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SPONSORED PROGRAMS OPERATIONS GUIDE

    
Direct Costs

Preparation of Budgets for Grants and Contracts. University policy requires grants and contracts bear the full cost of conducting the project. Full cost includes the direct costs and recovery of facilities and administrative costs (indirect costs) at the full rate which has been established in accordance with OMB Circular A-21, and negotiated with and approved by the Federal Audit Agency designated for the University. Obligations for cost sharing should be limited to amounts which can be justified as appropriate for the accomplishment of stated objectives and purposes of the University. These costs are defined as follows:

Direct Costs. These costs include salaries and wages of personnel rendering specific services under the grant or contract, related staff-benefit expenses, as well as supplies, travel, materials, services, and equipment procured for specific use on the project.

Facilities & Administrative Costs. Facilities and Administrative costs ( formerly known as indirect costs ) are those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore, cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project. This cost allocation includes depreciation and use allowances, operations and maintenance expenses, general administration and general expenses, departmental administration expenses, sponsored projects administration, library expenses, student administration and services, with an offset for indirect expenses otherwise provided for by the government.

Expenditures. Total direct costs as reflected in the approved budget for the grant or contract must be expended through the project restricted expenditure account.

Restricted Budget. A restricted budget must be prepared for each grant or contract. Upon notification and acceptance by the University of the award of a grant or contract the Office of Grant and Contract Administration will establish a project account. All budgets of the project account and other accounts affected by the project will be prepared to conform to the budget as proposed (or negotiated) and subsequently awarded by the sponsor with a copy forwarded to the appropriate department.

Allowable Costs. OMB Circular A-21 establishes the principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements. The principles provide that the federal government bear its fair share of the total cost, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, except where restricted or prohibited by law. OMB Circular A-21 is used to determine the allowability of costs on all federal projects. The PI/PD may be allowed more liberal guidelines with private funds, but the expenditures must still be reasonable and needed to support the project.

General Cost Guidelines. Costs must be reasonable. This is defined as the action a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances.

Costs must be allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods described in OMB Circular A-21. Any costs allocable to a particular sponsored agreement may not be shifted to other sponsored agreements to clear an overdraft or for other reasons of convenience.

Costs must be given consistent treatment through the application of generally accepted accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances.

Costs must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as to types or amounts of cost items.

The following checklist is presented as a general guideline of costs that are usually allowable. Any special conditions are noted.

    
Direct Cost Allowances and Disallowances

The principal investigator is responsible for ensuring expenditures are valid and allowable according to the terms of the grant or contract. However, there are several reasons for cost disallowances. Some of the most common are:

Pre-Award Cost. Incurring costs prior to the start date of the grant or contract without the sponsor's permission.

Furniture & Office Equipment. Buying office furniture or general-purpose equipment such as calculators, computing and data processing devices, refrigerators, or air conditioners without prior approval of the sponsoring agency.

Delaying Effort Certification. Delaying return of the Personnel Effort Report.

Transfers. Transferring expenditures from one grant to another to correct for cost overruns or avoid unexpended balances.

Late Expenditures. Spending money for major equipment purchases during the last 90 days of the grant or using unexpended balances within the last 60 days of the grant account to stockpile supplies for unnecessary miscellaneous costs, or for other excessive spending.

Unrelated Cost Sharing. Sharing costs to the grant unrelated to the grant. For example, travel costs of faculty not named on the grant, salary costs for effort performed on other projects, or reimbursing a department for deficits incurred on an earlier grant.

Excessive Effort Charges. Charging more effort to the grant than was actually committed to the grant.

Unapproved Travel. Charging foreign travel to the grant without prior permission from the sponsor or exceeding allowed travel by more than $500 or 125 percent of awarded travel budget item, whichever is greater, without permission.

Unapproved Subcontracting. Subcontracting for services without recipient and sponsor approval.

Project Director Absence. Absence of the project director for more than three months without notifying the sponsoring agency 30 days prior to the absence.

Project Director Changes. Changing the project director without requesting permission from the sponsor.

Late Charges. Incurring costs after termination of the sponsored project.

