Academic Affairs Office

Research and Sponsored Programs at Marywood

Research and Sponsored Programs is responsible for Academic Affairs grants and contracts (sponsored programs) initiated by or to be managed by faculty, academic departments, colleges, centers, or institutes. Each sponsored program is conducted within a framework of regulations, policies, and procedures, including sponsor policies, university policies, and departmental and collegiate guidelines.

Research and Sponsored Programs serves as the central clearing and budget approval point for Academic Affairs grants regardless of the purpose (programmatic or research) or source (public or private).  Projects related to  capital projects and private scholarships are the responsibility of the Advancement Office in University Advancement.

Research and Sponsored Programs is responsible for oversight, compliance, management, and appropriate conduct of sponsored activities in conjunction with principal investigator (PI) or project director (PD).  Marywood University maintains a centralized, coordinated approach to the review, clearance, approval, submission, and management of all sponsored programs.  ORSP assists faculty in identifying sources of funding and following guidelines for policies related to submission, implementation, and compliance, and administers annual internal grant programs for faculty and student research.

The Assistant Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs serves as the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR)/Signing Official (SO) for electronic applications, and is authorized to submit applications on behalf of the university.

Faculty interested in pursuing external funding are encouraged to contact ORSP at the earliest stage of project development, specifically prior to contacting private funders, to ensure that the application is developed in compliance with university and sponsored policies and that there are no conflicts with other proposals in process. Please refer to the Sponsored Programs Policies for information regarding submission deadlines and necessary lead time necessary for timely submissions. 

Research and Sponsored Programs works collaboratively with the Advancement Office on some external funding opportunities and will take responsibility for making that contact when appropriate. Faculty should advise Research and Sponsored Programs when they have received in-kind donations or supplies from external sources so that the donor and the department can be properly acknowledged. 

University Policies

Funding Policies

Procedure Guidelines and Schedules

Class assignments or exercises involving human participants may or may not require IRB/ERC review depending on whether they meet the federal definition of “research”, which is defined as:  “a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge”

Independent Studies / Theses / Dissertations / Honors Projects

According to the federal definition, all students completing theses (undergraduate honors or graduate), independent studies, or doctoral dissertations must apply through the IRB or ERC. Such research requires a Marywood University faculty sponsor.

Classroom Assignments / Educational Inquiry / Practice

Research activities that are designed as part of a course requirement and involve human participants may not require IRB/ERC review and approval. Eligible assignments or learning exercises are those that do not involve a systematic investigation designed to contribute to generalizable knowledge. Such activities may engage students in interaction with individuals in order to teach research methods or to help students comprehend topics covered by the course. In most instances, such activities are not intended to create new knowledge or to lead to scholarly publication or presentation.

Classroom activities may not require IRB/ERC review if all of the following conditions are true:

  • The activity is a class assignment designed for learning purposes only and is not designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. However, individuals who wish to gather data from human participants for classroom assignments, educational inquiry or practice AND intend to use the data as research data for the purpose of publishing or sharing with a research community or the public at large (e.g., research or professional forum), Must Obtain IRB or ERC approval prior to conducting the activity.
  • Results of the research are viewed only by the course instructor for teaching purposes and discussed within the classroom for teaching and learning purposes. In the case that data is gathered at an internship or practicum, it is acceptable to share the data with the collaborating agency.
  • Results of the research are not made public through presentation (outside of the classroom) and are not published in paper or electronic format.
  • Risk to participants is minimal (or no greater risk than would ordinarily be encountered in daily life)
  • Participants are not a vulnerable population (under 18 years of age, prisoners or court-ordered individuals, etc.).
  • Participants or data collected is not identifiable.
  • When an investigator obtains data through an intervention or interaction (survey, interview, observation, etc.) with living individuals, a participant letter must be provided to fully inform the individuals about the nature and expectations of their participation in the research activity.

