Roles and Responsibilities

In a university setting, it is necessary to coordinate export control compliance between and among departments, as well as between the academic and administrative sides of the institution, so that the export control program may be fully integrated across all levels of the institution. The processes are clearly outlined so that each department understands their responsibilities, information is forwarded to the appropriate party, and the necessary checks are completed and supporting documentation is on file. It should be noted that export controls affect almost every department on campus.

Institutional Commitment to Compliance Oversight

Compliance is a matter for management attention and needs adequate resources for full implementation. The export control compliance program is supported by the senior administration at UMass Amherst. The purpose of endorsement by the senior administration is to ensure that UMass Amherst has the resources in place to comply with export control laws and regulations. These senior leaders are knowledgeable about export controls and how they impact UMass Amherst operations.

An Ad Hoc Compliance Oversight Committee is charged with evaluation of any relevant issue(s) or suspected violation; such committee is convened as necessary for a briefing on the relevant matter, and to provide guidance to ORC on addressing the matter. Appointees are assigned based on the nature of the issue and the Colleges, Departments, or personnel involved.

The Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement (VCRE) provides oversight to ORC. This management support helps ensure compliance. Announcements are issued periodically to the university community to inform them of changes to relevant laws and policies, and to provide opportunities for training.

The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) is the central office with primary responsibility for compliance functions, including export control compliance, and is responsible for assisting with development and implementation of the export compliance program. ORC personnel work with the faculty, staff, and students to help them comply with export control regulations via education, training, and consultation. They also communicate changes in regulations, maintain relevant records for all export control training and export activities, and provide support for license applications. ORC personnel are also responsible for overseeing the review and update of the UMass Amherst Export Control Guidelines, conducting periodic audits, identifying new activities that require export compliance oversight, and assisting with determination of ECCNs and license determinations.

ORC assists OPAM with the review of proposed projects, including sponsored research agreements and research services agreements, in consultation with the PI and proposed sponsors as needed. ORC is responsible for screening proposed activities with potentially proscribed countries or ineligible parties, monitoring compliance with TCPs, and screening international travel and visits by foreign nationals. ORC maintains copies of export control documents, including license applications, policies, forms and guidelines, memoranda, notes, screens, correspondence, contracts, invoices and other financial records related to export controls, shipping documents, and records submitted to ORC for vetting and approval.

The Office of Post-Award Management (OPAM) is responsible for accepting and administering grant awards, as well as negotiating contracts and other research-related agreements on behalf of the University. OPAM staff limit export control liability through the fundamental research and public domain exclusions by reviewing research grants and contracts and negotiating out any terms or provisions that might restrict access to or publication of research and technical data, set limits on personnel, or otherwise render inapplicable the exclusions. For the same reason, OPAM also examines the nature of the work to determine whether it relies on use of third-party trade secrets or proprietary information that would prevent publication of the research results. Further, the Board of Trustees’ policy on the free dissemination of research results prohibits the acceptance of contracts or grants with publication or dissemination restrictions without approval of the VCRE.

Any proposed contract, grant, or award found to contain the restrictions described above, and which OPMA cannot negotiate out, is referred to ORC for analysis. ORC will work with the PI, and possibly the sponsor, to determine how best to proceed, including whether to accept the award and implement a technology control plan.

OPAM refers all proposed research projects with foreign sponsors, or which otherwise require physical exports, to ORC for analysis, review, and approval. ORC also conducts, as necessary, end user screens and applies for licenses. Proposed contracts between UMass Amherst and any foreign country or foreign nationals are reviewed for unsanctioned foreign boycott provisions. Contracts (including any oral requests) having those provisions are not accepted by OPAM and are referred to ORC for review and any required reporting under Part 760 of the EAR. In addition, projects with required deliverables that are foreign funded are also reviewed and analyzed by ORC to ensure no license is required.

Research service agreements, in many instances, do not meet the fundamental research exclusion because they are typically specific projects conducted for companies with no intent to publish the results. Many of these projects, however, rely on the use of publicly available techniques and processes that are not export controlled. Research service agreements submitted to ORC with a statement of work and a purchase order are reviewed as outlined above. As necessary, OPAM sends the project to ORC for review when there is a question about the nature, scope of the work, end use, foreign sponsor, or necessity for a technology control plan.