Unauthorized Facilities & Administrative Costs. Transferring facilities and administrative cost to direct cost without recipient and sponsor approval.

Revenue Generation. Using project funds to generate income without prior sponsor approval and an agreement regarding the disposition of those funds.

Scope Changes. Changing the scope of the project without notifying the sponsor.

Excessive Rebudgeting. Excessively rebudgeting funds without sponsor approval; tolerance for rebudgeting generally ranges from 5 to 25 percent depending on sponsor rules.

Excessive Pay Rates. Authorizing a pay rate higher than base salary and/or consulting fees to recipient staff.

Unallowable Cost Summary. Unallowable costs include, but are not limited to, the following:

Specific questions should be directed to the Office of Grants & Contracts Administration

     
Budget Categories & Classifications

Project accounts are set up with the proposal budget as approved by the sponsor, (DEFINE: Command GB2). Some agencies allow considerable latitude to the PI/PD in changing original categories; others require authorization from the agency for changes. Most agencies have specific restrictions on equipment and travel.

Regents' Rules. Expenditures under any contact or grant must conform to the detailed budget, if any, included in the proposal for such contract or grant, as such budget may be amended by authorized procedures. Reference Regents' Rules 13.02 (29 Aug 96)

UTSA Policy. All grant and contract proposal budgets shall comply with the applicable regulations of the intended funding organization and with the fiscal and personnel policies of the University.

All proposal budget items must satisfy three basic tests: allowable, reasonable and necessary as defined in OMB Circular A-21. A cost is allowable if it is within the applicable regulations or has been approved by the funding agency. A cost is reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired and the amount involved thereof, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made. A cost is considered necessary if it is required to successfully and satisfactorily complete the project.

A proposed budget must be based upon a "good faith estimate" of the anticipated costs. A proposal budget may not include false, inaccurate or misleading cost information. The cost estimates cannot be simply fabricated, but must have a reasonable basis.

Any personnel positions in a proposal budget must use the established University personnel job titles, pay scales and appropriate employee benefits.

Administrative Stipends.
Federal Policy. Supplemental administrative stipends which result in an increase to the base salary are not allowable in accordance with OMB Circular A-21.

Fees for Research Consulting: UT San Antonio Employees
OMB Circular A-21. Compliance with the requirements of currently applicable Federal Guidelines, in particular OMB Circular A-21, is mandatory for payment of research consulting fees to UTSA employees from federal grant and contract funds. According to OMB Circular A-21, intra-university consulting is assumed to be undertaken as a university obligation requiring no compensation in addition to full-time base salary. This principle also applies to faculty members who function as research consultants or who otherwise contribute to the work under a sponsored agreement which is under the direction of another faculty member of the same institution.

Exceptions to OMB Circular A-21 guidelines are restricted to unusual cases which may dictate and/or justify a different treatment; however, to be considered as an unusual case the work performed must very clearly be across departmental lines or must involve grant or contract activities or operations at separate or remote operations and the nature of the work to be performed by the employee must be as a research consultant, and the work performed by the consultant is in addition to his/her regular departmental workload. Such work must be clearly beyond the scope of service that can reasonably be expected of the faculty member. Such consulting arrangements require the prior written approval of the President or his/her designee and must be specifically authorized in the grant or contract agreement or specifically approved in writing by the sponsoring agency.

The basis for computing charges to sponsored projects will be the faculty members budgeted academic salary rate as reflected in the institutions annual Operating Budget. This principle must be consistently applied to all faculty members of the institution and charges to sponsored projects may not exceed the proportionate share of the faculty members budgeted salary attributable to administration/management of the contract or grant. The basis for computing the charge for a faculty members services must be documented when it is submitted for approval. The estimated number of days and/or hours of the faculty members time must be provided, and the proposed "rate" must be consistent with the faculty members budgeted academic salary rate. The estimated number of days and/or hours of the faculty member's time must be provided and the proposed rate must be calculated dividing their academic rate by 1560 hours to get an hourly rate.

