Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
In accordance with Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) all University-wide usage forms must be vetted for use by the steward/applicable central office and approved by the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance prior to being published. No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems & Procedures (designated representative of the Office of Budget and Finance).
The development of a form template is based on the type of signature required on the form.
The ESIGN Act granted electronic signatures the same legal status as handwritten signatures throughout the United States, greatly simplifying and expediting how organizations gather, track, and manage signatures and approvals on agreements and documents of all kinds. Electronic signatures are legally recognized as a viable method to indicate agreement to a contract.
As with a handwritten signature, a signer must show clear intent to sign an agreement electronically. For example, signers can show intention by using a mouse to draw their signature, typing their name, or clicking an “Accept” button that is clearly labeled.
Most electronic signature laws also require some form of consent to do business electronically. Many enterprise electronic signature solutions ask signers to “click to accept” a standard consent clause or provide an option to customize a consent clause such as:
If a signer elects to opt out of signing an agreement electronically, clear instructions on how to sign an agreement manually should be easily accessible as part of the signature workflow.
All signers should receive a fully executed copy of the agreement. Many electronic signature solutions automatically provide executed copies of agreements to signers as part of the approval workflow.
In the United States, there are two primary types of electronic signatures:
eSignatures refers to any electronic process that indicates acceptance of an agreement or record. Most electronic signature solutions in the United States fall into this broad category. Electronic signatures use a wide variety of common electronic authentication methods to verify signer identity, such as email, corporate ID, password protection, or a PIN sent to a mobile phone. Proof of signing is demonstrated via a secured process that often includes an audit trail and a final tamper-evident digital certificate embedded into the completed signed document.
Digital signature uses a digital certificate from a trust service provider (TSP), such as a certificate authority (CA), to authenticate a signer’s identity. The digital certificates demonstrate proof of signing by binding the digital certificate associated with each signature to the document using encryption.
Form templates appearing on the GURU website are University documents requiring the signature of:
The type of access determines the application to be utilized to create the form template. There are several different types of form applications available for use on GURU:
The Office of General Counsel reviews each proposed form to verify the type of signature required on the proposed form.
The University has entered into a contract with Adobe Sign to create form templates requiring signatures from individuals without access to University authentication (see type 1 above). In conjunction with the Office of Systems & Procedures, the University's Adobe Sign Team creates the form within Adobe Sign and controls access to the form template. The Adobe Sign Team is responsible for the retention of both the information submitted on the form and the form templates in accordance with the Financial Records Retention Schedule.
DocFinity Form Templates are electronic form templates requiring multiple signatures. The established workflow built into the form automatically routes the form through the entire authorization process. The original requestor receives a "PDF" copy of the fully executed (approved) form. Individuals possessing University log-in credentials and authentication are able to complete this type of form template. The electronic workflow meets the requirements of the eSign Act. The Office of Systems & Procedures works with the DocFinity Team for the creation of the form template and the required approval workflow. The template, as well as a copy of the completed form is retained within the DocFinity system in accordance with the Financial Records Retention Schedule. The form template is a link available within the Forms section of the GURU website.
Any browser may be used to access the form.
Forms requiring single or multiple signature from an individual possessing University authentication credentials are created using Adobe Acrobat "Fill-and-Print" PDF forms. Digital signature boxes are enabled on the form. The digital signature meets the requirements of the eSign Act. The Office of Systems & Procedures creates the form template.
GURU PDF forms are designed for use with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro. Each browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, etc) has a built-in PDF viewer making it the default PDF viewer without asking users. These built-in viewers do not necessarily support all features required for PDF forms. Similarly, many calculations are not supported by other stand-alone PDF readers (for examples, Nuance). It has been brought to the attention of the Office of Systems and Procedures that PDF forms do not function appropriately when accessed using Firefox and/or Microsoft Edge. In order to access any of the forms on GURU and have the fill-and-print functionality work properly, the end-user must access the GURU website using Google Chrome.
The latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free. Contact your IT support staff person for downloading assistance, if/as needed. An Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) account is also available, at no cost, to all Penn State students, faculty, and staff members. Sign up for an Adobe Creative Cloud account at adobe.psu.edu. If Adobe Acrobat Pro better suits your needs, contact your IT support staff person for purchasing and installation assistance.
Clicking the form download icon on any of the form instruction pages on GURU will open a web-based version of the form. While it appears to have fill-and-print fields available, not all functionality may be available for use (i.e. digital ID fields). With some exceptions (see below), it will be necessary to convert these web-based documents to PDF documents.
There are two (2) options available to download forms:
Option 1 - To create a PDF for this document (and only this document):
Option 2 - To change system settings to always open documents with Adobe:
There may be times when it is necessary to combine multiple PDF documents into a single document for submission. In those instances, complete the following steps:
Repeat this process for each document that will be combined (each file name must be different from the previous
This new multiple page document can be completed per the instructions above.
Adobe Acrobat PDF form templates containing multiple signatures can be sent for approval using Adobe Share. When participants open an Adobe Share approval request, they can approve the PDF by adding their digital ID. The form can then be routed to other approvers, or be returned to the initiator. The initiator can track progress by choosing to be notified each time the PDF is approved. The workflow ends when the last participant adds the final approval. If a PDF isn't approved, the approval workflow must be re-initiated.
The Adobe software provides instructions for completing the approval process; however, each end-user must take several steps to ensure their system is configured to allow for the approval process. Please refer to the Adobe - Manage Digital IDs for complete details. Adobe may require a password be enabled when applying the electronic signature. It is imperative that the password be retained by the end-user, as there is no way to retrieve this information from Adobe.
Before a file may be sent for signature, the following steps need to be complete to enable the "Share" process:
When applying your digital ID, please verify that the "Lock document after signing" button is NOT checked.
It is also possible to "Share" the form using the "Share File" option which is located in "File" drop-down list. Click the "Share File" option and follow the prompts.
All PDF forms have the "Clear Form" Bookmarks enabled. To clear ALL form field entries:
Violations of a financial policy and/or procedure should be reported to your supervisor, unit manager, your Human Resources representative, and/or office responsible for the policy and/or procedure. Where those resources are inadequate, you may choose to make an anonymous report through the Penn State University hotline by calling 1-800-560-1637.
The Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Financial Officer is responsible for collaborating with Internal Auditing when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits pertaining to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Financial Officer is also responsible for collaborating with the external auditor and/or a central University office related to these procedures.
University Records retention must be managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management, and retention schedules approved by the Records Management Advisory Committee, the Office of General Counsel, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. These records retention schedules are derived from - or based upon - federal, state, and local statutes or regulations, University Policy, industry standards, and business needs. All University Records must be maintained in such a manner to provide ease of access, establish a suitable audit trail for all transactions, and to be reviewed prior to disposition.
University Records and Transitory/Disposable Record are defined below. See Policy AD35, Definition of Terms for additional information.
Upon completion of the retention period, University Records must be disposed of via secure destruction or transfer to University Archives, unless an exception to the disposition process set forth below applies. If the disposition method for University Records states "Review by Archives" on the records retention schedule, the employees responsible for those records should consult the University Archivist for a final determination of disposition. For University Records that must be securely destroyed, units may arrange for shredding services by either contacting the Blue/White Shredding Program or the Inactive Records Center.
Exceptions to the disposition process are as follows:
To safeguard the privacy of individuals, records that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as defined in University Policy AD53 Privacy Policy, or student records, as defined in University Policy AD11 Confidentiality of Student Records, must be destroyed beyond recovery. For additional information regarding privacy and the protection of an individual's personal information, see Policy AD53 Privacy Policy.
Additional questions may be directed to the Records Management Program.
There are no exhibits associated with this procedure.
For questions, additional detail, or to request changes to this procedure, please contact the Office of Systems & Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request Form.
November 2, 2023