Skip to main content

For New Temple Faculty: Common Terms & Acronyms

The Big Ones

  • TUportal. Temple’s online portal. We recommend you make this your home page. You can access Blackboard, TU Mail, and most common web pages from here.
  • TU Portal Login
  • Accessnet. This is your login name for TU Portal other Temple secure systems. It will likely be “tufxxxxx.
  • TUid. Your 9-digit Temple ID number, printed on your ID card.

Schools and Colleges

Here are the schools with which CPH has the most research collaborations. It is not a comprehensive list.

  • CPH: College of Public Health
  • CLA: College of Liberal Arts
  • COE: College of Engineering
  • CST: College of Science and Technology
  • EDU: College of Education
  • LKSOM: Lewis Katz School of Medicine
  • STHM: School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

The Rest (In Alphabetical Order)

  • AOR –Authorized Organization Representative. The designated representative of the recipient organization in matters related to the award and administration of its NIH grants, including those that require NIH approval
  • Banner. Temple’s finance system
  • Concur. Online service for booking travel, and submitting reimbursements for travel and other expenses.
  • DC. The Departmental Coordinator in your department will be your primary contact with most of your day-to-day needs, or will be able to guide you appropriately.
  • EDCF & EPAF. These are the paper (EDCF) and electronic (EPAF) versions of the payroll forms used to shift payroll allocations. For example, if a grant just started, you will approve an EPAF to shift a portion of your pay to the new grant.
  • eRA. Temple’s electronic research administration system. We use a web-based system developed by InfoEd, which is used by many peer institutions. It includes the eSPAF, PT and PD. (not to be confused with eRA commons)
  • ERS. This stands for Effort Reporting System. The college asks faculty and staff to verify their effort quarterly through this online system, accessed through TU Portal.
  • F&A. The Facilities and Administrative rate applied to direct expenses on a grant. Also called indirect costs or overhead.
  • FCOI. Financial conflict of interest. This refers to the new, stricter guidelines imposed by NIH, and now followed by a variety of federal and non-federal funders, in 2012. It is also shorthand for the disclosure form you need to complete annually.
  • FFR. Final Financial Report that is filed by RAS 90 days after a federal grant ends.
  • FOAP or FOAPAL. This is your grant account number, or cost center. Composed of six elements: Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity and Location (FOAPAL).
  • GARS. The Guest Access Request System is the online system available from the TU Portal to request guest access for visitors to your lab. Depending on the level of access, your guest will have privileges at Temple Libraries.
  • Grants Management. This is the sponsored projects office that handles pre-award issues and submits proposals.
  • IACUC. Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The University entity that assures the welfare of animals utilized in research conducted by faculty, professional staff, and students.
  • IRB. Institutional Review Board. The University entity that reviews human subjects research to ensure the protection of rights, privacy, and welfare of all human participants in research conducted by faculty, professional staff, and students.
  • JET. Short for “Journal Entry transfer,” this is how we move charges from one FOAP to another.
  • JIT. Just-in-Time is the term used by NIH and other federal agencies for their request for additional information close to when a grant will be awarded. Your pre-award contact will help you pull together what you need, such as Other Support. You will also need to submit IRB or IACUC approvals.
  • LOI. Letter of intent may apply to an initial application, such as submitted a concept paper. Or it may apply to the letter that two institutions sign during the proposal process, when one institution will be a subaward.
  • MTDC. Modified Total Direct Costs are those direct costs on a grant to which F&A is applied. These are most costs, excluding major equipment (over $5,000), tuition, rent, and subawards above $25,000.
  • NGA or NOA. The Notice of Grant Award or Notice of Award. A happy item to receive!
  • PDS & PDP. The Performance Development System (PDS) is the online system used for Performance Development Plans (PDP), or staff annual performance evaluations. You should create a record within the first two weeks of a new full-time staff member’s employment, and periodically review it. The annual evaluation is conducted each May and is tied to staff members’ ability to receive a raise.
  • RA or GRA. Research Assistant, or Graduate Research Assistant, is the term used for graduate students who are conducting research, usually paid by a grant. They are covered by…
  • RFA. Request for Applications. Can also take the forms of an RFP (request for proposals), PA (parent or program announcement), or CFP (call for proposals).
  • RPPR. The new reporting forms for NIH and most other federal agencies.
  • SOW. Statement of Work that is prepared for each subaward or subcontract on a grant. This becomes part of the official subcontract agreement.
  • Taleo. The software that Temple uses for hiring staff and student workers.
  • OVPR. The Office of the Vice President for Research (eg Central Office that submits all grants)
  • TU Marketplace or TUM. Online service for purchasing goods. It’s like Amazon but with Temple’s preferred vendors. Also used for routing contracts that require signature. It is sometimes referred to as SciQuest.
  • TUGSA, the Temple University Graduate Student Association; this union places restrictions on their length of appointment, number of hours worked, stipend levels and tuition remission.