WVU goes online with electronic system for faculty research

WVUToday
May 24th, 2012

Faculty research is moving a few paces faster these days at West Virginia University, thanks to a new system that saves researchers time, trees and headaches. It also connects the University with other high-powered research institutions in building an industry standard, and – as WVU is the first to offer institutional review board service on the system – puts the University in the forefront of the effort.  All that, and it saves money too.

The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance has just rolled out the first release of an electronic research administration system for the submission of institutional review board documents. For researchers, this means the institutional review board process is accessible through a few keystrokes and clicks. The old system, called BRAAN2, will be retired and used for data storage.

This is just part of a larger initiative to streamline research administration tasks into an integrated web-based application for the WVU community.

The application, called WVU Kuali Coeus, is being developed for award notifications, proposal submissions, administration of awards, human and animal research compliance, conflict of interest and a variety of other research administration tasks. It will replace existing paper and legacy applications and be fully customizable for future research needs.

When Daniel Vasgird joined WVU in 2009 as director of the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, there had already been talk of replacing the antiquated paper systems. Vasgird’s arrival helped speed up that process. He had come from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which had a similar electronic system already in place.

“The paper process is very labor intensive and the current electronic programs being used cannot converse with each other,” Vasgird said.

For example, the BRAAN2 program does not communicate with other research software programs used by the University. Access to an institutional review board protocol may be useful for a researcher working with the Office of Sponsored Programs to apply for grants or other services, but the old systems limited that interaction.

WVU Kuali Coeus will not only eliminate tedious paperwork, but it will serve as a one-stop shop for researchers.

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