Guide: Human Subject Participant Payments in a Research Study

This is a quick reference guide about the process to compensate human subject participants in your research studies. The principal investigator and research team are responsible for being compliant with policy, IRB and authorization. Below is a summary of the most important parts of the human subject participation payment process.

Studies should be open to participants outside of VU

It is essential that all studies are designed to be open and available to participants outside of Vanderbilt University. If the study is only for Vanderbilt University, human subject participants need to be screened and approved by the financial aid office beforehand. It is essential that you contact the administrative team for guidance before setting up a study that is for VU participants only.

No reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses to human subject participants

Payments to compensate human subject participants with gift cards or other forms of payment must be made through Vanderbilt, usually with a Vanderbilt-issued OneCard. The purchase needs pre-approval authorization by the Chief Business Officer and Finance. Payments to human subject participants made by an individual using out-of-pocket funds will not be reimbursed according to policy.

Know VU policy and your IRB study, and involve the admin team before you start a study

Always familiarize yourself with the relevant VU policy, your IRB study and Finance authorizations granted for your payments, before starting a study. It is the research team's responsibility to make sure that each participant in their study is compensated according to the approved IRB study and VU. It is essential that the research team collects necessary information and documents from participants in order for the administrative team to support with purchase of gift cards or payments to participants after the study.

The Human Subject Participation Payment Policy can be found in the link below in addition to other policies related to the study. ​Human Subject Participation Payment Policy.pdf​

Know your participants in order to make the right compensation and collect right information

For payments $300 or less, you are allowed to purchase gift cards for U.S. citizens and permanent residents ONLY. All others need to be compensated with a Non-PO payment, processed through Oracle. This process requires participants to register and be approved as a supplier to Vanderbilt University, and to provide tax documents and bank account information before being paid.

For amounts greater than $300, all payments need to go through the Non-PO process regardless of citizenship. All payments to foreigners completing the study in the U.S. must go through the Non-PO process. Payments to foreigners located outside of the U.S. must go through the Non-PO process, but require additional documentation verifying location and tax residence.

All payments to human subject participants may be subject to tax and impact financial aid

It is the responsibility of the research team to collect and track all information and payments to participants and make sure they do not exceed Finance authorizations, the IRB Study, or VU Policy.

Updated “Cash_Advance_Gift_Card_Tax_Tracking” excel file

We have updated the excel file for tracking information for payments to participants in studies “Cash_Advance_Gift_Card_Tax_Tracking 25”. In addition to the previous sheet for purchase of gift cards to U.S. “Citizens and Residents with an amount below $300”, we have added additional sheets for “Foreign Nationals in U.S” (Non-PO), “Foreign Nationals abroad” (Non-PO) and “All over $300 located in US” (Non-PO). The new file could be used for studies going forward. Please notify the admin team that you are starting a study, and we will send you a copy of the latest version of the “Cash Advance Gift Card Tax Tracking” file.

It is the research team’s responsibility to collect and verify all participant data and update the excel file accordingly. Without all the information, we are not allowed to make any purchase. More information about the payment process can be found on VU Finance website: https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-sub/wp-content/uploads/sites/291/2024/11/07201031/Human_Subject_Participation_Procedure.pdf

Summary

The admin team encourages all researchers to include U.S. citizens or permanent residents in the study, award amounts less than $300 to each participant, and keep the studies open to participants outside of the Vanderbilt community. For this group of participants, we have established a quick, easy and approved routine to compensate with Amazon Electronic Gift Cards.

Thanks for taking time to read this guide. The admin team is here to support you in the process of purchasing gift cards or executing Non-PO payments to your human subject participants. Always make sure to reach out to the admin team before you start the study and commit to paying any human subject participants and stay up to date with current VU Policy. 

SOPs: Standard Operating Procedures

 

SOP for HR Project in JIRA

 

This project is used to track people with active access to ISIS resources. ISIS resources include physcial spaces like buildings, networks, websites, and other online tools and software. The HR project is complimentary to the SEAT, KEY, and FOB projects in order to track physcial access to ISIS spaces.

