Office of Sponsored Programs Procedure 10000: Procedures Guidelines and Template

Responsible Official: Assistant Vice President for Research and Innovation and Director of Sponsored Programs

Effective Date: July 1, 2015

Revision Date: October 27, 2026

Version: R.03

1. Purpose

This procedure provides guidance for developing, formatting, and maintaining Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) procedures to ensure clarity, consistency, and compliance with university policy.

2. Scope

This procedure applies to all OSP personnel responsible for creating, updating, or implementing OSP procedures across all operational units, including pre-award, post-award, contracts, compliance, and financial management.

3. Summary

This procedure establishes the standard format and approval process for all Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) procedures to ensure consistency, clarity, and compliance across the research administration lifecycle. It defines the required structure and content elements that each procedure must include and mandates the use of the official OSP Procedure Template (Appendix A). By providing a uniform framework, OSP 10000 supports transparency, efficient review, and alignment with university policy and federal regulatory requirements.

4. Definitions

Procedure: A step-by-step instruction used to implement university policy.

Responsible Official: The OSP leader accountable for oversight and accuracy of a procedure.

Revision Number: The sequential identifier (R.xx) used to denote the version of a procedure.

5. Procedure

1. Draft the procedure using the approved OSP template provided as Appendix A.
2. Verify numbering aligns with the appropriate OSP category (e.g., 10000 for General, 20000 for Pre-Award, 30000 for Post-Award).
3. Review for clarity, accuracy, AP-style alignment, and accessibility.
4. Formatting Notes
   • Use AP and University Style for capitalization and punctuation. See brand center for reference.
   • Refrain from using acronyms when at all possible. Spell out words for search engine optimization and better reading flow.
   • Apply consistent section numbering and headings.
   • Maintain clear spacing and active voice.
   • Save final documents as PDF for publication on the OSP website.
5. Submit the draft to the relevant director and assistant vice president of sponsored programs for review and approval.
6. Once approved, finalize and send the content to the web editor in OSP or digital web manager for the Office of Research and Innovation for a webpage to be created.
7. Archive prior versions of the procedure in accordance with record retention policy.

6. Exception Process

There is no exception process for this procedure.

7. Roles and Responsibilities

• Assistant Vice President for Sponsored Programs: Approves all OSP procedures.
• Directors and Managers: Review procedures annually and recommend revisions.
• Procedure Authors: Draft, update, and verify procedure accuracy and format consistency to align with OSP Procedure Template, that must be used when creating or revising any OSP procedure. 

8. Enforcement

There is no enforcement process for this procedure.

9. Frequently Asked Questions

There are no frequently asked questions about this procedure.

10. Roles and Responsibilities

Procedure 10014 Records Retention

11. Procedure Development and Revision History

12. Dissemination

The official version of this procedure is maintained online at the Office of Sponsored Programs website. Printed copies or copies saved on computer drives are for reference only and may not reflect the most current version. Users should verify content online before relying on a printed version.

Download Procedure Template