Information for Campus Administrators and Faculty

Visiting Scholars normally possess a terminal degree or foreign equivalent, but may be appointed with a baccalaureate/master’s degree or if they are an undergraduate student visiting for research or educational purposes. 

Professional practitioners (e.g. government official, national organization administrator, journalist, or artist) without the minimum degree requirement or visiting student status may be proposed by exception if their visit will contribute to the research and educational mission of the University.

A Visiting Scholar is an official appointment. Before extending any invitation, consult with the Office of Visiting and Research Scholars (OVRS) to ensure that appointment requirements are met.

The following conditions apply to visiting scholar appointments: 

1. Effective January 1, 2025, new  visiting scholar appointments submitted in RSAS are subject to California Senate Bill 791(SB 791), which requires disclosure of any final administrative or final judicial decision that the applicant committed sexual harassment within the last seven years from the date of the application. Additionally, they must sign an "Authorization of Release" form, consistent with California Assembly Bill 810 (AB 810), allowing previous employers to share information regarding substantiated misconduct allegations. 

   • “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer
   • UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy 
   • UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
   • APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment
2. Visiting Scholars are not permitted to engage in patient care or medical services. Appointments in a Health Sciences Department require certification that no element of patient care or clinical service is involved in their activity.
3. Visiting Scholars may not be a registered UC student, contractor or have another appointment/employment with the University.
4. The University reserves the right to withdraw the privileges and terminate the appointment without prior notice.
5. Visiting Scholars are not eligible for Worker's Compensation benefits. 

Standard Appointment Length 

Visiting Scholars are appointed for short periods not to exceed one year (12 months), and more typically, for six (6) months or less. The appointment must be made in advance of arrival and is self-terminating. Reappointment is permitted for up to one additional year. The University of California may terminate the appointment without prior notice and withdraw associated privileges.  

Exception Requests

• An initial appointment of more than one year or a reappointment that exceeds a two-year consecutive period may be permissible if the program warrants a longer affiliation.
• Appointments for scholars with no home institution affiliation may be permissible for a short period of time and appropriate justification.
• Visiting Research Scholar Intern appointments over 4 months and during the school year may be permissible when sponsored by their home institution, required for their degree, or other appropriate justification.

To request an exception, please upload an Exception to Policy memo addressed to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Miroslav Krstic to the Appointments tab in RSAS database. Include the following information in the memo:

•  Name of the scholar
• Appointing department name
• Requested length of appointment
• Justification (e.g. visa, extended research length to complete the project, how the scholar will be supported, purpose for an appointment with no home institution affiliation, need for internship during school year)
• Brief description of the research with an explanation of how the research benefits UCSD/PI

The exception memo will be reviewed by OVRS for the above criteria. 

In order to comply with Federal laws, UCSD is required to check foreign persons and entities against a list of Restricted Parties.

As of August 1, 2015, the RSAS process requires all department administrators to enter the restricted party screening information.

 Instructions to register for and get access to Restricted Parties Screening (RPS) tool:

1. Visit https://www.visualcompliance.com/usr and complete the listed steps. Be sure to use your @ucsd.edu email address to register. This email address will also be your username.
2. Once you are registered, go to https://www.visualcompliance.com/ and sign on with your unique username (email) and password.
3. After logging in, CLICK on the “RPS” –or- “Restricted Party Screening” links and enter the scholar’s name, associated entity (company), country and indicate comment for screening, i.e. visiting scholar.
4. Download RPS Guide for full instructions and definitions.
    For additional information, visit the Export Control website http://blink.ucsd.edu/sponsor/exportcontrol/ or contact their office at export@ucsd.edu.

  Instructions for RSAS entry:

  1.  For new appointments, create the person and complete the Person, Degrees, Experience, and Appointments tabs. Make sure all information is completed and the required documentation has been uploaded.

   2. Once you have completed the normal appointment process, open the RPS tab.

1. 1. If the person is a US Citizen or Permanent Resident, check the “Screening Not Required” box.
   2. For all other foreign persons, proceed with screening (see instructions above).
   3. If no records are found, in the Screening Notes box, enter “no results”.
   4. If results are found, check the “Results/Matches/Alerts Returned” circle and add result comments in the Screening Notes box.
   5. Click the “Save” button to forward the result to Export Control.

  3.  Do not submit the appointment to OVRS until you receive a notice from Export Control Office that the match is cleared.

  4.  Once you received the notice from Export Control, you can submit the appointment to OVRS.

 FAQs (restricted party screening):

  1.  Do I have to screen all visiting scholars?

Screening is required on all foreign persons (not US citizens, legal permanent residents or protected persons) and those associated with foreign entities to ensure no export licenses are required for restricted entities or persons affiliated with restricted entities.

  2.  What is the process if there is a hit and escalation to Export Control?

Export Control will review the screening hit to determine if it is a hit on a US export control list, a partial name hit, an entity (company or university hit) or a sanctioned country hit (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, or Sudan). For non-export control list or partial name hits Export Control may clear the individual. For individuals with direct name hits additional information may be requested such as a middle name or other identifying information in order to ensure the listed restricted person is not the same person being appointed as a visiting scholar. For individuals associated with a restricted entity or a sanctioned country, Export Control will consult with the PI to perform an export license review. There may be  3 options: no export license is required, a license is required and will take a minimum of 6 weeks to obtain from the US government or a control plan will be implemented to ensure no unlicensed exports occur.

