Franci:

We are a state assisted institution so our insurance situation may be
different, but here "volunteers" are considered employees as far as
insurance coverages go.  This is true year around. We operate a
number of programs for senior citizens tht utilize volunteers and as
long as they are somehow registered or identified by the University
as volunteer participants then they are included.

If your insurance requires that students must be registered, perhaps
you (or your science departments) can devise a research
experience course that runs any time of the year.  It could even be a
zero credit course to avoid making the students' pay tuition, if
this can't be waived.

 Richard H. Moore
 Assistant Vice President for Grants and Sponsored Research
 and Professor of Biology

Coastal Carolina University                E-MAIL: xxxxxx@coastal.edu
P.O. Box 1954                              VOICE: (803) 349-2050
Conway SC 29526                            FAX: (803) 349-2990

>There are some programs (Council on Undergraduate Research, Sigma Xi for
>example) that provide fellowships or expense funding directly to students
>to enable them to work with faculty members on research projects, usually
>during the summer.  The faculty member has to contribute to the student's
>application and the work is usually of a collaborative nature, often
>forming the basis for a student's required senior research paper.  But the
>funds come to the student so there is no financial relationship between the
>student and the institution (and the student is not registered for any
>summer course, because we don't offer any).
>
>Our insurance administrator is questioning whether our coverage extends to
>students who are working as unpaid (from the College perspective)
>assistants to our faculty during the summer.
>
>Has this come up at your institutions?
>
>Please reply directly to me -- I'd be glad to summarize any replies I get
>for the list.
>
>Frances Vinal Farnsworth
>Coordinator of Sponsored Research
>Grants Office - Forest Hall
>Middlebury College
>Middlebury, VT 05753
>
>email:  xxxxxx@middlebury.edu
>phone:  802-388-3711x5889
>fax:  802-388-6436
>