Just a thought... How about if they set a postmark deadline, rather than a
receipt deadline?  Seems like this idea was proposed in earlier RESADM-L
correspondence on the issue, but I do not recall seeing a response from
NSF.  I venture to say that as long as they have a receipt deadline of 5
days, they will continue to get overnight packages, especially from the
West Coast.

Bill Schulze
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
xxxxxx@ccmail.nevada.edu

Nancy Peterson <xxxxxx@WINONA.MSUS.EDU> on 02/05/99 08:40:23 AM

Please respond to Research Administration Discussion List
 <xxxxxx@hrinet.org>

To:   xxxxxx@hrinet.org
cc:    (bcc: William Schulze/UNLV)
Subject:  Re: FastLane cover pages

Carolyn Miller -- chief FastLane administrator -- was just in Winona doing
a FastLane workshop and she re-affirmed that receiving the signed cover
sheets for FastLane proposals by FedEx and Overnight Mail was driving her
staff crazy!!  They do NOT want us to use such services.  Use regular mail.

They picked 5 days for the receipt deadline of signed cover pages because
they needed to have SOME sort of deadline and figured 5 days would be the
usual time first class mail would take to get there.  In reality, her staff
doesn't have time to open up the cover sheets every day and make sure they
are there on time.  They process them when they get a chance to.

I explained it had been so drilled into grants administrators and faculty
that a deadline was a deadline and that we needed a receipt, we had a hard
time changing that paradigm.  Actually, if anyone out there can think of an
easy way for her staff to give us reassurance of receipt, let me know and
I'll pass it on to her.  (Having them email us to say they received the
cover sheet was not an option!!  That would be worse than opening all the
curier envelopes!)

We may just have to wait until electronic "signatures" (possibly retina
scans!?) become reality to change the paradigm.

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