UTSA Policy. Fees for research consulting in addition to full-time or part-time salaries, shall not be paid to institutional employees, except in cases where unusual circumstances justify such payments as determined by the President or his/her designee. In most cases of research consulting, the unit or program requesting such consulting, especially if it is to require more than minimal involvement should make every effort to provide release time for the consultant. In such cases, the consultant would not receive direct compensation but the consulting would be considered a part of his/her normal institutional workload.

Justification. When supplemental payments are justified, such payments must be fully documented outlining the duties, duration, and compensation proposed. All such payments to institutional employees must be approved in advance and paid through the AUTHORIZATION FOR SERVICES AGREEMENT. No such duties are to be undertaken until approval has been received from the Vice President for Business Affairs. Such payments are subject to applicable IRS regulations regarding withholding taxes, and also subject to other payroll fringe benefits deductions and payroll charges, as appropriate.

The employees immediate supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the employee is satisfactorily performing those duties and responsibilities for which the employee is being compensated on either a full-time or part-time basis.

Certification & Procedural Requirements for Supplemental Pay to UTSA Employees from Sponsored Programs for Research Consulting. To obtain prior written approval for such services in advance the AUTHORIZATION FOR SERVICES AGREEMENT must be completed along with appropriate documentation and submitted through administrative channels to the Office of the Vice President for Business Affairs not less than five (5) working days prior to the date on which the proposed services are to be provided. Individuals shall be selected on the basis of qualifications and expertise (considering the nature and extent of the services to be performed), and the statement of justification must document that the services are essential to the operations of the University. Written documentation of the individuals professional qualifications must be submitted with the AUTHORIZATION FOR SERVICES AGREEMENT.

A payroll voucher, with a copy of the form attached, must be submitted to the Payroll Office to initiate payment to the employee. The basis for computing the rate of payment must be shown on the Authorization for Services Agreement form. Reference UTSA Administrative Handbook of Operating Procedures 4.7 (14 Apr 99)

Fees for Research Consultants: Individuals Who Are Not UTSA Employees
UTSA Policy. When a proposed consultant contract will exceed $15,000.00, special handling is required as specified by the Governor's Budget and Planning Office (GBPO) to include: notification to the GBPO, publication of a Request for Proposals in the Texas Register, as well as publication of selected consultant, also in the Texas Register.

For all consultant contracts less than $15,000 an Authorization for Services Agreement form must be completed and submitted to the Office of the Vice President for Business Affairs not less than five working days prior to the date on which the services are to begin. Written documentation of the individual's professional qualifications must be submitted with the form. Additional approvals may be required if the consultant is a State employee.

If the consultant is an employee of another component of the University of Texas System, written approval must be obtained in advance from the President of UTSA that it is in the best interest of UTSA to hire this consultant. The arrangement must also be approved in advance and in writing by the President of the institution which regularly employs the consultant. Failure to request written approval of either President in advance (15 working days) of the date on which the service is to begin may result in disapproval by either President and consequently in non-payment.

If the consultant is an employee of another Texas public institution (non-UT component) or a Texas State Agency, written approval must be obtained in advance from the Vice President for Business Affairs and the Chief Administrative Officer or the Chief Financial Officer of the State Agency or institution which regularly employs the consultant.

For all consultant contracts less that $15,000 the following forms are required.

Required Processing Forms.

Approval Form ** Sign-Up Payment Form Payment Form & Method
Employees paid as consultants Authorization for Services Agreement None Payroll Voucher semi-monthly Payroll
External consultants Authorization for Services Agreement None Local Finds Voucher; When processed

** These forms must be submitted and approved PRIOR to performance.

Equipment. The Federal definition of equipment is an item having a useful life of one year and an acquisition cost equal to the capitalization threshold used by the institution or $5,000.00 whichever is less. Equipment is defined by the State of Texas as any single item costing over $5,000.00, with a useful life of one year; therefore, at UTSA, equipment is an item having a useful life of one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000.00. Any item that must be added to another piece of equipment is also regarded as equipment.

General purpose equipment and all items over $5,000 need to be specifically identified in the budget. General purpose items are items useful for purposes other than scientific research. Examples include: office equipment, reproduction and printing equipment and automatic data processing equipment.