The UMass Amherst Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Office is under the direction of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations. EH&S has a comprehensive laboratory safety and compliance program. EH&S maintains a database of faculty and staff that work with biological agents, chemicals, and other hazardous materials. EH&S also conducts periodic training of persons with access to laboratories about the proper handling, disposal, security, and shipping of these materials, including export control awareness training. As part of the controls in place to oversee purchases, no persons are allowed to use UMass Amherst OneCards to purchase chemicals, and all chemical purchases and disposal are subject to EH&S review and approval. Chemicals and biological agents are subject to many legal requirements that involve additional compliance oversight. In fact, some of these materials are classified as dual use under the CCL. As a result, EH&S training on shipping and other training sessions include discussion of export controls. EH&S is available to assist members of the UMass Amherst community to comply with these laws and regulations.

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is a faculty committee that oversees activities involving laboratory use of potentially hazardous biological agents. UMass Amherst is committed to ensuring the safe handling, storage, and disposal of potentially harmful biohazardous materials for research or instructional projects.  

Human Resources and Equal Opportunity & Outreach (HR) is under the direction of the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources. HR provides ORC with personnel records to assist in the vetting of employees to work on export-controlled projects and similar issues.

The Office of Global Affairs (OGA) is responsible for issues related to international travel safety and security, as well as advising on compliance with immigration regulations. OGA is also responsible for processing visa requests for all foreign persons (including students) for UMass Amherst. ORC is embedded in the process of reviewing and approving visa applications for international faculty, staff, and research scholars.

Shipping & Receiving is under the direction of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations. All international shipments from UMass Amherst must be reviewed and approved by ORC prior to leaving campus. Review and approval can be obtained by shipping through eShip Global or Mail Services.

UMass Information Technology (IT) is under the direction of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations, and provides information services, technology support, and network security for all UMass Amherst employees and students. ORC consults with Information Security as needed to develop and implement the data security components of Technology Control Plans.

Campus Police are consulted by the Compliance Oversight Committee and are engaged on an as-needed basis in any investigation the Compliance Oversight Committee may undertake regarding a possible violation or suspected security breach or theft.

Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is under the direction of the VCRE, and is responsible for assisting in review of invention disclosures and determining the applicability of its transfer to commercial applications, as well as reviewing, under protection of non-disclosure agreements, third party proprietary technologies. To prevent deemed exports, no foreign persons or foreign nationals shall be employed or work as students or interns in TTO. TTO handles requests for materials transfer agreements (MTA) and Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDA), and ORC conducts export controls review of these agreements.

Deans, Center Directors, and Department Heads provide leadership and oversight of their respective departments, research centers, and faculty PIs to ensure compliance. They assist the ORC and the VCRE in implementing the UMass Amherst export compliance program. They support, facilitate, and coordinate faculty and staff training. They assess the appropriateness of sponsoring a foreign visiting scholar or other foreign visitor in their departments and centers, and review and approve foreign travel requests.

Principal Investigators (PIs) have the best understanding of their research—they are the subject matter experts understanding, within their respective field, the current state-of-the-art technologies and developments. They develop and direct their research projects to further scientific understanding and disseminate their results broadly within the scientific community through their publications. They interface with program managers and other sponsor’s points of contact. Therefore, PIs have the best information as to whether the technology, data, or information involved in their research is or may be covered by export control regulations. PIs also make decisions regarding equipment or technology and to whom it is transferred. Because there is a high penalty for non-compliance with export control regulations, it is critical for PIs to understand these regulations and work with the administrative staff in the ORC and ORA to evaluate technical aspects of export-controlled items, technology, or data.

The PI is responsible for the following:

• Reviewing UMass Amherst information on export regulations provided on the ORC webpages.
• Participating in training and identifying staff and students to attend training.
• Determining whether there may be any export control issues to address before preparing a proposal or beginning any research.
• Communicating with ORC and OPAM if any export control issues are identified or if any questions arise about export regulations.
• Cooperating with ORC in developing Technology Control Plans (TCPs) and applying for licenses, and following the TCP to ensure compliance with all applicable restrictions.
• Adhering strictly to any applicable restrictions and cooperating fully with ORC 's efforts to monitor compliance when export control regulations apply.
• Notifying ORC as soon as any change is necessary for work on a controlled project, such as a change in the scope of work or the addition of new staff.
• When conducting outside consulting activities, export control compliance is the responsibility of the PI.
• Acknowledging terms of CDAs that they may do work under, as well as notifying their students who are involved in the activity of the requirements of the CDA.
• Adhering to all university and sponsor requirements for compliance with foreign collaboration requirements, including, but not limited to, conflicts of interest and commitment.

Administrative Assistants provide assistance to many departments and faculty throughout UMass Amherst. The training of Administrative Assistants to a level appropriate to their responsibilities is of critical importance due to their role in assisting faculty to meet compliance obligations. For example, they are typically involved with activities such as international travel authorization submissions, shipments, purchasing, hiring documentation, and maintaining OneCard logs.