Ramping Research stages outlined in our Ramping Research Plan. Stages 1-3 require that any work that can be performed remotely continue to do so. 

In cases where space limitations, use of shared facilities, or department or building level density concerns require prioritizing on-campus access, the following considerations will be considered when determining access priority.

• Research groups with current external funding.
• Assistant professors.
• Graduate students nearing completion of their degree programs.
• Upcoming deadlines for new or renewal grant applications.

For the most current information about accessibility and hours for the library, please continue to check the COVID-19 service updates on the library’s website.

Visit the library website for tips on using library resources remotely.

As always, librarians will strive to meet your research needs. Feel free to reach out to your subject area librarian. Most will be working remotely and will be accessible through e-mail. They can meet virtually with Microsoft Teams.

Most of the library’s online resources are available via simple login from the library website, but a few require use of the university VPN. For the latter, see the library’s remote access instructions.

If you need a book chapter or article from the library’s printed materials, you can request a scan of it be e-mailed to you via the ILLiad platform.  

Please check for current purchasing updates (VPN required).

If you must place an order for an item to be delivered before our (purchasing staff) return to campus, please make sure the requisition clearly indicates the following information:

• Contact name and phone number for delivery
• Message template:
  • The university community is working remotely, but I have placed this order and need delivery by “insert date”.  Please contact “insert” with a specific delivery date and time.  If you are unable to accommodate a planned delivery date and time, all deliveries must be delivered between the hours of 7am-noon to the Facilities building, 1404 W Clybourn St. Milwaukee Wi 53233

Some departments (chemistry, biological sciences, biomedical sciences, and possibly others) have developed additional plans.  Please contact ORI for advice if you are purchasing chemicals, temperature-dependent materials, or anything else that may require special handling.

Students involved in research projects are required to follow the Research Ramping Plan guidelines.

We want to enable all student researchers to continue to make progress on the projects to the greatest extent possible and encourage you to plan for remote work (data analysis, writing, etc.) where feasible and to plan in advance for the possibility of more limited access to on-campus facilities if required by public health concerns or University directives.. 

Please contact ORI (innovation@marquette.edu) if there are concerns with interruptions of the work of internal research award funded students, ORSP for questions about grant-funded students, and the Graduate School for questions about University-funded graduate students.

The Guiding Principles 1 and 2 of Marquette’s Ramping Research Plan focus on minimizing risk.

 

Principle #1: Recommendations and guidelines must adhere to local government and public health directives. 

• Physical distancing means at least 6 feet of distance between individuals within research space and office areas. 
• Physical distancing may require work schedules that are staggered in time and space. 
• Plans for physical distancing in shared research space will require coordination with all participating laboratory groups.
• Face masks will be worn in all public areas such as hallways and restrooms and may also be required in research spaces. General mask usage will follow University Recovery guidelines as well as Milwaukee or Wisconsin requirements.  More specific recommendations for personal protective equipment (PPE) for work involving human research participants will be provided and resumption of existing protocols or starting new protocols will require review of PPE plans.
• Consistent and regular handwashing is expected throughout all phases of the plan.

 

Principle #2:  The research community includes faculty, staff, students, and human research participants who must all do their part to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.   University COVID-19 Recovery Plan policies and procedures will be followed.

• Remote work will continue to the maximum extent possible until research activities return to full operations.
• Daily screening of all researchers and research participants returning to campus will follow the University’s Recovery Plan.
• Any researcher who needs to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 diagnosis, symptoms, exposure or other reasons is asked to complete Marquette’s voluntary self-disclosure form. 
• Since some individuals may not be comfortable with on-site work, particularly during Safe-at-Home orders, participation in laboratory activities is voluntary during initial phases of research ramp-up. Graduate students and other trainees are particularly vulnerable and must not be made to feel that participation is required.
• Shared laboratory workspace, keyboards, etc. must be wiped down by the worker with 70% ethanol or similar antimicrobial solution prior to commencing work, and after finishing work. FPM will provide cleaning materials and guidance for proper usage in laboratory and other non-public spaces not maintained by FPM personnel.
• Faculty/Principal Investigators (PIs) are responsible for educating and training research personnel and monitoring compliance. Faculty will provide a list of laboratory personnel, paths taken by personnel to reach research spaces, laboratory facilities, and bathrooms used by research personnel to their Department Chair to identify high-traffic areas in need of more intensive cleaning and to coordinate use of space.All research personnel must complete Marquette’s Faculty/Staff/Student training and to confirm that they understand these requirements by completing the verification form.
• Faculty/PIs must be prepared with contingency plans in the event of a COVID-19 resurgence and/or need to ramp-down research activities. In addition, the research community is expected to be responsive to modification of this plan due to changing COVID-19 guidance/requirements.