  3.  How long will it take the Export Control Office to review a case?

For partial name hits and non-export control list hits Export Control generally will be able to respond the same day. For individuals associated with restricted entities or sanctioned countries, the response is dependent on the complexity of the review and licensing and control plan requirements. For questions on reviews, email export@ucsd.edu.

If you have any questions on the restricted party screening process, please contact the Export Control office by emailing export@ucsd.edu. For VS questions, please email visitingscholar@ucsd.edu.

Effective January 1, 2025, new visiting scholar appointments submitted in RSAS are subject to California Senate Bill 791(SB 791), which requires disclosure of any final administrative or final judicial decision that the applicant committed sexual harassment within the last seven years from the date of the application. Additionally, they must sign an "Authorization of Release" form, consistent with California Assembly Bill 810 (AB 810), allowing previous employers to share information regarding substantiated misconduct allegations.

Therefore, new steps have been added for the processing of VS appointments, as follows:

Step 1: In addition to requesting the required forms (see list below) for a VS appointment, provide the candidate with the following information:

As a condition of appointment, you are required to disclose if you are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that you committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.

• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

You will receive a separate email shortly, requesting you complete the disclosure and release forms. Please complete it as soon as possible. Your appointment cannot be finalized until this disclosure is completed.

Step 2: Complete the “Request an Employment Misconduct Disclosure” form in Kuali Build. This will email the candidate to complete the disclosure and sign the authorization of release form.   Request an Employment Misconduct Disclosure

A sample of the request form (for visiting scholars) can be found here:  Completing the Request Form

Step 3:  Disclosure Clearance:  If the disclosure form is clear, you will receive an email notification from Kuali Build. Please upload that email notification in RSAS along with all other required forms and submit the appointment request.

Step 4:  Disclosure Clearance pending:  If you are ready to submit the appointment in RSAS and are only pending the disclosure clearance, you may submit the appointment request in RSAS.  Please note that “disclosure is pending” in the comments. OPSA or OVRS will review to ensure all other standard requirements are met. RSAS record will be sent back to the department contact pending the disclosure outcome.

Step 5:  Once the disclosure process is complete, the department contact will upload appropriate documentation in RSAS to proceed and resubmit. Reach out to OPSA or OVRS if the appointment will be withdrawn.

Required forms: 

The following documents should be completed, or provided, by the Visiting Scholar and uploaded to RSAS: 

1. Visiting Scholar Appointment form
2. University Patent Acknowledgement *updated form (please note: Visiting scholars are not required to sign the State Oath of Allegiance)
3. Waiver of Liability  
4. Curriculum Vitae 
5. Proof of Home Institution Affiliation 
6. Proof of Funding for the period of visiting scholar appointment 

For Health Sciences: If the proposed visiting scholar has a medical degree, please provide confirmation from the mentor that there will be no patient contact. For international scholars that may have incidental patient contact, upload the 5-point statement required for visa purposes.   

Research Scholars Appointment System (RSAS)  

Trained departmental staff are provided access to RSAS (rsas.ucsd.edu) for submission of visiting scholar appointments. Please complete the following tabs in RSAS:

• Person
• Appointments
• Degrees
  
  • Please enter the highest degree only. If the Scholar has two terminal degrees (e.g., M.D. and Ph.D.), please enter both. Proof of degree is not required for VS appointments. 
• Experience
• RPS (see previous section for details)

Please review the RSAS Users' Manual for more details. An updated manual is coming soon! 

For new staff access, please email visitingscholar@ucsd.edu and include: 

• Your name
• Employee ID number
• Official department name
• Email address 

Once the appointment is approved and the scholar has accepted, enter the visiting scholar in UC Path as a contingent worker. See the process in the section below.  

Policy and RSAS Training is offered through the UC Learning Center. Please reach out to visitingscholar@ucsd.edu for the course schedule.  

AMENDMENT TO CURRENT VISITING SCHOLAR APPOINTMENT

An amendment to a visiting scholar appointment will be necessary when there is a change to the appointment dates. There may also be a need for an amendment if the scholar's name needs to be corrected, or if the mentor changes. 

 Processing an amendment:

1. Go to scholar's record in RSAS
2. On the "Appointments" tab, expand the current appointment. The default action is "Amendment 2 Step". Simply enter a reason and click "Proceed to Edit."
3. Update the necessary fields.
4. Submit and add comments noting what is amended.  

SEPARATION OF VISITING SCHOLAR

A separation of a visiting scholar should be processed when a visiting scholar is departing earlier than the current appointment end date. A separation action is not needed if the scholar is departing on their original appointment end date.   

1. Go to the scholar’s record in RSAS
2. On the "Appointments" tab, expand the “Primary Initial” appointment
3. For the “Action” select “Separation 2 Step” from the dropdown
4. Enter the reason for the action (scholar is leaving early) in the next field, and click, “Proceed to Edit”
5. Update the appointment with the new end date and save.
6. Submit the separation, noting in the comments that the scholar’s appointment is ending early. 

