Changes to how human subject participants are paid – effective November 15, 2022

In an effort to establish consistent guidelines and controls, while also seeking to provide faculty/researchers with flexibility where possible, the University has established guidelines for paying human subject participants, which can be found here.

Approved Payment Methods:

Approved payment methods will depend on the dollar amount your participants will receive within the calendar year.

• Participants who will receive $200 or less cumulatively from your study or the studies in your lab will now be permitted to receive payment via:
  • Physical gift card
  • Electronic gift card through Amazon
  • Amazon Mturk, CINT, Cloud, Prolific, Qualtrics
  • Participants who will receive more than $200 from your study or the studies in your lab OR participants who must be paid in cash must continue to use the prepaid card system.
• Participants that must be anonymous* will now be permitted to receive payment via:
  • Physical gift card
  • Electronic gift card through Amazon (if allowed in approved IRB)
  • Amazon Mturk, CINT, Cloud, Prolific, Qualtrics (if allowed in approved IRB)
  • Cash*
• Submit the Kuali build form for a payment exception if needing to utilize a different payment method not listed here.
• Employees are not permitted to pay out of pocket and request reimbursement.

*See guidelines for details on requirements for each of these instances.

How to Request Payments:

• Gift cards: a new form has been added to Mountaineer Marketplace, Gift Card Request Form.  This form must be submitted to request physical/electronic gift cards and must be approved by PCPS PCard Administration before the purchase is made. Instances where the PCard is used to purchase gift cards without that prior approval will result in violation points.
• Prepaid cards: submit the Prepaid Request Form in Mountaineer Marketplace.
• Amazon Mturk, Cloud, Prolific, Qualtrics:  a request form does not need to be submitted. The employee responsible for paying the human subjects must first just ensure the purchase is allowable in the applicable grant or other funding source.

Documentation/Controls:

• Please make sure to review the guidelines for the specific documentation and internal controls required for payments.
• The Prepaid Card Guidelines have been updated to increase the dollar threshold for when a W9 is required – that threshold is now $200.

Please contact pcardadministration@mail.wvu.edu with any questions.