Please note: students conducting class assignments/exercises/projects may not recruit participants via the Marywood University email list serves. In order to recruit via the list serves, IRB/ERC review and approval is required.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COURSE INSTRUCTOR

The course instructor is responsible for informing students of the ethical considerations of human subjects research. Procedures for course assignments should include proper instruction regarding: informed consent, appropriate recruitment of subjects, minimizing risk to subjects, and protecting confidentiality. Completion of the CITI online training courses is not required for student projects that do not require IRB/ERC review. As an alternative, the IRB and ERC administrators are available to speak to classes about human subjects protections and/or ethical research practices.

It is important to note that IRB approval cannot be provided retroactively. If a classroom assignment produces interesting results, the data MAY NOT be used nor may the results be disseminated if IRB/ERC approval was not obtained prior to the implementation of the study. If a student believes that data collected may be useful for research purposes, then IRB or ERC approval must be sought at the outset, before any research activity has begun.

In making a determination of whether or not a class research project requires IRB/ERC review, the instructor is encouraged to complete the “Request for Determining Whether a Project Involves Research with Human Participants” form. The instructor may also contact Research and Sponsored Programs at (570) 961-4778 or via email at irbhelp@marywood.edu to discuss any questionable cases.

Various opportunities may be available for identifying internal and external funding sources for research based programs or projects.  

External Funding Opportunities

SPIN

SPIN allows Marywood University faculty, staff, and students access anywhere on campus without an account, however, you do need to register for an individual free account for off-campus use. This service is available to students as well as faculty and staff.  SPIN offers active searches, keyword opportunity matching, daily or weekly notifications, and contains over 40,000 opportunities from more than 10,000 global sponsors.

Training videos are provided.

Grants.Gov 

Basic search using keywords offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies can be found on Grants.gov.
Weekly updates of new opportunities listed.

National Instistutes of Health

    National Science Foundation

    NSF for Postdoctoral 
    NSF for Veterans

    Grant Forward

    Offers a 14 day free trial with Individual membership $19.00 per month

    Grant Gopher 

    Offers a Lite (free) account to run searches in the database and see full details for the first five grants matching your search.

    Faculty Funding Sources

    Art & Humanities

    • American Antiquarian Society
    • Golden Foundation for the Arts
    • Howard Foundation
    • National Gallery of Art
    • University of Pennsylvania

    Health

    • AFAR
    • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
    • Dannon Leadership Institute
    • Ellison Medical Foundation
    • International Psychogeriatric Association
    • National Institute of Aging (NIA)
    • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • PhRMA Foundation
    • PhRMA Foundation
    • RAND with NICHHD and NIA

    Nursing, Gerontology & Health Administration

    • Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
    • Brookdale Foundation
    • Geriatric Social Work Initiative
    • International Psychogeriatric Association
    • John A. Hartford Foundation
    • National Institutes of Health
    • National Institute on Aging 

    Nutrition

    • AFAR
    • Dannon Leadership Institute
    • Ellison Medical Foundation
    • National Institute of Aging (NIA)
    • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • RAND with NICHHD and NIA

    Sciences

    • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
    • American Academy of Audiology
    • American Association for the Advancement of Science
    • American Cancer Society
    • American Speech- Language- Hearing Foundation
    • Army Research Laboratory
    • Earthwatch Institute
    • Geriatric Social Work Initiative
    • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
    • James McKeen Cattell Fund
    • Life Sciences Research Foundation (LSRF)
    • National Institute of Aging (NIA)
    • Naval Research Laboratory
    • United Negro College Fund (UNCF) & Merck

    Social Sciences

    • Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
    • Brookdale Foundation
    • Center for Retirement Research (CRR)
    • Center for Retirement Research (CRR)
    • Dirksen Congressional Center
    • Earthwatch Institute
    • F.J. McGuigan Research Prize
    • Geriatric Social Work Initiative
    • Harry S. Truman Library Institute
    • Howard Foundation
    • International Psychogeriatric Association
    • John A. Hartford Foundation
    • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
    • Manhattan Institute of Policy Research
    • National Institutes of Health PA-11-264
    • Open Society Institute
    • Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
    • Rockefeller Foundation
    • Washington University in St. Louis

    Psychology

    • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
    • National Institutes of Health

    Women & Women's Issues

    • American Association of University Women (AAUW)
    • Educational Testing Service
    • University of California