 

1 HR issue = 1 unique person with access to ISIS

 

When to create an HR issue

  1. The Admin manager creates an HR issue when there is a person who needs access to ISIS resources.
    1. Remember to search for a person in case they have an existing ticket from the past.
    2. Anyone who is added as an HR issue needs to have an official affiliation with VU and ISIS. Official affiliations may be employment, student enrollment, or collaboration through the Visiting Scholar process.
  2. The Admin manager sets the workflow status to "To Do".
  3. The Admin manager enters fields 1-12 and 14-21.
  4. The Admin manager assigns the ticket to ISIS IT.
  5. ISIS IT enters fields 13 and 22, and reviews 19 and 20.
  6. ISIS IT grants appropriate permissions and places in appropriate groups.
  7. ISIS IT assigns issue to Admin manager.
  8. The Admin manager confirms all fields are complete.
  9. The Admin manager sets the workflow status to "In Progress".


 

How to create an HR issue

  1. The Summary field should read: First_Name (Known_Name) Last_Name - Status
    1. The First Name should be how they appear in Oracle.
    2. The Known Name can be what the person goes by if different from the First Name.
    3. The Last Name should be how they appear in Oracle.
    4. The Status should be one of the following: Active, Inactive, Onboarding, Offboarding
  2. The Attachment section should contain the job description.
  3. The Component should contain their Assignment Category:
    1. Faculty - includes tenured, tenure-track, and research
    2. Grad - includes research and teaching assistantships
    3. Intern/Observer -
    4. Non-research - includes Admin, IT, and other non-research staff
    5. Postdoc - Postdoctoral Scholars
    6. Research - includes Engineers, Architects, and Scientists
    7. Service - for Plant Ops, VUPD, VUIT
    8. Summer - for summer program participants
    9. Undergrad - includes student workers
    10. Visitor - includes Visiting Scholars
    11. VTS - Vanderbilt Temporary Services
  4. The Description can be used to capture notes about the person or role.
  5. The Supervisor field should list the manager as they appear in Oracle.
  6. The Issue Type should be Task.
  7. The Reporter should be the person handling the hiring process.
  8. The Start Date should be the date that the person starts.
  9. The End Date should be the date that the person is terminated.
  10. The Position Type should mirror the Component field.
  11. The Title should be the Job Title as it appears in Oracle.
  12. The VUNet ID should contain the person's ID once it is created.
  13. The ISIS Fob field contains the fob number assigned to the person.
  14. The Linked Issues should have "depends on" selected.
  15. The Issue field should be populated with related issues from the SEAT, FOB, and KEY projects.
  16. The Personal Phone field should contain and non-VU phone number in case of emergencies.
  17. The Personal Email field should contain a non-VU email in case of emergencies.
  18. The Vanderbilt Email field should contain the person's Vanderbilt Email address.
  19. The 17th Ave Suite Access should have either "None" or "Yes" selected depending on if they need access to the 17th Ave space.
  20. The CUI field should have either "None" or "Yes" selected depending on if they need access to CUI.
  21. The Assignee should be the person helping with hiring. It should be unassigned when the hiring process is complete.
  22. The ISIS Tag field should contain the inventory tag number for the device the person is using.
  23. The Comment field can be used for any comments related to the issue.


 

What to do when a person leaves

  1. The Admin manager receives notification that a person is leaving or no longer needs access to ISIS resources.
  2. The Admin manager updates the Summary to "Inactive".
  3. The Admin manager assigns the issues to ISIS IT.
  4. ISIS IT deactivates the fob.
  5. ISIS IT removes permissions and group memberships.
  6. ISIS IT reassigns the issue back to the admin manager.
  7. The Admin manager unlinks the related issues.
  8. The Admin manager confirms the fields are complete.
  9. The Admin manager updates the workflow status to "Terminated".