Signing the Electronic Participation Agreement

On GMAS help desk, we sometimes receive questions from individuals trying to sign the electronic Participation Agreement and receiving a security error. Here are the two reasons why someone receives this error message instead of landing successfully on the Participation Agreement where they can read the terms and sign. 

1. An incorrect link was provided to the individual who needs to sign: 

This often happens when an individual is provided with a link that is from the GMAS request or person profile where the Participation Agreement is showing as needed. These links can only be accessed by individuals who have appropriate security to get into GMAS. Most of the time, the people who need to sign don't have the proper security to access GMAS, and the result is a security error. 

When providing links to sign the participation agreement, it is best to direct people to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research website. Information about the Harvard University Participation Agreement can be found under the Intellectual Property Policy. In this section, there is a direct link to the Participation Agreement (https://gmas.harvard.edu/gmas/participationagreement) where individuals who have a HUID, but do not have security to access GMAS can sign.

2. The individual who needs to sign has a start date that is three business days or less in the past, or a start date that is in the future:

Transfer of person information can take a few days to pass between systems. Usually, a persons information will make its way into GMAS three business days after their official start date. At this time, they should be able to sign the Participation Agreement (using the link provided above). 

If an individual needs to sign the Participation Agreement before their start date, they will need to be set up in the Identity Management System (IDM/MIDAS) as a Person of Interest in a role that GMAS receives (see the Person of Interest Roles in GMAS blog for more information about this).

 

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at contactgmas@harvard.edu.