Research Compliance A-Z

Americans with Disabilities Act - In accordance with this 1990 Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Colorado College's policy is to create and maintain an environment in which students with disabilities may participate fully in college life and derive the greatest benefit from their educational experiences. Colorado College's Notice of Non-Discrimination summarizes the College's commitment to this.

Animal Research - College policy and federal law require a review of research projects that involve invertebrate animals to assure their humane treatment and judicious and safe use, in accord with the standards set out by the NIH and US Department of Agriculture. This review is conducted by the College's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

Assurance of Compliance - Federal agencies require an "Assurance of Compliance" for Civil Rights Statutes: National Institutes of Health (NIH) asks for a one-time document to be on file (see Colorado College's Assurance). Others, such as National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), provide for the assurance of compliance to be executed via signature by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) with each proposal submission.

Civil Rights Protections or Statutes - See "Non-discrimination."

Code of Ethical Conduct and Conflict of Interest - All members of the Colorado College community share a commitment to serve as stewards of the traditions and resources of Colorado College. Therefore, consistent with our moral and legal obligations, the College requires all individuals in our community to act in good faith, with ordinary care, and in the best interests of the College.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the U.S. federal government, produced by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office (GPO). Access to the CFR online is through e-CFR.

Copyright - The College's policies on copyright ownership are outlined in Colorado College's Intellectual Property and Copyright Policy

Data Management Plan (DMP) - NSF requires each investigator to submit a two-page description of how the proposal will conform to the federal policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results; NIH has a similar requirement. See NSF's requirements for developing a Data Management Plan.

Davis-Bacon Act - Any construction or renovation projects funded by federal funds, in whole or in part, are subject to this Act as amended, 40 U.S.C. 276a-276a-5, which provides prevailing wages to be paid to contractors or subcontractors.

Debarment and Suspension - Colorado College assures compliance for this federal regulation regarding contractors or other recipients of federal funding that have engaged in waste, fraud, or abuse. This statement provides more information on our procedures. In brief, the process requires the college to check entities against the federal System for Award Management (SAM). The Director of Faculty Research Support does this upon proposal submission by each individual investigator, and also checks before making a sub-grant or contract award of any amount to an outside organization.

Drug-Free Campus and Workplace - Colorado College's policy on a Drug-Free Campus and Workplace was implemented as required by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989.

Effort Reporting - Federal regulations necessitate documentation of faculty's time and effort on externally sponsored activities. The College's Effort Certification Procedures provides guidance on this process.

Environmental Health and Safety - An evolving area of compliance, Colorado College is currently working to develop institution-wide policies that build on existing practices.

Export Controls - In 2010 the U.S. Administration adopted the Export Control Reform (ECR) Initiative that regulates and protects exports, including information and technology, from being released to international adversaries. Federally funded researchers need to consult these Export Controls Guidelines to determine if they are exempt (does your project meet the definition of fundamental research?), or to determine appropriate safeguards if they are not exempt from ECR measures. If the project involves international research collaborations and/or travel (especially with sanctioned countries or entities), or if licensed technology/software may be shared or intellectual property rights are involved, federally funded faculty should consult with the Director of Faculty Research Support.

Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) - At the time of proposal submission, each investigator seeking federal funds must read Colorado College's FCOI policy and indicate whether they have any financial conflicts of interest on the FCOI Disclosure Form, an internal document required for any proposal submitted to a federal agency. Any faculty member with NIH funding must complete additional FCOI training which can be accomplished by registering through CITI and signing up for the "Conflict of Interest" course. (Using CC's institutional membership, all CITI courses are free to the the CC community.)

Fly America Act - By law (49 USC 40118), if using federal funds, airfare must be purchased on an American flag carrier regardless of cost or convenience. Please see this list of U.S. Flag Carriers.

Human Subjects - All research on human subjects conducted by Colorado College faculty, students, and staff, whether at Colorado College or at other institutions and research sites, must be approved or exempted by the Colorado College IRB in order to constitute legal and ethical research. To apply for approval or exemption, visit the Institutional Review Board (IRB) pages and contact the Chair with any questions.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee - The IACUC at Colorado College oversees the review of research projects that involve invertebrate animals, to assure their humane treatment and judicious and safe use, in accord with the standards set out by the NIH Office of Animal Laboratory Welfare (OLAW) and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) - The IRB is responsible for overseeing all human subjects research done at Colorado College or by Colorado College students, faculty and staff working elsewhere, to ensure that the research falls within legal and ethical bounds. The IRB supports human subjects research with no or minimal harm, good consent processes, no deception or debriefed deception, confidentiality or anonymity, privacy of information as appropriate, and the use of fairly chosen participants who can refuse to participate if they choose. Visit the Institutional Review Board (IRB) pages and contact the Chair with any questions.

