Preparing for End of Semester

Beat the pre-summer sponsored projects rush! Don’t delay – we usually see a spike in demand for OSP services right around the end of the semester. In order to ensure your proposal has time for thorough review and expert guidance the OSP team offers, now is the right time to let OSP know of your plans to pursue external grant funding in May through the end of the summer.

Please see the OSP website for a comprehensive guide to the resources available to support your external funding proposals.

Fiscal Year-End Reminders

View the year-end memo from Finance including the calendar for closing out FY23 activities here. Key highlights for sponsored program recipients include:

• Mon., May 15th The last day for departments to submit a Technology Solution Request (TSR) to IT for year-end technology purchases.

• Mon., June 12th Prepaid card order cut-off date for FY2023. All completed and approved requests for prepaid card orders must be to Cash and Investments by 12:00 NOON. (Cash and Investments Office, [email protected] or 1031 S. Main Street, Massanutten Hall, MSC 5711).

Effort Reports

Fall Effort Reports are prepared and ready for certification. You should have received an email notification if you have forms to complete. Please log into the Effort Reporting System and certify all outstanding forms. The due date for all Effort Reports is Friday April 28, 2023.  If you have any questions, please contact Kyra Shiflet in OSP-FS at [email protected] or by phone at 8-7108.

Who Owns the Laptop?

If JMU purchases a computer, printer, or similar equipment for an external consultant’s use the Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for following JMU rules on usage and access for that equipment. JMU would retain ownership. If an external party is to retain ownership of laptops included in the proposal budget after a project concludes, this must be specifically stated in the grant proposal. Note that all software on computers is licensed only for use by employees or students.

For these reasons, OSP advises that external consultants include the costs of any required laptops, supplies, and software in their fee. Following this approach, the consultant would not be bound by JMU’s restrictions and would retain ownership of the equipment after the project concludes. Fall Effort Reports are prepared and ready for certification. 

Changes to Non-Pizza Items SPCC Policy

With changes to the Aramark minimum delivery in February 2023, Cash and Investments has announced that effective immediately, SPCC users may purchase up to $100 of non-pizza food items from a pizza vendor (items such as drinks, salads, desserts, etc. are included in this). Please keep in mind that all items (i.e. salad, pizza, and drink for one person) when combined must be limited to no more than the per diem rate for that meal. 

All cardholders who need to make pizza purchases must have a restaurant exception on file first. Instructions on how to fill out the request is available on JMU’s website here: Peoplesoft finance electronic forms (jmu.edu).



More information is available here: Food and Beverage Procedures - JMU.  

OSP Staff Transitions

Kelly Hill has moved from the OSP-Administrative Services unit to the OSP-Financial Services unit. As a result, the contacts for grant accounting for your sponsored projects may have been reassigned.

Here is a listing of the reorganized assignments, by OSP-FS staff member:

Carmen Witmer

• College of Science & Mathematics
• College of Health & Behavioral Studies

Kyra Shiflet

• Research & Scholarship
• College of Education
• Administration & Finance
• Student Affairs
• President’s Office
• Access & Enrollment
• Academic Success

Kelly Hill

• College of Integrated Science & Engineering
• College of Arts & Letters
• College of Business
• College of Visual & Performing Arts
• Libraries
• Center for Global Engagement
• University Studies
• The Graduate School
• Honors College
• School of Professional and Continuing Education