eSignature @ Augusta University

Electronic signatures or esignatures empower our faculty, staff, and students to design secure, fully digital workflows, including legally binding signatures. It enables you to sign official forms electronically and avoids additional printing, scanning, and mailing of actual paper. 

Benefits of using electronic signatures:

• It's Legally Binding: The programs we use to generate signatures meet the requirements of the US Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and are recognized as valid under US law.
• Its Secure: Approved by the ISO for use with confidential information when all security best practices are observed. 
• It's Fast and Efficient: eSignature reduces turn-around time, reduces manual staff labor, and provides the opportunity to increase efficiency.
• It is Green and Sustainable: Processes can be completely paperless, cutting down on the need for storing copies, mail costs, and imaging.
• It's Global and Available 24/7: Provides faculty, students, and staff a secure, effective, and fast way to sign and return documents anytime, anywhere in the world.

Properly obtained electronic signatures are acceptable for university business forms and documentation. Federal and state laws provide that electronic signatures have full validity under the law when obtained appropriately using compliant technologies, certifications, and authentications. 

Augusta University uses two programs to assist in obtaining electronic signatures. Faculty and staff have access to Docusign, and students have access to Box Sign. The general acceptance of esignatures at Augusta University allows business process owners and approval signers to set guidelines for accepting DocuSign/Box Sign signatures or routing in workflows. Units and individual third-party signers have the option to use DocuSign/Box Sign when it is practical for them to do so and in accordance with guidelines set by university business owners.