UROP Informational Session - Faculty

1. UROP Informational Session - Faculty

2. Agenda • Brief Introduction to UROP • Program Requirements • Hiring Process • Timesheets, time reporting • Project Renewal

3. What is UROP? The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) is a program supporting research mentorships between students and faculty researchers. Students earn stipends, use work study, or earn service hours (volunteer points) as assistants on faculty-generated research. The program is funded by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

4. Program Requirements • Faculty must submit project proposals through Google Forms for UROP review. • Projects should be research in nature and not simply administrative tasks or curriculum-based assignments. Projects should be well thought out and planned, intellectually stimulating, should include well-defined goals and objectives, and should lead to creating new knowledge, developing new ideas, and building skill sets • Faculty with approved projects must also review and select/deny student applications via InfoReady • (Students) Selected candidates must satisfy the onboarding University hiring process.

5. What hasn’t changed • UROP still offers students up to $500 per cycle • Hourly rates still range between $10 - $15 per hour • Students can still earn work-study (if awarded), earn service hours for any volunteer time, or can be paid from a faculty sponsor’s additional sources, if available • Students are still paid on a bi-weekly schedule

6. What hasn’t changed • New students are still required to satisfy University hiring steps before being authorized to work. • Any students interested in continuing a project from term-to-term are required to report their work activity from their most recent term of employment (now through InfoReady’s progress report feature).

7. What has changed • We’ve moved from four funding terms to three equal-length funding cycles • Each cycle includes up to 30 days of recruiting/hiring and up to 90 days of performance • Fall UROP: Recruitment Period is from Sept 1 - Sept 30, Performance period is from Oct 1 - Dec 31 • Winter UROP: Recruitment Period is from Jan 1 - Jan 31, Performance period is from Feb 1 - April 30 • Spring/Summer UROP: Recruitment Period is from May 1 - May 30, Performance Period is from June 1 - Aug 31

8. What has changed • Faculty now submit project proposals and renewal requests through Google Forms. • UROP will transfer all approved proposals to InfoReady, where students will have to directly apply. • Faculty sponsors will have to review the applicants via InfoReady and approve/not approve the candidates. • Approved candidates will be invited to begin U-M’s hiring process. • UROP now limits the number of students per project to three (3) per term

9. What has changed • Active projects are no longer posted on the UROP website. They are ONLY listed in InfoReady. • Students are no longer required to submit a UROP contract • Students are no longer required to attend a UROP orientation. Instead, they must complete the “Go Blue New Student Orientation” with University Human Resources (new hires only)

10. Proposal Submission Log in using your U-M login • The proposal requires you to submit your project title, a project description, keywords, student tasks/responsibilities, and hourly rate. • Optionally, you can include any minimum qualifications and provide insight into what the students will gain from your project

11. InfoReady Listings • Approved faculty projects will get added to the UROP InfoReady homepage, where students can view and apply to projects. • The application window is 30 days during each funding cycle, before the listings are removed.

12. Accessing Reviews After student applications are submitted, there are three ways you reviews: • Link(s) in the email notification. • This is the typical starting point for reviewers. Notification emails are automatically sent to faculty when applications are submitted. Clicking applicant’s title (which will betiontitles in the email will take reviewers directly to the review form for that specific application. • The Reviews tab on the homepage global navigation bar. • Link at the top of the homepage when reviewers log in to the site.

13. Accessing Reviews Approve or disapprove each candidate. In the section “Enter your question to the Reviewers here”, enter “None” for all candidates you approve. For all candidates you do not approve, please provide comments on why you did not approve that candidate.

14. University Hiring • Selected candidates will then be contacted by UROP and Human Resources to satisfy the onboarding hiring process. • Obtain PEERRS certification* • Apply for the UROP assistant posting on the University’s Career site* • Complete the “Go Blue New Student Orientation” with University Human Resources* • Complete an online background check consent form* • Complete an I-9 with HR, Employee Validation, tax documentation, and set up payment options* • Submit bi-weekly timesheets via Wolverine Access • Submit a progress report at the end of each term worked • Reapply to a project each term. * = only applies to newly hired students

15. Reporting Hours • Students are paid on bi-weekly basis. • All students are now required to enter their own hours via Wolverine Access. Faculty or student email submissions are no longer accepted. • Faculty are expected to work with their students to determine how many hours they are to submit each pay period.

16. Reporting Hours • Students CAN work on holidays. They will be paid time and a half for holiday hours, but that will ALSO cut into their award. • After the students’ timesheets have been submitted, UROP will approve the hours. UROP also keeps record of their remaining hours for the term and will communicate those hours to both them and the faculty sponsor prior to the next timesheet due date • IMPORTANT: Once a student has been awarded UROP funds, they will have until the end of that term to utilize those funds. Any funds unspent by the end of that period will be reapplied back to our UROP account. Basically: Use ‘em or lose ‘em! • Due to budget restrictions, UROP will not fund students above the maximum award available.

17. Progress Reports • In order to qualify for future funding, UROP students are required to complete a progress report before the end of each funding term. • The progress report can be found in InfoReady • It requires a 1-2 paragraph summary of the work you performed during the term.

18. Project Renewal • To keep your project active, all faculty are required to submit a renewal form for the following term. • Renewal forms allow faculty to either renew a project as is or make amendments to a previously accepted project. • If approved, the project will get relaunched in InfoReady as a new competition. • Both new and returning students are required to reapply to the relaunched project, however returning students are not required to get re-hired by the University.

19. Ending the Project • Though not mandatory, UROP students are encouraged to “close out” their project by: • Presenting UROP work at one of many student research conferences, including: • Meeting of Minds • Flint Student Research Conference • Additional regional/national conferences • Connecting with University Communications and Marketing to share their experiences • Completing a UROP exit survey

20. Additional Questions? Andre Louis, Program Manager alouis@umich.edu