    General & Cross-Disciplines

    • American Association for the Advancement of Science
    • American Association of University Women (AAUW)
    • Rockefeller Foundation
    • University of California

    Other

    • American Association for the Advancement of Science
    • American Association of University Women (AAUW)
    • Association for Institutional Research
    • Educational Testing Service
    • Fleishman Civil Society at the Sanford Institute
    • Institute for Humane Studies - Hayek Fund for Scholars
    • National Academy of Education
    • University of California

    Marywood University fosters a culture of integrity and high quality of research. It supports all individuals engaged in research by promoting responsible and ethical behavior and by ensuring that all research at Marywood is performed in accordance with federal, state, and institutional laws, regulations and policies.

    Marywood University ensures that all individuals engaged in research act responsibly when conducting activities involving:

    • Human subjects
    • Laboratory animals
    • Potentially hazardous biological materials

    The Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Exempt Review Committee (ERC) will review all research proposals. Please access the appropriate committee's webpage for regulations and procedures for submitting your research for review.

    To report research misconduct, contact the Director of Human Participants and Research Compliance.

    Miller-Scandle, Dr. Tabbi L

    Bio
    1

    Important Announcements

    Changes to our requirements for the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) have been approved by the Academic Council and are effective for all individuals involved in projects or renewals submitted to the IRB or ERC as of November 15, 2021.

    • Expiration dates of three years have been established for the Human Research Course and the four learner groups within the course:
      • Social/Behavioral
      • Biomedical
      • Clinical Trial / Good Clinical Practice
      • IRB Staff & Members
    • Expiration dates are retroactive. If you have completed one of these courses any time prior to January 21, 2019, you will need to complete a refresher course immediately in order for your involvement in research to potentially be approved. Course content was updated to reflect the Revised Common Rule as of that date.
    • If you have completed a course on January 21, 2019 or thereafter, your training is good for three years after the completion date.
    • The CITI site will not send notices of expiration. However, the site now indicates current expiration dates for learner groups within the human research course. Our staff will also check training during the submission pre-review process and will notify you if it has expired.
    • This change does not affect the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course, which is only required of those seeking Federal funding. We have not established expiration dates on it because there is no harmonization of Federal RCR training rules. Renewal will be agency or award-specific.
    • This change does not affect courses offered by other departments, such as Information Privacy Security (SSW), Animals (IACUC) or Bloodborne Pathogens (PA Program). Those departments set their own expiration and renewal dates, if any.

    Training now includes a certain number of core courses and electives. Please choose electives based on the type of research in which you will be engaged. While you only need to complete a minimum number of electives, you are free to complete more. Some courses also offer optional supplemental modules.

    Staff Contact Change for Large Email Lists - Summer 2021 and Onward

    After the ERC or IRB approves your project, please contact Adrienne Mullikin, Executive Assistant to the Provost, at ajmullikin@marywood.edu in order to have your message posted to one or more of the large email list-serves on campus, which includes the undergraduate, graduate, commuter, resident, faculty and MWAdmin lists. Supply her with:

    1. the final IRB/ERC approval letter;
    2. the recruitment permission letter or letters stating to which lists you need access;
    3. the approved email recruitment message.

    Please do not contact any others for access unless a smaller, specific list not managed by Ms. Mullikin is needed from a particular department (e.g., Veterans' list, list of specific majors maintained by an academic department, etc.). For other permissions, please see our MU Permission Chart.

    Posting Limits
    The Information Technology Office allows a maximum of three posts to list-serves per study, per semester.

    ABLE Graduation

    Featured Grant

    Adult Basic Literacy Education

    Principal Investigator: Melinda Arcuri, Program Director/GED Coordinator
    Sponsor: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Adult Basic Literacy Education
    Department: Education
    College: College of Professional Studies

    Through funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Marywood is able to provide services to help students improve basic skills that support continuation into higher education, the search for sustainable employment opportunities, and better participation in the education of their children. Classes are available in areas such as English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency (GED/HiSET) and tutoring is also offered in each of these areas to help students excel.