Good comments, Nancy. Thanks for putting this into a format we can all relate
to. I totally agree these questions need to be answered before implementation.
And I also very much agree with your last statement, that this present move
appears to be a dramatic departure from the very responsible way NSF has
handled Fastlane implementation in the past. This really surprises me.
-Jane
Nancy Peterson wrote:
> The recent announcement from FastLane has obviously raised concerns in the
> SRO community. Much of the concern may be due to the fact that the
> announcement left so many questions unanswered.
>
> 1. How will the user registration process work? Will that still be done
> through the SRO Office?
>
> 2. If passwords change every 180 days, and a faculty member only writes
> one grant a year (I'm at a primarily teaching institution, not a research
> institution.), the odds are the faculty member will neglect to change the
> password and/or forget it. If they don't change it, will they be kicked
> out of the database? Does that mean they will have to re-register as
> users?
>
> 3. If the PI forgets to give the SRO access to the proposal (a common
> mistake), will there be any way the SRO can gain "emergency" access for
> submission purposes?
>
> 4. I currently maintain a list of all PINs, because faculty often ask me
> for their PIN number (and some co-PIs, who seldom work on the proposals
> on-line, but must still be registered in the database, have no idea they
> even have a PIN). Could the SRO Office receive notification of password
> changes and passwords?
>
> 5. How are you going to secure electronic signatures for institutional
> approvals? I have 6 individuals on campus who are legally authorized to
> sign-off on grant applications. Will each one have to be registered some
> how? Will they have to keep track of changing passwords? (Having
> Presidents and Vice Presidents changing and keeping track of passwords
> is...well...I can't imagine it.)
>
> I have really appreciated the "user-friendly" character of the FastLane
> system. But, the changes proposed as described do appear to be unduly
> cumbersome and problematic. Perhaps responses to the questions above may
> help us better understand how the new system will work.
>
> **************************************************************************
>
> Nancy Kay Peterson
> Director of Grants & Sponsored Projects
> Somsen Hall Room 202-C
> Winona State University
> Winona, MN 55987
>
> Phone: 507.457.5519
> Fax: 507.457.2415
> xxxxxx@winona.msus.edu
> http://www.winona.msus.edu/grants/
>
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--
***************************************
Jane E. Prudhomme, M.A., M.S.
Asst. Vice Chancellor,
Research and Sponsored Programs
University of New Orleans
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70148
Phone: 504 - 280-7154
FAX: 504-280- 3896
E-Mail: xxxxxx@uno.edu
http://www.uno.edu/~orsp
*****************************************
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