Training Opportunities

Did you know?

2024 Uniform Guidance Updates

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published effective October 1, 2024, updates to the Federal Financial Assistance Guidance, commonly known as Uniform Guidance. You can find a Summary of the process and Changes on ecfr.gov.

Here is also a helpful NCURA recorded webinar on Uniform Guidance: The Final Reveal.

Various federal sponsors are issuing their specific implementation guidance, check out their websites for available resources and recordings.

Submit “Did You Know” facts on CSU sponsored project related policies, procedures and guidance here.

Upcoming Training Events:

RAM Symposium 2025
April 29th - May 1st
Tuesday,April 29thWednesday,April 30thThursday,May 1st
9:00 - 9:45 AM*Welcome, RAM Community! Speaker: Lori Schultz - CSU AVPRA
REGISTER HERE
9:45 - 10:00 AMBreak
10:00 - 11:30 AMSession 1: Lighting up the room: Research Administration Community and Culture10:00 - 11:30 AMSession 4: The Opaque World: Gifts, Grants, and Private Foundation Grantseeking at CSU10:00 - 11:30 AMSession 7: Funding Focus: Demystifying the Federal Appropriations Process
REGISTER HEREREGISTER HEREREGISTER HERE
11:30 - 12:00 PMBreak11:30 - 12:00 PMBreak11:30 - 12:00 PMBreak
12:00 - 1:30 PMSession 2: Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Cost Basics12:00 - 1:30 PMSession 5: Collective Sparks: Insights and discussions from Department Research Administrators12:00 - 1:30 PMSession 8: Compliance Highlight: CSU regulations for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
REGISTER HEREREGISTER HEREREGISTER HERE
1:30 - 1:45 PMBreak1:30 - 1:45 PMBreak1:30 - 1:45 PMBreak
1:45 - 3:00 PMSession 3: Under the Spotlight: Emerging Audit Hot Topics1:45 - 3:00 PMSession 6: Guiding the Way: Best Practices for Effectively Engaging Leadership in Research Administration1:45 - 3:00 PMSession 9: Escape the Office
REGISTER HEREREGISTER HEREREGISTER HERE
* All times are Mountain Time4:00 - 6:00 PMRAM Symposium In-Person Celebration!
RSVP HERE
Session 1: Presenters - Chris Carsten, eRA Systems Officer, OSP; Brigette Pfister, OSP, Financial Compliance Manager, OSP; Staci Wasson, Associate Director of Research & Finance, CVMBS.
This session will NOT be recorded.
Join your colleagues in the opening session of RAM Symposium to discuss what it means to be part of the research administration community at CSU. What kind of community are we building? Change is constant - how do we encourage resilience and lifelong learning?
Session 2: Presenter - Doug Leavell, Director of Research Analytics, OVPR
Facilities and administrative costs are essential costs of research that aren’t easily identifiable to a particular project. The costs are allocated to projects using a rate negotiated with the Federal government. This session will provide a basic understanding of what F&A costs are and how the recovery rate is calculated.
Session 3: Presenters - Brigette Pfister, Financial Compliance Manager, OSP; Kim Melville-Smith, Assistant Director & Director of Post-Award, OSP
As the landscape of university research evolves, so do the risks and compliance challenges. This session will shine a light on the latest audit hot topics impacting sponsored research. Attendees will gain insights into emerging regulatory changes, common audit findings, and best practices for mitigating risks.
Session 4: Presenters - Sam Ernst, Director, Foundation Relations; Bill Moseley, Pre-Award Manager, OSP
Private foundation grantseeking can seem like a black box. What is the process? Who do we work with? UA? CSUF? OSP? Will this be a gift or a grant? Those seeking illumination should attend this session as we will attempt to make the opaque transparent.
Session 5: Presenters - Jessi Fuentes, Executive Director of Finance, College of Agricultural Sciences; Anja Wahl Wells, Director of Business and Research Support Operations, Walter Scott, Jr College of Engineering; Staci Wasson, Associate Director of Research and Finance, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
This session will NOT be recorded.
This session will offer insights into effective strategies, collaboration techniques, and innovative solutions to common challenges. It will focus on utilizing the skills DRAs already have to adapt to the ever changing research environment while staying connected to our community and remembering to include joy in our daily lives.
Session 6: Presenter - Jessi Fuentes, Executive Director of Finance, College of Agricultural Sciences
This session will explore effective strategies for building strong, collaborative partnerships between research administrators and institutional or college leadership. Participants will learn how to ensure that research priorities are aligned with the institution’s vision, goals, and overall impact. By fostering deeper engagement, administrators and leadership can work together to drive research success, enhance resource allocation, and support sustainable growth within the research enterprise.
Session 7: Presenter - Meg Suter, Assistant VP for Research & Chief of Staff, OVPR
This session will provide an overview of the federal appropriations process, focusing on both the Washington, D.C. legislative process and CSU's on-campus processes for identifying appropriations priorities to support university research initiatives.
Session 8: Presenter - Rich Wright, Director Secure and Global Research and Facility Security Officer, OVPR
CSU has long required protection of "sensitive" or "controlled" information, from personal contact information to research data. With recent federal regulations concerning "Controlled Unclassified Information," CSU's research community is faced with confusing and at times conflicting regulations. Learn more about CSU's approach to CUI and how to best protect yourself and your research.
Session 9: Presenter - Kathryn O'Hayre, Training and Information Coordinator, OSP
Join your colleagues online for a problem-solving adventure to escape the office! Our virtual escape room is designed specifically for the RAMAround community. Harness your RA knowledge, CSU facts, and random trivia in this team collaboration to see if you can work together and escape.
FAQs
Who Should Attend? RAM Symposium is appropriate for sponsored project administrative staff and faculty investigators at CSU. The curriculum will focus on CSU-specific practices and systems. Unlike the Fundamentals Sessions which cover the basics, topics covered during RAM Symposium are considered at an intermediate level.
Will there be an in-person component? All sessions will be offered virtually via MS Teams, but there will be an in-person social event on the last day.
Must I attend all the sessions? We understand that time is a premium at CSU. We encourage participants to attend all or most of the sessions, though there is no requirement. While most sessions will be recorded and posted on our website, attending in real-time allows for engagement not available when watching on-demand.
Is there a Cost to Attend? No, all RAM Symposium sessions are offered free of charge.
Is Registration Required? Registration is recommended for CSU employees, CSU NetID is required. Registration links and session descriptions are provided in the matrix above. Let the OSP Training Team know if you have any questions at [email protected] or someone outside of CSU or the CSU Fort Collins campus would like to participate in any of the sessions.

Upcoming OSP Lunch & Learns

Projecting and Reconciling

  • March 27th, 2025, 12- 1:15 PM MT
  • Register on MyLearning
  • Virtual Session

Research Personnel

Award Lifecycle Series:

Award Management

  • April 9, 2025, 11-12:00 PM MT
  • Register on MyLearning
  • Virtual Session
  • Find resources and recordings on the new PI Training page!

RAD Series (2025 Registration available now!)

  • Free monthly webinars in the field of Research Administration

NCURA

FRA/PRA Conference, San Diego, California

  • Financial Research Administration (FRA); March 16-18, 2025
  • FRA/PRA Workshop Day: March 19, 2025
  • Pre-Award Research Administration (PRA); March 20-21, 2025

SRA International