Departments must notify our office if a visiting scholar will be taking a leave of absence of 30 days or more. 

For US Citizens and Permanent Residents: Please submit an amendment in RSAS (dates of original appointment should remain the same), upload the approved leave request (departmental approval form or email). At a minimum, the leave request should note the reason for the leave, the proposed start and end dates, and the location while on leave. It should also be approved by their faculty sponsor. Department guidelines for additional approvals should also be followed.  

For J-1 International scholars, in addition to submitting the amendment in RSAS with the approved leave request, further stipulations apply: 

• Scholar should complete an "Out of Country Notification" in iServices, if they will be outside of U.S. for at least 60 days, for any reason.  
• Scholar must remain engaged in continued collaboration with UC San Diego during this time.
• Scholar must continue to meet the J-1 health insurance requirement. 
• Out of Country time cannot exceed 6 months.
• J-2s should depart with the J-1 scholar during the extended absence requiring an Out of Country Notification.

The J-1 International Scholar should note in their leave request that they understand these stipulations. 

Remote Work Compliance: If the scholar will be outside of the United States during their leave of absence, they must complete the Export Control Remote Work Review Form (SSO Required).  

This form is routed to:

• Export Control for compliance review
• UCSD IT to ensure proper data access and licensing requirements in other countries

Visiting scholars must complete all necessary UCSD and/or department-specific training. Resources can be found at the following links:

 Laboratory Safety Training

Research Compliance Training

All visiting scholars must be appointed in UC Path. Once the visiting scholar appointment letter is issued and the scholar has accepted, the Department Administrator enters the appointment in UC Path. 

• See UC Path CWR UPK for instructions (access required). Local “Understanding
  Contingent Worker” Job Aid is available at UC Path.
  - Employee Class: Academic Contingent Worker
  - Job Code: CWR015 (Visiting Scholar) or CWR016 (Visiting Scholar-UG), as appropriate
• When creating the CWR appointment, remember to include DOB, home address, SSN if available (in National ID field) in order to identify the scholar and link with AD and EPIC accounts for vaccine compliance mandate.
• For the Reports To field, enter the faculty sponsor’s Position Number and not Dept Chair/ORU Director positions numbers so that the Visiting Scholar appears in the correct Supervisor’s Dashboard.

Visiting Scholars are ineligible for compensation through UC San Diego.

• Visiting Scholars are self-supported or receive funds directly from external sources.
• If Scholar is engaged in service or work that warrants compensation, they should be appointed into an appropriate paid title.
• Visiting Scholars may not receive payments in the form of stipends or subsistence in lieu of salary.
• Visiting Scholars do not have a payroll title code (but should be entered into UC Path as a Contingent Worker for tracking purposes).
• Visiting Scholars may receive payment, by exception, for certain travel and/or living allowances or health insurance reimbursements. Please access the Approval Guidelines for Payments to Visiting Scholars drawer on this site.

We understand that Visiting Scholars may engage in activities such as presenting research at professional meetings, attending a conference or traveling to collaborate with other researchers on behalf of UC San Diego. Also, there are instances when a Department would like to reimburse a visiting scholar for a travel ticket to and from their home institution and/or certain living expenses.  In these situations, where it would be appropriate to cover expenses related to travel, please follow the campus guidelines:

Pre-requisites:

• U.S. citizens: W-9
• Non-U.S. citizens:
• U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number and Glacier Record
• Reimbursement Requirements for Foreign Visitors (some types may restrict payments)

 1. Travel Payment Requests

Travel payments are requested via Concur and are non-taxable income to the payee.  For any travel payment to a visiting scholar, there must be a clear business purpose where UCSD is the primary beneficiary for the visit. 

UC San Diego travel policy, as published in Blink, is decisive. It has been adapted to UC San Diego's organization, delegation of authority, terminology, chart of accounts and processing applications. The source for UC San Diego travel policy is UC Travel Policy and Regulations (PDF). Prior approval from OVRS is not required for travel-related expenses.  

2.  Disbursement Payment Requests

In addition, in rarer cases, as a courtesy to Visiting Scholars, departments may provide payments to cover health insurance (eg. as required by a visa) or living allowance for short-term visits. Such payments may be requested through Disbursements on an allowable funding source.

While prior approval from OVRS is not required for payment of living allowances for Visiting Scholars, we do ask that a memo be submitted with the RSAS appointment request. The memo should be from the mentor and outline the expected payment per month, what the payment will cover, and the duration. Our office will review to ensure compliance with Visiting Scholar policy.  

For questions regarding a Visiting Scholar appointment, contact visitingscholar@ucsd.edu. For Disbursement payment requests or Travel payment guidance, send a request to Budget & Finance Support.

For questions about compensation and payment to other visiting academic titles, please contact:

• Visiting Professors (and other academic titles), Kelly Maheu, Academic Personnel, Academic Compensation
• Visiting Graduate Students; see guidance or contact Graduate Division, Financial Support.