Lucas Center Scheduling Policies

Introduction

As a Federal- and University-regulated Service Center, we can neither make nor lose money in each fiscal year, so we attempt to govern as effectively as possible to minimize cost and maximize convenience for our users. By instituting new policies recently, we have markedly reduced the scan time overbooking, resulting in more available scan time. We will aperiodically review our operations and instigate policy changes as needed. In this update, we clarify that short term cancelation fees are not applied.

1. Booking Policy
Users should only book scanner time when a confirmed subject or scan need is in hand. However, a slot may be temporarily booked for one day in advance without confirmed subject. This  1-day courtesy hold should be used to confirm resources/participants/collaborators etc. But it is the booker's responsibility to cancel within 24 hours if the subject cannnot be confirmed.

Sometimes a confirmed scan time is booked erroneously and needs to be changed within the same day. These changes will not incur a cancellation fee if rebooked within 24 hours.

2. Cancellation Policy
The cancellation deadline is 2 weeks before scheduled scan time. You must cancel at least 2 weeks in advance to avoid a late cancellation fee. A late cancellation fee of 10% will be charged for cancellations that occur less than 2 week(s) before the scan (unless the cancellation is made within 24 hours of  when you created the booking , as described in the previous section, Booking Policy). You will not be charged a cancellation fee if the cancelled time has been replaced by a funded study.

There are circumstances outside of the PI’s control which cause late cancellations (subject no-show, illness, traffic, claustrophobia, etc.). In the past, the entire user base shared the cost of these late cancellations. However, no justification for waiving the 10% late cancellation fee will be permitted. This will result in some late cancellation charges for which the PI had no control, however, failed experiments are a cost of doing all research, and the rate may vary across subject populations, etc. We will not attempt to judge which circumstance is justifiable and which is not, because that is a slippery slope.

Unfortunately, there are occasional Lucas Center hardware or software malfunctions which cause a user’s scan slot to fail, and of course, we will not charge a cancellation. In such events, the Lucas Facility Manager should promptly be notified of the malfunction if not already aware. Please note this does not include the malfunction or unavailability of any user-supplied hardware, software or materials. Such circumstances are the user’s responsibility.

Principal Investigators should note that allowing for cancellation fees may need to be negotiated with funding agencies (e.g. NIH), and if denied the study PI will be required to provide a valid PTA for this purpose in order for the scan account to be active.

Last Updated: March 8, 2024