Review Window and Deadlines
- Proposals eREXs must be fully approved and submitted to ORSO no later than 9:00 a.m., five business days before the sponsor’s deadline.
- Business days are Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., excluding university holidays or closures.
- If the sponsor deadline falls on a non-business day, proposals must be received by ORSO five business days before the last business day prior to the deadline (or as required by sponsor guidelines).
- Areas/campuses are encouraged to set internal deadlines of 3–5 business days earlier to support timely submissions.
Waivers
- A waiver is required if proposals are submitted with fewer than five business days before the sponsor’s deadline.
- Acceptable waiver reasons include: official university closures, serious illness/injury/death of key personnel or family, or funding opportunities announced less than two weeks before the deadline.
- Waivers must include written justification and be endorsed through the full approval chain.
Narrative Hold
- Eligible proposals may continue to use the Narrative Hold option for technical sections, with final versions of those documents uploaded and ORSO notified no later than 9:00 a.m. on the business day before the sponsor’s deadline.
- Guidance for this process is available in the ORSO Narrative Hold Policy information on the ORSO Guidelines Index website.
Executive Signatures
- PIs are responsible for obtaining any documents requiring executive-level signatures (e.g., letters of support).
- Signatures from Vice Presidents, Chancellors, the Provost, or the President require at least four weeks for processing.
- Proposals lacking required executive signatures by the review deadline are considered incomplete.
Example Timelines
Below are three examples of proposal deadlines and their updated eREX deadlines.
| If the proposal is due… | …the approved eREX deadline is: |
|---|---|
| Friday, November 7, at 5 p.m. | Monday, November 3, at 9 a.m. |
| Monday, November 17, at 12 p.m. | Monday, November 10, at 9 a.m. |
| Saturday, November 29, at 5 p.m. | Monday, November 20, at 9 a.m. |
*2025-2026 Reduced Operations Schedule — Reduced Operations days will be considered OR Pre-award Business days when determining the approved eREX deadline timeframe.