New ACUO Structure Aims to Centralize, Strengthen Support Services
Big changes are happening in the Animal Care & Use Office (ACUO)!
Over the next several months, the roles and responsibilities of the Quality Assurance (QA) and Research Compliance Associate (RCA) Teams will be combined in order to provide more centralized support for all animal research-related compliance and protocol management processes.
Most changes will occur across internal ACUO operations and should have a minimal impact on Study Teams.
Please note that review and approval of protocols and protocol amendments will continue to remain a top priority.
QA Team responsibilities will be expanded to include all activities related to protocol and amendment reviews and approvals previously performed by the RCA Team.
QA Specialists will also continue their existing duties, which include:
- Regular QA visits,
- Focusing on protocol refinement,
- Identifying and reducing administrative burden, and
- Serving as an educational resource.
Combining the responsibilities of the QA and RCA Teams will allow the ACUO to better support the U-M research community through a more streamlined approach to customer service.
In addition to having more individuals focused on process refinement and reducing administrative burden, all team members will now be cross-trained on every aspect of protocol management and submission, including:
- Protocol development and approval,
- Maintenance and refinement, and
- Renewal or closure.
Although internal ACUO processes are changing, Study Teams can continue to use the same methods they have always used to receive assistance:
Both the general RCA (ACUO-RCAs@umich.edu) and QA Team emails (ACU-QATeam@med.umich.edu) will remain active. All inquiries will now be answered by a QA Specialist.- Individual RCA phone numbers will also remain active but will be monitored by ACUO administrative staff as well as the QA Team. If you are unable to reach someone directly, please leave a message and your question will be forwarded to the appropriate contact.
- The primary ACUO email address (acuoffice@umich.edu) and phone number (734-763-8028) will remain the same and can be used for general questions and inquiries.
- There will be no change to the monitoring of the Animal Concern Hotline, which the ACUO maintains on behalf of the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee.
Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated during this important administrative transition.
We are confident that these changes will allow us to further deliver on our goal of providing exceptional customer service to support the U-M research community.