With limited numbers of researchers on campus, please pay special attention to safety concerns – do not allow researchers to work in complete isolation and make sure that students working after hours have a plan to not walk alone at night.  We recommend that research personnel utilize the Eagle Eye app.

What other challenges should we plan for?

• There are currently shortages of some supplies, particularly personal protective equipment (PPE) and some cleaning materials. Research equipment and materials orders may also be delayed. Please see purchasing guidance for PPE (VPN required).  Mark Simonson in ORI can assist with research-related PPE purchasing questions (mark.simonson@marquette.edu).   
• Does your research involve visitors to campus who are not Marquette-affiliated?
  • Follow University Recovery Plan with respect to visitors who are essential to research activities.
  • For hazardous or infectious waste disposal, please contact Dennis Daye (daye@marquette.edu) who will be available on campus to assist.

Please contact the department chair or dean’s office to resolve your situation.

Only essential on-campus work is allowed at this time.  If your supervisor has indicated that you should work remotely, please follow that guidance.

Only essential personnel who have been named on approved ramping research plans and who have completed the University’s training are to be on campus at this time.

PIs are encouraged to think about how project staff can continue working on the grant remotely.  This may involve analyzing data, preparing reports, writing manuscripts, etc.  If there is no work available, per a temporary Marquette policy employees can still potentially be paid through April 10, regardless of whether they are working or not as long as they are available for work.  Federal grant funders, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, have indicated that as long as the university has such a policy, they will allow these charges to the grant award.  In the case of other funders, the university will cover any essential research cost not reimbursed by the funding agency.  If an employee is being paid, but not actively working on a grant, please be sure to use the COVID-19 code in EmpCenter which currently defaults to the department. Charges can be retrocosted/moved as needed after the fact.

The temporary policy is in place until April 17, 2020.  After April 17, 2020, project staff will either need to conduct work on the grant, which can be charged to the grant, be funded through another internal mechanism such as incentive funds to work on non-grant-related research activities (other research projects that can be worked on remotely or assisting with the development of new proposal ideas would be appropriate examples), or considered for furlough.  Please consult with your business manager to determine furlough eligibility and discuss alternative funding as appropriate. Note that there will be constraints that need to be reviewed with ORSP if you are considering furlough for anyone designated as key personnel.

Graduate students should, in most cases, be able to continue work on grant projects.  ORSP, the Office of Research and Innovation, and the Graduate School will assist PIs on a case-by-case basis if this is not possible.

I have an internal conference travel award and the conference was canceled or I can no longer attend due to University travel restrictions. What should I do?

Please determine as soon as possible what costs can be recovered. Cancelation of hotel reservations may be possible and registration fees may be refundable. Please keep all receipts and we will work through on a case-by-case basis on how to handle reimbursing the University or faculty as appropriate. We are waiting for further guidance from the Office of the Provost on how the University will handle these requests.

I was planning on research travel as part of my SFF/RRG award or Way Klinger research award. Can I extend the time period for use of these funds?

We will work with you on a case-by-case basis to accommodate the timeframe needed to complete the proposed work.

I am involved with a conference or travel award for a meeting that is taking place in the coming weeks. Should I continue with plans for the meeting?

Effective Thursday, March 12, the campus is suspending all non-essential university-funded travel—foreign or domestic. Additionally, we recommend reaching out to the conference organizer about the logistics of the event such as cancellation, relocation or virtual participation. If you are the organizer, you may wish to consider developing contingency plans. ORI is temporarily suspending making new conference travel awards but we will hold your requests and will process them as we are able after University restrictions are lifted.

My research involves field work – should we continue to travel?

University travel guidance is found here: https://www.marquette.edu/coronavirus/. Please see the FAQs for External Grants (section D below) for advice on disruption/delay/suspension of externally-funded projects.

Researchers should note that orders for items such as disposable lab coats, surgical masks, and disposable (N-95) respirators are still delayed in many cases.  Please see purchasing guidance for PPE (VPN required). Please monitor your supplies and conserve by planning your work carefully.  Note that if you have research that requires a particular PPE and that PPE is not available, then work on that research must cease until the necessary safety equipment is available again. 

Matt Paulus (matthew.paulus@marquette.edu) and Dennis Daye (dennis.daye@marquette.edu) can provide ideas for acceptable alternative PPE options in some cases.  Matt has also assessed available PPE and has requested that if your area closes and you have PPE that could be transferred to another high-need area, please let him or ORI know so that essential activities can continue as long as possible. 

