Procedures: ROLA - Q&A

Login to the ROLA (Research On-line Administration) application by clicking the logo below. Within ROLA You can fill in a Proposal, and route it for electronic approvals, maintain your Proposals and Awards, extend access to your information, and maintain your research profile.

ROLA LOGIN

Additional ROLA Information

ROLA HelpDesk Phone 519-661-3136 *** rolahelp@uwo.ca

ROLA Q&A

General

Q: The application won't accept my password.

A: Check if one of the following resolves the problem. If not, contact Research Development & Services. Did you use the correct login name (i.e. your Western Personal Computer Account User ID)? If you got an error message saying that there is no such user name, contact the Computer Accounts Office (phone 661-2111 x86035) to find out what your Western Personal Computer Account User ID is.

Do you have the right password? Test this from the web page http://www.uwo.ca/IP/checkpass.html

Did you forget your password or don't know the password for this account? Contact the Computer Accounts Office (phone 661-2111 x86035).

Does your password contain unusual characters? If you have tested your password at http://www.uwo.ca/IP/checkpass.html and still can't login, contact Research Development & Services.

ROLA Proposals

Q: My department/unit is not appearing in the drop down when I try to choose my Department on the ROLA Proposal.

A: You may verify eligibility for a department/unit in the Profile Review component under Sponsored Research in the left hand menu. Click on the Department tab to see if it is listed as a unit eligible to hold a grant at Western.

Q: I've submitted a ROLA Proposal. Can I edit it?

A: No. Once submitted, a Proposal may not be edited. A Proposal may be Returned to PI by the next person in the Approval process, or you may contact RD&S to reset your ROLA Proposal back to Draft status.

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Q: Can an Administrative Officer (AO) approve a ROLA Proposal?

A: An individual holding an administrative role in ROLA may have the authorization to review a Proposal but does not have the authority to approve.

Q: Can a grad student or AO fill out a ROLA Proposal form on behalf of a researcher?

A: Yes, they can complete a ROLA Proposal, save and submit it, however the submit process can only be completed by the PI. A Proposal that is submitted by anyone other than the PI will generate an email notification to the PI to complete the process and electronically "Sign" the Proposal in the system.

Q: Can I delete my ROLA Proposal?

A: No you are not able to delete a ROLA Proposal once it has been saved to the system.

Q: My ROLA Proposal was returned by the Chair or Dean. What should I do now?

A: As a PI you can edit this ROLA Proposal and re-submit for electronic approvals again. The approval authority that returned your ROLA Proposal should have included comments or explanation upon return of your ROLA Proposal. On re-submission, the approval process will start from the beginning again.

Q: My ROLA Proposal was returned by Research Development & Services (RDS). What should I do now?

Q: An error message displayed in the application window. When I tried to continue or clicked on a button, I got a message "Session expired...". Why?

A: The session is closed after an error occurs. Contact Research Services with the error message. Log in and try again. If the same error keeps occurring, the support staff needs to investigate what went wrong.

Q: How long will the electronic approval take?

A: This depends on the procedures within each faculty/department. The appropriate approval authorities will be automatically notified by ROLA that a Proposal is waiting. The approval authorities must then log into ROLA and approve the ROLA Proposal. The chair level approval authority must approve before the dean level approval authority.

Q: I viewed my draft ROLA Proposal and it contains information that I did not enter.

A: ROLA Proposals can be edited by authorized users or a Research Administrator (e.g. to correct a mistake). The "Last modified by" information General Info Tab in your Proposal will show the user name of the individual that last modified it and when. If you have any concerns, contact Research Development & Services.

Q: I don't want to submit my request electronically. I prefer to get signatures on paper.

A: While some Sponsors will require hard copy signatures on their application forms, instructional approvals at Western now utilize the ROLA system. If you require assistance on how to use this system, please contact the ROLA HelpDesk directly.

Approval Authority

Q: I can't view the approval authority as expected for my role(s).

A: Either there are no ROLA Proposals ready to be approved by your level or your role is "Not active". In this case, you are considered a PI and will have access to your own information based on your security profile. Contact the ROLA HelpDesk for Assistance.

Q: A researcher has notified me that he has submitted a request. As a Dean, I login but do not see the request in my list. Why?

A: A Chair level approval is required before it can be approved by the Dean. As soon as the Proposal is submitted you will be able to view it, however the only once the appropriate Chair in the department has approved the ROLA Proposal, will you see the active Approve button on the screen, and you will receive an email notification of action required.