If a potential visitor meets the following criteria, he/she is considered a Visiting Researcher/Scholar or VRS:

• The visitor is physically coming to any UGA campus.
• The visitor’s activities while being hosted by a UGA faculty member on any UGA campus include participating in or observing research.
• The visit is not part of an official UGA program and the visit is not intended for the visitor to perform contracted services for UGA.

Registering all visiting researchers/scholars helps to ensure liability coverage and helps clarify intellectual property agreements.

Bear in mind, if your visitor is an international you will need to allow additional processing time to register the visit and should plan on additional costs if you plan to sponsor the associated visa.

Units are required to register all non-paid visiting scholars through the VRS program. All questions about forms or processes should be directed to [email protected].

• Step 1: Complete the VRS Questionnaire.
• The Sponsoring UGA unit is Ecology.
• The Unit Head should be the acting Dean’s name.
• The staff contact person should be Ecology’s CBO.
• Step 2:  Have your visiting scholar complete the appropriate standard visitor agreement below.
• If your scholar is currently employed or with another institution you will choose the standard visitor agreement withemployer/institution signature.
• If your scholar is not currently employed or with another institution you will choose the standard visitor agreement – noemployer/institution.

Remote Visitors

UGA’s Office of Visiting Researchers/Scholars administrates two of these affiliate types – the Visiting Researcher/Scholar (VRS) and the lesser-known Research Affiliate.  

• A VRS status is for those that will physically come to any UGA campus at any time during the status timeframe and the Research Affiliate is for those that are remote collaborators.
• Both require a UGA Faculty Sponsor.
• VRS and RA are allowed to have a UGA MyID and access to several systems on campus, but both require a UGA purpose/collaboration in research or scholarly activity.
• Neither VRS nor RA is allowed to be assigned to someone who is performing work for compensation.
• Non-UGA people that come to UGA for a specific UGA academic or research program should actually be registered as “Program Participants” through the UGA Card Office.  An example of this is the REU Program participants.

Key Factors

• If collaboration will be remote then submit your request as a Research Affiliate.  NOTE: This does not cover someone physically coming to campus to participate/collaborate.
• If physically coming to campus seems likely, then you should go the VRS route.