 Please contact ORC for specific guidance with respect to animal care, biosafety, or radiation safety protocols.  The Animal Resource Center has updated its disaster plan and has distributed this to researchers using the facility.

Researchers should prioritize the health and safety of research participants and themselves by minimizing in-person interactions.  Please consult the Ramping Research Plan for specific guidance on working with human research participants. Appendix G provides a detailed SOP for working with human research participants and Appendix H is COVID-19 risk information sheet for research participants; both of these resources were developed in consultation with the Marquette COVID-19 medical team.

IRB Protocols where procedures involve in-person contact may be modified to “remote” options for recruitment, screening, interviews, questionnaires, surveys, and check-ins. Remember that these changes must be approved in advance by the IRB as an amendment to the study, unless they are necessary to eliminate immediate apparent hazards to participants. Should you determine that changes in your procedures are required to reduce the risk of human subject exposure to COVID-19, you can implement them immediately, without prior notice to or approval from the IRB.  You will need to ensure that you are not introducing other risks, and you may need to ask participants to sign revised informed consent forms. The changes should be reported to the IRB as soon as possible and the IRB may request a formal amendment. If you have any questions about whether a remote option is possible or approvable (especially for consent), contact the IRB.   

If you plan to pause data collection we recommend looking at your protocol to determine if you were approved for X number of visits (no amendment needed for a pause), or if you were approved for X number of visits within a specific time frame (an amendment would be needed to add flexibility). If you are unable to submit an amendment prior to pausing data collection, please report changes to data collection schedules due to COVID-19 as a protocol deviation using the reportable event form.

Please contact Sandra Hunter (Sandra.hunter@marquette.edu) if you have questions about planning for use of the AHRPC research facility.

 

What is the impact on proposal deadlines and award actions/subawards?

We expect that the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) will be able to continue to partner with you to submit proposals, negotiate and accept awards, and issue subcontracts/subawards, even when ORSP staff are working remotely. Note that program managers/officers are also slowed by the situation – if you are going to request a no-cost extension, we advise you to do this as soon as possible as we have received reports of at least 30 day windows needed for these actions.

 

What guidance is available from the federal agencies?

Detailed guidance from NIH is available here: https://grants.nih.gov/policy/natural-disasters/corona-virus.htm.

NSF guidance is available here: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/

The U.S. Department of Energy COVID-related accommodations are described here: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/03/f72/doe-sc-accommodating-interruptions-to-applicants-awardees-due-to-covid-19.pdf.

 

If a conference has been canceled but I have nonrefundable travel or hotel costs, can these be charged to grant?

Federal partners are working together on a number of travel proposal and award-related issues pertaining to COVID-19.  Please see NOT-OD-086 (above) for NIH guidance. Federal agencies will provide guidance as information becomes available. In the meantime, please continue to follow all relevant policies and procedures.

Will I be able to extend my project period if the planned activities are disrupted/delayed/suspended by circumstances related to COVID-19?

Awards are typically eligible for a no-cost extension if work on the initial aims remains at the end of the project period and there are funds available.  If you foresee a need for a no-cost extension, please submit your request to postaward@marquette.edu.  You should also include this information in any upcoming reports and discuss the need ahead of time with the program officer for your award.  ORSP can provide further guidance on your specific situation.

Can I pay project personnel with grant funds during COVID-19?

PIs are encouraged to think about how project staff can continue working on the grant remotely.  This may involve analyzing data, preparing reports, writing manuscripts, reviewing literature for future papers, planning future experiments, etc.  If there is no work available, per a temporary Marquette policy employees can still potentially be paid through April 17, regardless of whether they are working or not as long as they are available for work.  Federal grant funders, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, have indicated that as long as the university has such a policy, they will allow these charges to the grant award.  In the case of other funders, the university will cover any essential research cost not reimbursed by the funding agency.  If an employee is being paid, but not actively working on a grant, please be sure to use the COVID-19 code in EmpCenter which currently defaults to the department. Charges can be retrocosted/moved as needed after the fact. 

The temporary policy is in place until April 17, 2020.  After April 17, 2020, project staff will either need to conduct work on the grant, which can be charged to the grant, be funded through another internal mechanism such as incentive funds to work on non-grant-related research activities (other research projects that can be worked on remotely or assisting with the development of new proposal ideas would be appropriate examples), or considered for furlough.  Please consult with your business manager to determine furlough eligibility and discuss alternative funding as appropriate. Note that there will be constraints that need to be reviewed with ORSP if you are considering furlough for anyone designated as key personnel.

Graduate students should, in most cases, be able to continue work on grant projects.  ORSP, the Office of Research and Innovation, and the Graduate School will assist PIs on a case-by-case basis if this is not possible.