A reminder as you prepare for grant submissions
PeopleSoft is converting to version 8.8, starting April 1, and the system will be unavailable for the first two weeks of April.

We will be unable to access the grants module. During this time frame, we will have an alternate method for processing grant proposals but it will require additional time.

If you are submitting for a deadline during that time frame please plan to submit your completed proposal to Martha Jones a minimum of five working days prior to the deadline.

To assist in preparing for this transition, please let Martha Jones be aware of any proposal submissions with deadlines between March 14 and April 15. You can email her at jonesm@missouri.edu.

USDA grant opportunities for higher education multicultural scholars program
The purpose of the Multicultural Scholars Grants Program (MSP) is to meet national and international needs for training food and agricultural scientists and professionals.  The MSP seeks to increase the multicultural diversity of the food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce, and advance the educational achievement of all Americans by providing competitive grants to colleges and universities that have (1) a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of the food and agricultural sciences, and (2) unique capabilities for achieving representation of diverse cultural groups in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, forestry, veterinary medicine, home economics, or closely allied disciplines. The scholarships are intended to encourage outstanding students from racial and ethnic groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the food and agricultural sciences to pursue and complete baccalaureate degrees in these fields.

Deadline: June 1, 2005 (5 p.m. Eastern Time).

Visit the USDA Web site for more information.

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PeopleSoft upgrade begins March 31; patience required
As many of you know, the University of Missouri System and MU are preparing to complete a major upgrade to our PeopleSoft system. This upgrade will include all of the Financial Modules. The PeopleSoft Grants Module is one of the modules to be upgraded. The good news is that there will be several major improvements to the module in the new upgrade that should significantly help you and your staff submit proposals and manage grants and contracts

Unfortunately, as is the case with many software upgrades, the implementation of the new update of PeopleSoft Grants is going to cause some difficulties for MU’s research enterprise during the period of time that the upgrade is occurring. These difficulties are are estimated to last between two to three weeks — from April 1-18, 2005. The dates for the upgrade were carefully chosen by UM System administration in conjunction with the campus in order to minimize as many negative consequences as possible. But, there is no question that we will all need to plan for the upgrade and exhibit patience during the implementation.

The upgrade from the current version of PeopleSoft to the new version will begin after the close of business on Thursday, March 31. At or shortly after 5:00 p.m. on that date, it will not be possible to make entries in the PeopleSoft Financials system until the new version is up and running. The current estimate for the new version to be up and running is Monday, April 18.

What does this mean to you?

• During the period April 1 through 17, new proposals cannot be created in PeopleSoft. However, do NOT despair as proposals will go to sponsors during this time — click here to access the proposal application worksheet. Proposals will be processed outside PeopleSoft during this period and the data entry completed after April 18.
• Payroll is not a PeopleSoft Financial Module, so paychecks will be issued as normal during the period April 1 through 17.
• During the period between April 1 and 17, the most recent data on financial reports will be as of the end of the day March 31.
• There will be no routine mechanism for issuing checks to subcontractors, vendors, consultants, etc. during the period between April 1 and 17. Payments will be possible on an emergency basis, but only with approval from the Director of Accounting (i.e., will be outside the control of the Office of Research).
  5. During the period between April 1 and 17 it will not be possible to activate a new award. Once the system is upgraded and functional, activation of awards received during the cutover period will be top priority for OSPA.
  6. Additional details on the schedule and scope of the upgrade may be found at the MU Office of Research forms page.

The staff of OSPA recognize that this may be a difficult period of time for some of you. Hence, your OSPA contact is available to answer any questions you may have about the upgrade and will do their absolute best to provide you with any extra assistance you need during this time. We will exert our best efforts to try and make the upgrade as invisible to you as possible. But, we also wanted to make sure that you are given time to plan for the upcoming software transition.

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