From time to time, U of L faculty may serve as mentors and hosts for non-enrolled students. The purpose of this memo is to address the issues and authorizations that should be sought when hosting these students. The information included in this document covers students who are not enrolled nor employed by the University of Louisville for their activities. Because these individuals are not therefore tracked in the traditional sense, it is necessary to establish guidelines.

Duration of Visit

These students frequently are on campus during the summer intercession although, depending upon the nature of the schedule at their home institution, they may be on campus at any time throughout the academic year. For the purposes of the information presented here, the duration of the visit should be no more than sixteen (16) weeks. If it is known at the outset that the duration will be greater than sixteen (16) weeks, justification must be submitted with the initial documentation and prior approval must be received.

Purpose of the Visit and Sponsor Assurances

In the spirit of academic enterprise, it is understandable that the projects in which the students will participate may evolve during the tenure of their visit. However, due to regulations and requirements that may be attached to their participation, the Faculty Mentor needs to have a written research plan approved prior to the student arriving on campus. The one page, single spaced research plan should include a description of the project, expected outcomes (poster, final report, presentation, etc.) and an explanation of how the student will benefit from this experience in terms of new skills and knowledge gained.

As the Faculty Mentor, it is equally important that you undertake appropriate oversight and supervision of the visiting student. As part of the research plan, the sponsor is required to make the following assurances.

• Faculty Mentor agrees to plan and supervise their student;
• Faculty Mentor will guarantee that he/she, individually or in collaboration with some other designated person, will spend time with the student on a regular basis;
• Faculty Mentor agrees (1) to ensure his/her student will complete the appropriate training and certifications needed to access specialized resources and complete the work and (2) that if the work will involve any sponsored project, any confidentiality and/or intellectual property documents are addressed as needed;
• Sign-off on the Consent and Release Form found at the end of this document.

Copies of the research plan and associated assurances should be sent to Michael Brill, JD, Associate Director, Research Security, and to the Dean’s or Vice President’s office of the unit sponsoring the student.

Training and Certifications

Some visiting students are part of established programs while others have a more independent association. It is the requirement of the University of Louisville that all visiting students from a foreign country must have an appropriate visa and cannot be on tourist status. Additionally, all visiting students must complete the appropriate training and certifications needed for the nature of the work they will complete, while on campus. Research Integrity is a good resource for determining what training will be needed. Some training can be completed online prior to arriving on campus. Please contact Research Integrity as soon as possible so that they can work with you to facilitate getting access to the training established and review the DEHS “Minors in Laboratory and Animal Facilities Policy”.

Due to the requirements and approvals necessary for work on externally sponsored projects and/or classified and sensitive projects, Faculty Sponsors are strongly encouraged to balance the necessity of including visiting researchers/scholars on these types of projects. Projects that have access to sponsor information or intellectual property typically require prior approval from the sponsor, have confidentiality obligations and/or require assignment or licensing of intellectual property. It should be noted, that in some instances, the approval process for these specialized projects may take months. Depending upon the nature of the project and the country of origin of the visiting researcher, Export Control regulations and permissions may need to be addressed. For assistance in classified or sensitive projects, contact Export Control and Secure Research Compliance.

In addition to these requirements, educational seminars offered as part of established programs will also be made available to students in independent projects, if interest is expressed.

Secured Access and Access to Specialized Resources

Visiting students should have appropriate UofL identification and programmed access to necessary secured areas and specialized resources. Instructions for obtaining a Cardinal Card, with programmed access, for the visiting student:

• Faculty Mentor should submit a request to Card Operations on UofL letterhead from the school signed by the Dean.
• Letter should include the student’s name, purpose of the card (ex. door access, library card, meal card, etc.), and expiration date.

In addition to programmed access, some specialized resources (lab areas, equipment, etc.) have training requirements prior to use. Faculty Mentors must contact the respective facility managers to ascertain what requirements must be fulfilled before access is granted.

Lab Agreement Form for Students (January 2015)