Peter Dolce hit the nail on the head.  It's the protection factor (compliance)
that is so difficult to assess.

I'm continually struggling for analogies for that function.  It's like OSHA
rules.  OSHA requires the installation of fire extinguishers, lighted exits,
panic bars, fire doors, etc.  From day-to-day people are mostly annoyed by
OSHA requirements due to the inconvenience: fire doors are so heavy; those
well-lit, unobstructed walkways are such a pain to maintain; etc.  Then there
is, for example, a fire emergency and the fire doors contain the smoke and
fire, workers move easily out of the building through those well-marked,
well-lit walkways to the doors with the "panic bars" and a CATASTROPY has been
avoided!

We do the same thing.  The day-to-day annoyances are the transactions that we
monitor everyday for compliance with the rules, the emergency is the visit by
the auditors, and the avoided catastrophy is a report with no costly
disallowances.

However, our diverted catastrophy would never hit the papers.  There's no
sirens or statistics on how many livers were saved.  No one really
knows when the auditors are here or when the report comes in unless there
is a MAJOR problem.  Are the results ever given to the President's Council
or the Board of Trustees?  I don't know.  Do they understand that a clean
report is the result of hours and hours of calls and processing transactions,
hours of coaching and training, hours of reading and continuing education
(to keep up with the rules and the trends)??

I think the cuts to our offices are coming at the worst possible time.
Research is more competitive than ever, the government is regulating and
investigating more than ever, and it is a time when the universities can
least afford a catastrophy.  I bet Stanford has a good appreciation for their
research administration staff without all this discussion of assessment!!

Ruth Tallman

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Lehigh University
526 Brodhead Ave.
Bethlehem, PA  18015
Phone: 610-758-3024
E-Mail: xxxxxx@lehigh.edu