FAQs – General

< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7bd2" tabindex="0" title="What is RAMP?" >What is RAMP?

RAMP is a Huron Research Suite that is a “Software as a Service” (SaaS) web-based system. The system encompasses Grants and Agreements, Conflict of Interest (COI), Export Control, IRB and IACUC. The Grants and Agreements modules went live in July 2022, the Conflict of Interest module went live in May 2023, and all remaining modules will be live by February 2024.

< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7c58" tabindex="0" title="Why is RAMP being implemented?" >Why is RAMP being implemented?

As research activity at Mason has increased, the procedural and technical capabilities to support the research enterprise become increasingly important. The current systems are not integrated, outdates, at their capacity and are not sustainable. Shadow systems paper forms and duplicate data entry increases the opportunity for errors and creates inefficient and ineffective processes. RAMP provides Mason a scalable, pre-award, non-financial post-award and regulatory and research compliance software system to replace some existing systems and work-around processes.

< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7c87" tabindex="0" title="What are the Benefits of RAMP?" >What are the Benefits of RAMP?
  • One platform for Mason’s research applications
  • Workflow transparency to easily see the status of a record, who has it, and what are the next steps
  • Enables better reporting to assist with decision making
  • Dynamic SmartForms only request required data and include validations (S2S with pre-validations, Hide-Show functionality, etc.)
  • Intuitive and security-based workflow to support a distributed proposal submission process
  • Integration with existing operational systems
< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7cab" tabindex="0" title="How was the Huron Research Suite selected?" >How was the Huron Research Suite selected?

Mason went through an RFP process in the Fall of 2020 and selected Huron.

  • Huron Research Suite is used by more R1 universities than any other research administration technology
  • Over 50% of R1 universities have implemented the Huron Research Suite
  • Huron has over 400 professionals working in higher education and research, bringing thought leadership and real-world experience to projects
  • 170+ leading research institutional clients
  • 500+ modules implemented
  • The integration of Huron’s deep subject matter expertise alongside their leading software suite has led to a 99% software retention rate
< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7ccc" tabindex="0" title="When will RAMP be available?" >When will RAMP be available?

RAMP will be implemented across two and half years, starting the Grants and Agreements modules. The Grants and Agreements modules went live in July 2022, the COI module went live in May 2023 and all other remaining modules will be live by February 2024.

< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7cec" tabindex="0" title="Who has access to RAMP?" >Who has access to RAMP?

Anyone with a Mason login and password may access RAMP. The actions and/or responsibilities of that user will depend on system security roles assigned by OSP, as well as, the specific role on a record (PI, Study Team, Primary Contact, etc.).

< class="collapseomatic " id="id66307955d7d0c" tabindex="0" title="Unable to login to RAMP, receiving HTTP Status 400 - Bad Request message, what should I do?" >Unable to login to RAMP, receiving HTTP Status 400 - Bad Request message, what should I do?

Clear the cache and cookies for ‘all time’ on the duration on your computer. If that does not resolve the issue, please contact IT Support at 703-993-8870.