Federal scrutiny of export control is an increasing concern in U.S. colleges and universities, and Bates is developing resources for faculty and staff to promote compliance. The two areas of export control are ITAR, administered by the State Department and governing military technologies, and EAR, administered by the Commerce Department, overseeing “dual use” and economically sensitive technologies. These policies apply to both information and equipment/technology.

All on-campus research at Bates is covered by the Fundamental Research Exemption. The export control regulations exempt from licensing requirements technical information (but not controlled items) resulting from “fundamental research.” No license is required to disclose to foreign persons information that is “published and which is generally accessible or available to the public through fundamental research in science and engineering at universities where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly in the scientific community.”

“Fundamental research” means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.  (National Security Decision Directive 189)

There are other areas of risk, however, when it comes to export control, particularly as they relate to “controlled items.”  Faculty travel involving technical data, technical reports, equipment, or technology to sanctioned countries is prohibited.  We ask that faculty acquaint themselves with the countries that are subject to embargo.  Travel to these countries may require consulting with ILS and the Director of Research and Scholarship about restrictions and possible exemptions.  Please review Data Security and Technology Protection for International Travel. For example, taking a college laptop with standard software and no specialized data  to certain embargoed countries is prohibited; the countries currently subject to sanctions for reasons of anti-terrorism are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, although this list is subject to change. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) provides information on sanctions for each of the above countries, as well as other OFAC-administered sanction programs.  The OFAC website is at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx. Broader lists of countries may be subject to export control regimes covering certain controlled items, such as technical data not intended for publication or manuals to controlled equipment items. Faculty concerned about the security of data stored on their college laptop may wish to borrow a “clean laptop” from ILS for purposes of foreign travel. Please check with ILS about availability of such loaners as well in advance of your planned departure date as possible.

Embedded below is a link to a flow chart which is designed to assist faculty in determining if their research qualifies as exempt, or whether it may require referral to the DOF office for Export Control review: Export Control Decision Tree-Flow Chart

For those who require export control review, please complete and submit electronically a Travel Disclosure Form.  If you believe your project requires an export control license or approval, please submit the form well in advance of your travel dates.

In order to promote understanding of and compliance with the relevant Federal laws, we require that faculty traveling with college laptops or other equipment, complete the Export Control Overview module of CITI training available at https://www.citiprogram.org/index.cfm?pageID=93. The training is brief and summarizes federal export control regulations. Those working in science or engineering are encouraged to take the entire export control suite of CITI training modules.

In addition, we ask that faculty who intend to take college-owned equipment out of the country while employed at Bates complete a general Export Control Travel form_Sept. 2014 accepting the risks and personal responsibility for the decision to take college equipment abroad. According to federal guidelines, faculty are asked to:

• attend to export control guidelines,
• maintain effective control over the item,
• use secure internet connections,
• consult with the IT Service Desk at Bates College on firewall and encryption questions,
• utilize personal firewall protection and password protect any files that contain controlled technology, and
• ensure the device contains no mass market 64-bit encryption software or other encryption capabilities restricted under EAR.

These forms are available from the Director of Research and Scholarship and can be completed at any time and kept on file.