Intellectual Property - See the Colorado College's Intellectual Property and Copyright policy.

Lobbying Disclosure Act - As outlined in Section 1352, Title 31, U.S. Code, (commonly known as the Byrd Amendment): federal funding cannot be used to lobby for additional federal funding, and any lobbying with other funds must be disclosed. Lobbying conducted by an agent of the College can only be undertaken after that lobbyist registers with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary of the U.S. Senate.

Non-discrimination - In accordance with civil rights protection acts (or executive order) of

  • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 USC § 2000d)
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 USC §794)
  • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 USC § 1681)
  • The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 USC § 6101)
  • Limited English Proficiency (EO 13166)

Colorado College's Notice of Non-Discrimination affirms that educational facilities, activities, and employment opportunities shall be offered without regard to race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, veteran status, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, status with regard to public assistance, disability, or age. See also our Anti-Discrimination Policies and Procedures and Gender-Based Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Violence Policy and Procedures.

Office of Research Misconduct (ORI) - This Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) office promotes integrity in biomedical and behavioral research by development, analyses, and implementation of policies; and investigation of research misconduct.

Purchasing - The federal government imposes a set of standards for the acquisition of supplies, equipment and real property purchased with federal funds. These guidelines for purchasing with federal funds are in addition to the College's standard procurement policies.

Research Misconduct - Colorado College's Scholarly Misconduct policy addresses the potential falsification of data, plagiarism, or misappropriation of others' ideas, in the course of proposing, conducting, or reporting research or in performing other professional duties. Each investigator needs to be aware of the guidelines and procedures spelled out by policy.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) - In accordance with the America COMPETES Act (42 USC 1862o-1) institutions receiving federal funds must have a plan to provide training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates and postdoctoral researchers who participate in research. See Colorado College's Responsible Conduct of Research Plan, which includes a link to the online training program, CITI.

Scholarly Misconduct - Colorado College's policy addresses potential research misconduct, which is the falsification of data, plagiarism, or misappropriation of others' ideas, in the course of proposing, conducting, or reporting research or in performing other professional duties. Each federally funded investigator in particular needs to be aware of this policy.

Signature Authority for Government Grants - Colorado College requires that all of its government-funded proposals and awards be executed by authorized individuals. No government-funded proposals or award agreements will be accepted without the proper institutional signature authority. The purpose of this policy is to establish and clarify the delegation of institutional signature authority for proposals and agreements between the College and government sponsors.

Subrecipient Monitoring - Colorado College is responsible for ensuring that all subawards issued from the College comply with federal regulations. These Subrecipient Monitoring procedures outline our processes.

Smoke-Free Workplace - The College complies with all applicable state and federal regulations pertaining to smoking.

Title IX - The "Title IX and Colorado College: Know Your Rights" page provides substantial background on the College's compliance with requirements of the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 USC § 1681). Colorado College's Anti-Discrimination Policies and Procedures and Gender-Based Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Violence Policy and Procedures provide important additional information.

Uniform Guidance - Uniform Guidance (UG) is the short name for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) consolidation of government-wide guidance and agency regulations into one location - Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). "Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards" is Part 200 of Chapter II, and replaces the OMB Circulars used previous to 2014.

Vendor Selection Form - For internal use, this form must be completed for any federal grant-funded purchases of equipment over $3,000 (per single piece of equipment). See the "Purchasing" entry above.

Whistle-blower Protections - The federal laws (41 USC § 4712, amended by P.L. 112-239) protect employees against unlawful discrimination or retaliation by their employer, as a result of reporting information about possible fraudulent or dishonest use or misuse of resources, or mismanagement of or a violation of regulation related to a federal grant. The College protects whistleblowers through several policies (The Anti-Discrimination Policy, Sexual Harassment Policy, Code of Ethical Conduct and Conflict of Interest, the Staff Handbook, and other publicly available resources), which all state that the College will not retaliate against an employee who reports wrongdoing. As our Code of Ethical Conduct and Conflict of Interest states, "Our campus community will not tolerate any adverse actions being taken in response to an individual communicating a concern."

Colorado College expresses its gratitude to Carleton College for providing our model for this page.

Report an issue - Last updated: 03/04/2024