Electronic Transmittal Form Beta Testing   
 
New electronic transmittal form saves faculty time

Ohio University has successfully routed We have successfully routed seventy- two electronic transmittal forms as of Friday, May 9, 2008. ORSP continues beta testing of the electronic transmittal. Training sessions are ongoing at the colleges.

The e-transmittal, a small component of the next version of the LEO grants administration system, is designed to save faculty time and to simplify the grant administration process. LEO v2 currently tracks files within the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), manages scanned documents,
Heckman Wingett
tracks research space, shares files with the division of Finance, and ultimately sends faculty award Dr. Timothy Heckman and Jessica Wingett, complete an electronic transmittal form and route it for signature.
announcements.

"We started with a simple mission of tracking and sharing files, and now we’re at the point where other institutions are starting to take a look at what we’re doing," said Shane Gilkey, assistant vice president for Research and Sponsored Programs. "We’ve been very lucky to have the support of Interim VP for Research Jim Rankin and prior VP for Research Jack Bantle, who both had the vision to see what could happen with effort and support."

The College of Osteopathic Medicine agreed to test the Beta version of the transmittal form. Jessica Wingett, accounting associate in the Office of Research and Grants, created the first form and then electronically routed it to Project Director Timothy Heckman for review and approval. Four additional levels of approvals were obtained without Dr. Heckman leaving his office.

The primary focus of the system is to save faculty time. The system allows for users to login to LEO using their OAK ID and password to create transmittals, review, and approve from any web access point. The system also allows for attachments such as budgets and proposals (without limitation to size) to be routed with the form for each of the approvers, and ultimately to ORSP to review.

Tim Hibbard, systems analyst for the Vice President for Research division and coder of the LEO program, is excited about its future. "We’re making a system that the faculty can feel comfortable with from the get go," he said.

The Beta e-transmittal also is undergoing testing by the Voinovich School. Rollout to the entire campus, including regional campuses, is expected by April 1. LEO v3 development will continue through the summer and will include features such as tracking proposals through the entire research administration process, pre-designed queries for Associate Deans of Research, general querying tools, and complete modules interfacing the ORSP with the Offices of Compliance and Technology Transfer within the VP for Research division.

LEO can be accessed at https://leo.research.ohio.edu/LEO/. For additional information, send e-mails to LEO@ohio.edu or orsp@ohio.edu

 
Photos were taken by Jenny Whan, Grants and Contracts Specialist, ORSP.
 
ORSP 105 Research & Technology Center, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701-2979, Tel 740.593.2857, Fax 740.593.0379, E-mail orsp@ohio.edu.
 

Page updated on May 9, 2008