Tests, studies, and investigations that are purely commercial are undertaken only when satisfactory facilities for such services do not exist elsewhere or are not reasonably available to the Sponsor. Partial funding in advance is necessary since the University does not have a source of funds with which to finance Sponsored programs or to pay the interest on borrowed funds. The schedule of payments is negotiable between the Sponsor and the University depending on type and scope of project, the length of the project period, and the anticipated pace and pattern of actual expenditures. A fundamental principle of the University is that the teaching and research environment should permit the free exchange of ideas among faculty and students. Research is conducted as an integral part of the total educational process and often forms the basis for articles in professional journals, seminar reports, presentations at professional meetings, and student dissertations and theses.
Research sometimes provides subject matter for credit courses.
The University will undertake research or studies only if the scientific results can be published or otherwise disseminated on a non-discriminatory basis and within a reasonable time period. The University recognizes the legitimate proprietary concerns of industrial Sponsors. Where appropriate and with the approval of the faculty member, publications can be deferred for a limited time to protect patent rights or to facilitate other forms of technology transfer. Similarly, on those occasions where University has accepted a Sponsor's proprietary information as necessary background data for a research project, the Sponsor may review proposed publications to prevent any inadvertent disclosure of that data. The University normally retains patent rights from Sponsored research, and any invention or patentable idea conceived or reduced to practice in the course of that research belongs to the University.