Western Michigan University

Welcome to the Office of the
Vice President for Research (OVPR)

The work of our office is focused on supporting and sustaining research and creative activity at WMU. We assist with external funding proposal development and submission, manage the awarding and administration of internal funding support, and oversee and assure compliance with research-related federal, state, and University regulations. This site is designed to assist you with access to tools and resources related to these functions.

Front Page News - What's Happening!

New Features Added to Web-based Proposal Approval Form (PAF)

Those submitting or approving proposal submissions using the web-based PAF (AKA "bucksheet") will notice a new look when they log on to OVPR's Proposal Management Center. A new feature allows users to sort and filter the proposals they want to view by such categories as user group, date range, and grant state. This enables users to easily identify the status of those proposals they've submitted or approved for submission.

If you access the web-based PAF from off-campus (e.g., via laptop or home computer) you must use the campus Virtual Private Network (VPN) portal to maintain security of the University's data. The VPN software, available from the OIT website, must be installed on the off-campus computer you will use to log on. Once installed, which takes only a few minutes, the VPN portal can be used to access your current and previous proposal approval forms from off campus locations. Download the VPN Software.

For more information about the new web-based PAF or questions about the VPN, call OVPR at 269-387-8270 or contact your research officer.