Volunteer
Definition
A volunteer is an individual who donates their services to Caltech, freely and without pressure or coercion, for civic, charitable, or humanitarian purposes without the promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation. A volunteer cannot be paid for their research or services but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses related to their volunteer activities. To qualify as a volunteer, the individual must be willing to provide research or services according to these guidelines.
Who may be a Volunteer
- Anyone, including current or retired employees, students, alumni, or others may provide volunteer services to the Institute.
- A current employee may not volunteer at Caltech in the same capacity in which they are employed or for work that is essentially similar to the individual's regular work at the Institute.
- A former employee may not become a Caltech volunteer at the Institute in the same capacity in which they were employed or provide services that are essentially similar to the individual's former regular work at Caltech.
- Volunteers should not displace regular employees or perform duties that a paid employee would otherwise perform.
Guidelines
Current Caltech employees, registered Caltech students, and individuals with another status as a visitor to Caltech may volunteer for certain Caltech activities and programs without being additionally processed as visitors in "volunteer" status. However, they must sign a volunteer agreement and release form and submit it to the sponsoring division/department.
Former postdocs and postdocs from other institutions are not eligible to be volunteers but should be processed as guest collaborators, academic visitors or visiting associates. They may also be processed as an external affiliate if they are coming to Caltech under an agreement between Caltech and their outside organization.
All minor volunteers must complete the minor volunteer process with Human Resources, regardless of the duration or type of access (remote or on campus).
Note: Access is subject to export control and research security restrictions, determined by where the volunteer is from (e.g., foreign country) or, if accessing systems only, where the volunteer is physically located while accessing systems (e.g., foreign country).
Volunteers are covered under Caltech's Workers Compensation policy.
Volunteer Assignments Not Requiring Visitor Access Request (VAR) 10 days or less
The following activities do not require a VAR to be processed unless the volunteer is under 18 years of age. However, the sponsoring division/department is responsible to retain the volunteer agreement and release form for safety and security purposes and should ensure that there are no export control or research security concerns related to the visitor:
- Public speaker
- Activities lasting a week or less (this does not apply to minor volunteers)
Volunteer Assignments Requiring Volunteer Agreement and Disclosure and Other Documentation
All other volunteers engaged in activities not listed above, including the following, require a VAR to be processed and completion of a Volunteer Agreement and Release, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure agreement and a California Institute of Technology Patent and Copyright Agreement are also required:
- All minor assignments
- Laboratory or Research assignment
- Office assignment
- Professional services (accountant, engineer, architect, etc.)
- Volunteering that requires travel of any kind
- Work with confidential information
- Work with minors other than Caltech students or applicants to Caltech
- Work with Caltech students
The following activities are a sample of prohibited activities for volunteers. The list is not exhaustive and certain restrictions may apply.
- Operation of Caltech vehicles or heavy equipment
- Work with controlled substances
- Work with money other than small-dollar transactions
- Entering into any contract on behalf of the Institute
- Any activity considered inappropriate for an employee
- Any supervisory activities
Sponsoring Divisions/Departments are responsible for ensuring that selected volunteers have adequate experience, qualifications, and training, including required safety instructions for the tasks they will perform.
Important: For individuals under the age of 18, a Volunteer Agreement and Release for minors, along with other required forms must be completed and signed by parent/guardian. Please refer to the Minor Volunteer Guidelines for more details.
Additional Guidelines
Foreign nationals may not have volunteer status unless they have an appropriate visa status authorizing such activities and they are not working on export controlled or research security restricted projects. Caltech does not sponsor foreign nationals for volunteer assignments. The volunteer is solely responsible for ensuring that they have appropriate authorization to engage in any volunteer activities associated with their assignment and must so certify. The Visa Waiver Program (WT/WB Status) and visa for tourism authorization (B-2) does not authorize an individual to engage in the performance of volunteer services at Caltech.
Foreign nationals being considered for volunteer assignments will be subject to an export control review. For more information on export review, please refer to the FPQ guidelines.
Volunteers, with the exception of minors, who will be on campus for ten days or less, do not require a VAR to be processed and the sponsoring division/department is responsible for maintaining a signed volunteer release and agreement form for the volunteer to ensure safety and security.
Volunteer assignments can be up to two years unless otherwise stated above. To renew, the sponsoring division/department must initiate the recertification process in VAR to review and update visit details. This is subject to review and approval.
Visiting students processed as volunteers are subject to limits on the length of assignment. These limitations are detailed below under the section for Undergraduate and Graduate Students from Other Institutions.
Non-Research Related Activities: Undergraduate and graduate students from other institutions, not enrolled in a Caltech-approved program, can volunteer at Caltech in a non-research related capacity.
Research Activities: Students who wish to participate in person to conduct research activities on-campus can be classified as volunteers under the following conditions:
- For visits of 9 days or less: Requires a completed volunteer agreement and release form, to be kept in the sponsoring division or department office. Minors have to go through Visitor Access Request and Mandated Reporter process.
- For a short visit of 10 days to a maximum of one month per calendar year: Requires Visitor Access Request.
- Local Pasadena Students: Can volunteer for up to two months and requires Visitor Access Request.
Long Visits and Caltech Approved Programs:
- Extensions Beyond Short Visits: Any period longer than one month is considered a long visit and must be part of a Caltech-approved program. If you wish to host a student from another university for a research activity for longer than one month, please apply to one of Caltech's approved programs below.
- Approved Programs for Long Visits:
- Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program (SURF)
- Visiting Undergraduate Research Program (VURP)
- Visiting Student Researchers (VSR)
- Special Students
For job requisition or staffing agency information, please contact Recruiting.
For any questions, please contact Human Resources at (626) 395-3300 or [email protected].