Professional Development

 

The Office of Research Services, the Center for Research Excellence, and the other units within the Division of Research provide a variety of annual and ad hoc professional development opportunities, workshops, and programs for faculty, staff and students. Please visit the News Page for information on upcoming programs.

Annual and On-going Professional Development:

The Certificate Program in Grants and Contracts Administration, Level 1 is intended for staff in academic departments (or similar units) whose job responsibilities include providing financial and administrative support for grants and contracts to Principal Investigators, Department Chairs, and others.

The Certificate provides core knowledge about grants and contracts in general, and about the administration of grants and contracts at UNC Charlotte in particular. The certificate program is especially useful for staff new to grants and contracts administration at the department level. This includes:

  • New UNC Charlotte staff employed in departments that manage and administer grants and contracts
  • Existing UNC Charlotte staff whose departments anticipate that they will have grants and contracts to manage and administer in the future
  • UNC Charlotte staff who wish to prepare themselves for employment in departments that manage and administer grants and contracts

Program participants are selected based on an application process and space availability, and employees with current job responsibilities working with grants and contracts may be given preference.

Requirements:

  • Complete prerequisites listed below
  • Attend and participate in all sessions of the Certificate program
  • Complete an evaluation of each session
  • Achieve a satisfactory score on each of the Learning Assessments administered as part of the Program

Certificate Prerequisites ( offered via Learning and Development)

  • Banner Finance Training
  • Budget: Understanding General Fund and Position Budget
  • Complex Payments and Tax Guidance
  • Employment of Internationals Workshop
  • Fixed Assets
  • Paying for Travel at UNC Charlotte
  • Purchasing and Accounts Payable 101
  • Student Employment Coordinator Workshop
  • Navigating Niner Research ( via ORS workshop series)

Cancellation Notice:

Please be advised that the  Office of Research Services (ORS) offering of the Certificate Program in Grants and Contracts Administration, Level 1 will not be resuming this Fall 2025 as previously anticipated,  and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.   

The program is being revamped to offer participants a more immersive, targeted experience.  Our new target launch  is pushed to Spring 2026. We will continue to post updates. 

For more information, send an inquiry to research@charlotte.edu

FALL 2025 workshops

The listed workshop will be held via Zoom. Register here to attend via the Learning and Development portal.

Student Educational Awards (SEA) – Wednesday, October 15 @ 01-02pm

  • Learn the key things to know when processing Student Educational Awards (SEA) on externally funded awards, including how to determine the allowability of expenses, how to identify fund availability, requirements for submissions, best practices and deadlines.

Research Administration Open Forum

Note: The monthly Research Administration Open Forum resumed mid August, 2025

Held the second Wednesday of each month, 10-11am, these open forums are an opportunity for faculty and staff to ask research administration related questions to Office of Research Services staff. These open forums are designed to address questions about University and sponsor processes related to research, federal and sponsor guidelines, etc. Very specific project related questions that require detailed background information or investigation are best directed to the appropriate representative from the ORS Award Management team . Click here to Join the Forum