AUA full-time faculty, directors of research centers, researchers under the direction of center directors, and administrative unit heads (directors and/or managers) are eligible to apply for grants and externally-funded programs that are conducted at AUA. All proposals to external funding sources that commit the University to any kind of responsibility to an external institution must be approved by the center Director, Dean, or administrative unit head prior to submission for AUA’s higher administration review.

After obtaining the agreement of Director, Dean, or administrative unit head, the responsible person must submit the proposal, its budget, and, if applicable, other required documents for the review and approval of the AUA Legal Counsel and higher administration, in particular the CFO, the COO, the Provost, and the President. The application package must be reviewed by the AUA Legal Counsel for legal terms and provisions; by the CFO to ensure compliance with the University's financial and accounting rules; the COO assesses the viability of facility, space, and equipment-related resources in the application; and the Provost approves the proposed work to make sure that it is within the academic mission of the University.

The application package must obtain the President's approval before it can be submitted to the sponsoring agency to ensure that the University can provide all commitments stated in the proposed work and that it is consistent with the broad mission of the University.

This approval requirement extends to include letters of commitment, letters of partnership or intent, or any analogous documents indicating AUA's potential involvement in proposals or joining a project consortium. 

The review and approval process of the package is executed through the AUA Document Flow System (1C) and may take up to five (5) business days.

Definitions

The following terms and definitions are for use in the context of this policy:

Responsible person

For research centers within Colleges and individual faculty members who act as the Principal Investigator for projects that do not fall under a particular research center within the College, the responsible person is the Dean or his/her designated person.

For the centers, such as the Acopian Center for the Environment or the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center, which are not within Colleges, the responsible person is the center Director or his/her designated person.

For administrative units, the responsible person is the unit Director or his/her designated person.