addresses the research administration compliance environment, significant compliance risks in research administration, insider tips/preparing for an audit, the UC Whistleblower Policy, and real-life examples of university research compliance issues.

Track A & B Course Code: CGC0809
Offered: Thursday, April 3, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructor: Barbara Kane
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

10. Research Compliance II (3 hours)
This course focuses on ethical issues and conflicts of interest that often arise for researchers. Topics include scientific misconduct, research ethics, federal and state conflict-of-interest regulations, conflict of commitment, objectivity in research, export control regulations, human subjects, animal subjects, and stem cell use in research.

Track A & B Course Code: CGC0810
Offered: Thursday, May 1, 2008; 9:00am-12noon
Instructors: Kathy Graham, Karen Hanson, Nancy Lewis, Bruce Hanley
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)

11. Working with Industry and Intellectual Property (3 hours)
This course focuses on the unique challenges of working with the industrial sector and the tools available at the University to facilitate that work. Topics covered are research agreements, gifts, material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, consulting, basic intellectual property, and related UC policies. This course will also provide an opportunity to take a more in-depth look at intellectual property. The course will cover the basic principles of intellectual property as well as the characteristics of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. The course will also provide an overview of the technology transfer process at UCSB.

Track A & B Course Code: CGC0811
Offered: Thursday, June 5, 2008; 9:00-12noon
Instructors: Jill Boltz, Sherylle Mills Englander
Location: Marine Science Building Auditorium (MSB 1302)