UROP Informational Session - Students

Agenda Brief Introduction to UROP Program Requirements Hiring Process Timesheets, time reporting Project Renewal

What is UROP? The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) is a program supporting research mentorships between students and faculty researchers. Students earn stipends, use work study, or earn service hours (volunteer points) as assistants on faculty- generated research. The program is funded by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Program Requirements Locate and apply to projects listed on the UROP InfoReady site Faculty sponsors will review each applicant and select the student(s) with whom they want to work. Selected students will then: Obtain PEERRS certification* Apply for the UROP assistant posting on the University’s Career site* Complete the “Go Blue New Student Orientation” with University Human Resources* Complete an online background check consent form* Complete an I-9 with HR, Employee Validation, tax documentation, and set up payment options* Submit bi-weekly timesheets via Wolverine Access Submit a progress report at the end of each term worked Reapply to a project each term worked. * = steps only required for new UROP students

What hasn’t changed UROP still offers students up to $500 per cycle Hourly rates still range between $10 - $15 per hour Students can still earn work-study (if awarded), earn service hours for any unpaid, volunteer time, or can be paid from a faculty sponsor’s additional sources, if available Students are still paid on a bi-weekly schedule

What hasn’t changed New students are still required to satisfy University hiring steps before being authorized to work. Any students interested in continuing a project from term-to-term are required to report their work activity from their most recent term of employment (now through InfoReady’s progress report feature).

What has changed We’ve moved from four funding terms to three equal-length funding cycles Each cycle includes up to 30 days of recruiting/hiring and up to 90 days of performance Fall UROP: Recruitment Period is from Sept 1 - Sept 30, Performance period is from Oct 1 - Dec 31 Winter UROP: Recruitment Period is from Jan 1 - Jan 31, Performance period is from Feb 1 - April 30 Spring/Summer UROP: Recruitment Period is from May 1 - May 30, Performance Period is from June 1 - Aug 31

What has changed Students now apply to projects directly from the UROP InfoReady page Active projects are no longer posted on the UROP website. They are ONLY listed in InfoReady. Students no longer need to submit a UROP contract Students no longer need to attend a UROP orientation. They are, however, now required to complete the “Go Blue New Student Orientation” with University Human Resources (new hires only)

InfoReady Application https://umflint.infoready4.com/#urop Log in using your U-M login Available projects, listed by Department, Faculty Sponsor’s Last Name, and Project Title

InfoReady Application Apply button Project description, student tasks, qualifications, application deadline, etc.

InfoReady Application Complete the fields At the bottom of the application, read the acknowledgement and check the box indicating you have read that area.

InfoReady Application After you submit your application through InfoReady, the faculty sponsor for your selected project will review the applications and approve/not approve candidates. Selected candidates will be invited to start the University’s hiring process (if they are not already currently employed with U-M). PEERRS Certification UROP application posting Background check I-9/Employment Verification

Start here at careers.umich.edu Search for the “ASST IN RESEARCH-UROP” position Click “Apply Now.” Apply as a U-M Temporary Employee You must register with UM in order to apply for positions. Use an email address you check frequently! Complete each page of the application. Uploading a resume is optional, not required You will receive confirmation of application

Background Check and I-9 After UROP submits your job offer, you will get an automatically generated email from the University requesting that you complete the “Go Blue New Student Orientation”. This is a required step. After that, HR will request your consent to perform a background check. Consent by clicking the link. The link will take to you to a page where you fill out the fields. Click submit. When the form is successfully submitted, the submit button will be grayed out. From there the University will perform a background check. Within a few days (approx. 5 business days) of completing your application, you will receive a Welcome email from Tonja Lucas in Human Resources providing instructions on completing the I-9 in person and submitting proper ID to HR. If you are already in the U-M employment system, you will be able to skip these steps

Background Check and I-9 After you have done all this, you’ll get one final email authorizing you to start The email will also have instructions on Validating your employment, setting up payment options, and completing any optional tax forms. Complete these steps. It is IMPERATIVE that you are given authorization to work BEFORE you start a project!!! Any hours you work prior to receiving authorization will NOT be paid.

Reporting Hours Students are paid on bi-weekly basis. All students are now required to enter their own hours via Wolverine Access To access your timesheet online, visit wolverineaccess.umich.edu. Log in with your U-M credentials. Navigation: Wolverine Access Gateway > Students > Employee Self-Service > Time Reporting > Report Time > Timesheet

Reporting Hours Check to make sure the dates displaying in the Time Reporting Row area are for the appropriate biweekly pay period. Enter the hours in the appropriate date fields and select a TRC from the Time Reporting Code drop-down. Three rows display initially. To add additional rows, click Add Row. You do not need to delete blank rows before submitting your time. After completing your time entry, click SUBMIT. If you want to save your entries without submitting your timesheet for approval, click Save for Later. However, you must return to the timesheet before the end of the pay period to click Submit. You can make changes and click Submit again if necessary to report more time.

Reporting Hours Students CAN work on holidays. You will be paid time and a half for your holiday hours, but that will ALSO cut into your award. After your timesheets have been submitted, UROP will approve your hours. UROP also keeps record of your remaining hours for the term and will communicate those hours to your prior to the next timesheet due date IMPORTANT: Once you have been awarded funds for a UROP semester, you will have until the end of that semester to utilize those funds. Any funds unspent by the end of that period will be reapplied back to our UROP account. Basically: Use ‘em or lose ‘em! If you have exhausted your full award before the end of the semester, you have the option of earning service hours for the rest of semester. Due to budget restrictions, UROP will not fund students above the maximum award available.

Progress Report In order to qualify for future funding, UROP students are required to complete a progress report before the end of each funding term. The progress report can be found in InfoReady It requires a 1-2 paragraph summary of the work you performed during the term.

Progress Report You will get an email notification with a direct link to the progress report. You can also access the report from your Applications tab in InfoReady. Fill out the information and then click the Finalize button at the bottom to submit your report. 

Renewing a Project In order to qualify for funding during the next cycle: The faculty sponsor for the project will have to submit a renewal form, relaunching their project All students (new and returning) will have to reapply for the project through InfoReady. Returning students are NOT required to redo the onboarding hiring steps with HR.

Ending the Project Though not mandatory, UROP students are encouraged to “close out” their project by: Presenting UROP work at one of many student research conferences, including: Meeting of Minds Flint Student Research Conference Additional regional/national conferences Connecting with University Communications and Marketing to share your experiences Completing a UROP exit survey

Andre Louis, Program Manager Additional Questions? Andre Louis, Program Manager alouis@umich.edu