The Office of Research Administration supports the mission of the college by providing administrative and management services for sponsored projects. Sponsored projects include grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements–from both the public and private sectors–which support research, instructional and service projects.

Our goal is to provide effective and efficient support services throughout the life of all sponsored projects (pre-award, post-award, and close out). We also work to ensure compliance with Federal regulations and requirements as well as with the policies, procedures, and guidelines of the University.

• Pre-Award Services: provide proposal and budget development support services to faculty and staff necessary to identify, develop, and submit external grant and contract applications, and administers internal funding opportunities.
• Post-Award Services: provide fiscal support necessary to responsibly manage funds awarded, consistent with University policy, requirements of funding sources, and federal regulations and time/effort reporting.
• Research Compliance: provide information and training for successful preparation for and ethical implementation of research within federal, state, local and institutional regulatory practices including, but not limited to, protection of human and animal subjects, hazardous materials, biosafety and HIPAA.
• Limited Submissions: work with the Office of the Vice President for Research to respond to research funding opportunities for which a limited number of submissions are permitted from Penn State.
• COINS: Help faculty with disclosures of significant financial interests and all annual updates for COINS (Conflict Of INterest System).
• Conflict of Interest: help with individual and institutional conflict of interest policies, guidelines, and procedures and strives to ensure compliance with all federal regulations and University policies.
• Funding Opportunities: help faculty find targeted funding opportunities.

Recent Awarded Research Spotlight

Dr. Cristin Hall Society for the Study of School Psychology Factors Affecting Implementation of an Evidence-Based Intervention in Child Care Centers: A Mixed Methods Study                                            Center-based child care programs serve a majority of preschoolers in the United States, but evidence based supports for school readiness are rarely evaluated in this context. The REDI-BKC (REsearchBased, Developmentally Informed - Better Kid Care) program is an evidence-based school readiness intervention currently being evaluated in community-based child care centers. With a unique model for sustainable professional development and coaching, REDI-BKC may enhance teaching quality and in turn boost the readiness skills of at-risk children; however, whether child care teachers and their directors are able to implement the evidence-based program with fidelity while working in a high-stress context is unknown. This study applies a mixed methods design to understand how factors specific to the experience of child care personnel affect their ability to implement an evidence-based school readiness intervention with fidelity. Teachers’ and directors’ experiences will be captured using qualitative interviews, and implementation fidelity is measured quantitatively within the purview of the larger effectiveness trial. This study adds to the field of school psychology by providing a holistic perspective about school readiness interventions, which is an increasing focus for school psychology prevention and intervention research.

Dr. Fran Arbaugh National Science Foundation Collaborative Research: Early Field Experiences for Prospective STEM Teachers: Scaling the UTE Model Among many dimensions of improving STEM education in the U.S., this research addresses two of particular urgency: (1) improving the preparation of secondary STEM teachers and (2) improving STEM learning and learning environments. The proposed project will assess the effectiveness of an early field experience model for secondary prospective teachers (PSTs), initially developed and tested at Michigan State University with prior NSF support. The model, called the University Teaching Experience (UTE), involves mathematics teacher educators serving as mentor teachers for PSTs as they teach in an undergraduate gateway mathematics course. This IUSE Development and Implementation for Engaged Student Learning project will have two broad aims. First, the project will involve collaboration across three different teacher preparation institutions to assess the portability of the UTE model to a wider range of university-based teacher preparation institutions. Second, the project will empirically assess the effectiveness of the UTE model in supporting the development of PSTs' understanding of the practices of eliciting and responding to student thinking, both of which are high-leverage teaching practices and are essential for achieving ambitious learning outcomes.

Dr. Leticia Oseguera Association for Institutional Research Diversifying Graduate Education: The Need to First Understand What Contributes to Graduate Degree Aspiration Changes During College This research will inform our understanding of racial/ethnic differences and community college students’ changes in graduate degree aspirations. This work is a first study attempts to model the relationship between what happened during undergraduate years (e.g. debt and engagement experiences) and students’ degree aspirations changes. The findings of this investigation can lead to creating and implementing interventions to help keep students, and particularly underrepresented students, on track to pursue graduate education.

Funding Opportunities

                 Documents and Resources                        Intent to Submit and FAQ                                 Contact Us                                              

                  Pre & Post Funding Administration                           Top 10 FAQ                                                           Education Research Office

                  Find Funding                                                                 Intent to Submit                                                   240 Chambers Building

                  Proposal Training Resources                                      Research Space                                                   L-OER@lists.psu.edu

                  Other Useful Links                                                        Export Control Compliance                                814-865-0596