RETIRED FACULTY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Table of Contents:

• Purpose
• General Information
• Exhibit and Instructions
• Form Requirements
  • Accessing GURU Forms
  • Web-based Documents
  • Converting Web-based Documents to PDF Documents
  • Exceptions
  • Combining PDF Documents
  • Clearing Fill-and-Print Form Fields
• Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution
• Where To Send Completed Forms
• Contact Information
• Cross References

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Purpose:

The Retired Faculty Memorandum of Understanding Form specifies the parameters which retired/emeritus faculty must comply with when contributing/participating in sponsored projects.

General Information:

The University values the contributions made by retired/emeritus faculty to the University's research, teaching, and service missions. This includes contributions by those serving as investigators on sponsored projects. Policy Guideline RAG03 Retired Faculty Participation and Policy HR45 Post Retirement Appointments clarify certain policy and procedural issues in order to protect the retired/emeritus faculty member, employees, and students working with the retired faculty member, and the University.

One such issue is that an appropriate agreement must exist between the retired/emeritus faculty member and the University prior to the faculty member serving as an investigator on a sponsored program. Such an agreement should address the faculty member's scope of responsibilities, the use of University facilities, intellectual property ownership, and legal acceptance of administrative/contractual responsibilities that are attendant to being an investigator on a sponsored project.

The Retired Faculty Memorandum of Understanding Form serves as a written agreement between the retired/emeritus faculty member and the University, detailing the type of the sponsored research project in which they will be participating in their capacity as retired/emeritus faculty (Appendix A of form), and the research tasks to be performed by or under their partial or full direction (Appendix B of form).

For further information, refer to Policy Guideline RAG03 Retired Faculty Participation.

The Retired Faculty Memorandum of Understanding is an agreement between the University and the Retired/Emeritus faculty member and requires legal signatures. The Retired/Emeritus faculty member and the Cognizant College Administrator are required to provide hand-written signatures. As such, the digital ID/signature boxes are not enabled on the PDF form.

Exhibit and Instructions:

This form has fill-and-print form fields fields enabled. The PDF version has instructions provided for the type and/or format of information to be included within the fill-and-print form fields. Hovering the computer mouse over any form fields within the PDF will display these instructions. See Converting Web-based Documents to PDF Documents for details.

For step-by-step instructions for completing the Retired Faculty Memorandum of Understanding, click on link below:

Retired Faculty Memorandum of Understanding Exhibit

Form Requirements:

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 and Procedures (designated representative of the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance). Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) requires that all form templates must be vetted and approved prior to being published on the GURU website and all such documents having gone through said established approval process must be password protected.

Accessing GURU Forms:

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.

Web-based Documents:

Clicking the form download icon on any form instruction page 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 exceptions below), it will be necessary to convert these web-based documents to PDF documents (see Converting Web-based Documents to PDF documents section).

Converting 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):

• Click the download icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the web-page
• Select a location to save the document where you will be able to locate the document
• Click Save
• Open the document from the saved location

Option 2 - To change system settings to always open documents with Adobe:

• Click the download icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the web-page
• Select a location to save the document where you will be able to locate the document
• Click Save
• The file will appear in the bottom left-hand corner of your browser window. Click the small up arrow to the right of the file name
• Click the "Always open with system viewer" option
• The form now opens as a PDF and can be completed
• All PDF files will now open in a separate window in Adobe

Exceptions:

Combining PDF Documents:

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:

• Click on the appropriate form in GURU
• Complete the fill-and-print boxes on the web-based form
• Click the printer icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
• Change Destination to Microsoft Print to PDF using the drop-down arrow
• Click Print at the bottom of that panel
• Enter a file name in the box at the bottom of the pop-up window and be sure to select a location where you will be able to relocate the document
• Click Save

Repeat this process for each document that will be combined.

• Open one of the completed pdf documents and on the far right select combine files
• Click Add Files and select the files to be combined
• Click Combine

Clearing Fill-and-Print Form Fields:

This form has the "Clear Form" Bookmarks enabled. To clear ALL form field entries:

• If left-hand column is not displayed when the document is opened, click the small arrow located at about the mid-point of the left-hand side of the screen to reveal the column
• Click "Bookmarks" (looks like a ribbon)
• Click "Clear Form"

If you encounter any difficulties, contact the GURU support staff by submitting a Technical Support Form request

Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:

Where to Send Completed Forms:

Original is retained by the Office of Cognizant College Administrator (Dean, Director, etc.) employing the retired faculty member. A copy is provided to the retired faculty member and the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Contact Information:

For questions, additional detail, or to request changes to this form, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Cross References:

• Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management
• Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility
• Policy HR45 Post Retirement Appointments
• Policy Guideline RAG03 Retired Faculty Participation