PINS Enhancements


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June 6, 2008

  • Fixed bug in email notifications that truncated hyphenated names

May 22, 2008

  • Added flag for Limited Submission projects, fixed bug in edit permission logic

February 19, 2008

  • Improved saving and display procedures
  • Added direct and prime sponsors to notification and action emails
  • Modified keyword prompt
  • Replaced "Continuation" type with "NIH Progress Report"

October 15, 2007

  • Revised queries in "Select Proposal" function to improve performance when searching by investigator name.

April 5, 2007

  • Revised validation to accept proposals with requested amount of 0, after warning user. Blank amounts still not accepted.

November 30, 2006

  • Extended "To do list" function (View Proposals In Process) to users with edit/view access.

July 17, 2006

  • Improved validation for regulatory compliance questions

November 4, 2005

  • Added links to investigator Conflict of Interest Disclosures, with security features limiting access to authorized personnel.
  • Added question asking whether sub-accounts are needed for project.
  • Added one-button-click option for adding NCSU as a location on proposals.
  • Added validation step that prevents Sponsored Programs approval if the record does not have a valid sponsor selected.
  • Increased size of RFP field to 100 characters (scrolls on screen).
  • Improved background processing on sponsored program table.
  • Improved date validation.
  • Added warnings if compliance approval dates are too old (more than one year before proposal deadline).

October 31, 2005

  • Added field for Lab Safety Plan date (required if there is a Lab Safety Plan Number in the proposal) and link to the NCSU Health and Safety Lab Safery Plan page.
  • Revised routing logic to include associated departments when centers are included in the routing chain.
  • Revised routing order to have all centers associated with a proposal approve before any departments approve.

August 11, 2005

  • Moved Financial OUC field to Online Routing screen, and made it read-only on main screen.

May 13, 2005

  • Added support for .xfd format files to document upload.
  • Added Pre-Awards to list of proposals shown for creating renewals, supplements and other proposals.

February 24, 2005

  • Fixed bug which inserted extra proposals in "to-do" lists (View Proposals in Process menu option).

February 21, 2005

  • Revised error message for users whose Unity ID is not found in the PINS database.
  • Installed processing improvements for handling proposals in Sponsored Programs.

February 15, 2005

  • Added "Expand Investigator List" button to select and clone forms.

February 14, 2005

  • Added "Expand Investigator List" button to main form.

January 12, 2005

  • Changed screen prompt for greater clarity.
  • Revised internal pointers to accommodate Documentum server upgrade.

December 28, 2004

  • Changed personnel listing routine to list only those investigators that a user has access rights for (either edit or approval rights), except when choosing co-investigators for a proposal.

December 21, 2004

  • Removed "Adopt" option from individual approvals--still available for department, college and Sponsored Programs approvals.

December 7, 2004

  • Fixed bugs in proposal clone function.
  • Added additional validation to uploaded document function.
  • Installed final list of document types for paperless proposal processing.
  • Added listing of user name and date/time saved to document list.

November 24, 2004

  • Added pending approval information to Approval list, and reformatted it on View Proposals in Process list.
  • Added another color code to Sponsored Programs approval lists.
  • Added "Adopt" feature to approval lists, to allow offices to organize their work more easily (see PINS Tips for more information)

November 19, 2004

  • Added the ability for lead college to note in PINS record whether the physical proposal will be signed in the college office or in SPARCS--also to designate proposals with a "Rush" flag for PINS (see PINS Tips for more information)
  • Added OUC (four-digit) as column to Approve Proposals and View Proposals in Process screens
  • Color-coded approval list at Sponsored Programs approval step to convey signature/rush information

November 15, 2004

  • Fixed bug in proposal clone function
  • Added additional information to proposal list returned by "View Your Proposals in Process" menu item

November 12, 2004

  • Added function to delete files in Supporting Documentation list
  • Added function to change document type (Abstract, Budget Justification, etc.) in Supporting Documentation list
  • Added main menu item to retrieve list of all in-process proposals for which the user has approval premission, regardless of the proposal's state in the approval process (see PINS Tips for more detail)

November 3, 2004

  • Improved data validation before entering Online Routing system

October 27, 2004

  • Changed Select Proposal and Approve Proposal lists so that most recent proposals appear at top of list

October 26, 2004

  • Revised proposal "clone" feature to show unfunded proposals which have had any submission within the past year (previously, unfunded proposals were shown for one year after their first submission)
  • Added project begin and end dates to PINS cover sheet

October 25, 2004

  • Revised proposal validation so that proposals cannot be routed until PI certifies that all investigators have current COI disclosures on file
  • Added procedure to read information about current projects from RADAR database and import fields into PINS--this will allow continuation, supplement, revision and renewal proposals to be generated with less typing and using information verified by Sponsored Programs

September 10, 2004

  • Added PINS cover sheet, which can be printed from the main form after routing is initiated, or from the Online Routing form

August 18, 2004

  • Added buttons to online routing page that allow the user to 1)return to examine the proposal being approved, or 2)return to the list of proposals available for approval, without going through the PINS main menu
  • Fixed bug that denied edit permission to users with center permissions before proposal routing was initiated
  • Revised email routine to eliminate duplicate approval notification to colleges

August 17, 2004

  • Added email notification to college research offices when routing is initiated on a proposal

August 12, 2004

  • Added field for OUC of administering financial unit, if different from PI's home department
  • Added field to designate on or off campus work
  • Revised default values of several fields to improve data accuracy
  • Revised some internal parsing routines to handle more varied input

August 5, 2004

  • Revised validation for cost-sharing information to eliminate illegal characters

July 16, 2004

  • Revised document handling routines to provide greater system stability

June 24, 2004

  • Revised routing table setup to prevent mis-identification of centers as departments

June 18, 2004

  • Revised program to prevent unintentional duplication of proposal records
  • Refined rights assignments to allow view access to records which have been routed completely through the system
  • Fixed bug which prevented cost-sharing line items from being edited in Netscape Navigator
  • Revised button text on cost sharing screen for clarity

June 9, 2004

  • Revised sorting for name pulldowns to include first names and initials
  • Added validations for F&A Rate when saving/updating
  • Revised URLs for New PI and New Sponsor requests
  • Revised emails to place PI name in subject line for higher-level approvals
  • Revised routing rules to identify Other Administrative Units correctly as departments or centers

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