Equipment screening forms must be attached to all Purchase Requisitions for each item with a unit cost of $5,000 or more. Equipment becomes the property of the University unless the grant or contract specifies otherwise. All equipment must be tagged and accounted for on the annual inventory. University-owned property may be removed from the campus and other University facilities to be used in conducting official business of the University. Such property may not be used for personal business. A "Removal of Equipment from University Campus" form must be completed, signed by the Director or other comparable official and sent to the Inventory Office.

If a PI/PD transfers equipment to UTSA from another institution, all pertinent paperwork from the former institution must be submitted to the Inventory Office. The equipment will be appropriately tagged and placed on the University's inventory.

If a PI/PD wishes to transfer equipment to another institution, a written request must be submitted to the Provost, through the Division Director and the Dean, with a copy to the University's Property Manager. A list of the equipment should be attached to include the inventory number, description, acquisition cost, year the items were acquired and the account number from which the items were purchased. The letter should also include the name of the receiving institution and the name and title of the official authorized to receive the property. If the equipment was purchased on a currently active grant, which is also being transferred to another institution, a letter from the granting agency authorizing the transfer is also required. The equipment may not be removed from the University premises until approval has been received from the Provost and the University's Property Manager.

Disposition instructions for equipment purchased with Federal funds are published in OMB Circular A-110. The disposition of such equipment must be controlled and documented to insure compliance with Federal regulations. In some cases, compensation may be due to the original awarding agency. If title for the equipment vests in the University, the University may use the equipment in the project or program for which it was acquired as long as needed, whether or not the project continues to be supported by Federal funds; the University may use the equipment in connection with its other federally sponsored activities, when no longer required for the original project; the University may use the equipment to be replaced as trade-in or sell the equipment and use the proceeds to offset the costs of the replacement equipment, subject to the approval of the Federal awarding agency; and when the University no longer needs the equipment for Federal programs, the equipment may be used for other activities if the current fair market value is less than $5,000.00, no further interaction with the Federal agency is necessary; however if the current fair market value is $5,000.00 or more, the University may retain the equipment, provided that compensation is made to the original Federal awarding agency or the University may request disposition instructions from the awarding agency.

Fringe Benefits. Fringe benefits are budgeted as an estimated percentage of salaries, but are charged directly as an actual expense. Fringe benefit rates are available from the Office of Grants & Contracts Administration. These rates are for budgeting purposes only. All grants and contracts will be charged for actual fringe benefits incurred.

Fringe benefits are the most difficult category to budget properly since the rate is an estimate. It is very important for good project management to closely monitor the fringe benefit subaccount. If the budget estimate was not accurate, a surplus or deficit may develop. Surplus funds in this subaccount may be transferred to another subaccount and a deficit must be covered by funds from another subaccount, provided that the sponsoring agency has no restrictions prohibiting the transfers. Transfers must show the calculation which determines the amount of surplus funds, and contain a statement certifying that if this transfer actually results in a future deficit, the fringe benefits and associated salaries will be transferred to another account. If this transfer is to another 26 account, the work performed must have also benefited that account.

Actual salary and fringe benefit charges can be viewed on-line by account number (GT1), and by voucher (GT2).

Petty Cash. Authorized employees may be reimbursed for purchases of $50.00 or less through the Bursar's Office. Specific rules govern petty cash reimbursements as follows.

Each purchase must not exceed $50.00 in total. "Each Purchase" is defined as the total amount purchased at a given store on a single trip to that store. Making several trips to a given store or making trips to several stores to avoid compliance with the $50.00 limit violates the intent of the rule and is not allowable.

State and Local Sales Tax cannot be reimbursed. A Tax Exempt Certificate may be obtained from the Accounting Office for presentation to the vendor.

Original receipts must be submitted to the Bursar. Obtaining several receipts for less than $50.00 each to avoid the "Each Purchase" limitation is not allowable; even if these receipts are submitted to the Bursar on different days, by different individuals or charged to different accounts.

Purchases that do not qualify for reimbursement through petty cash include travel expenditures, items that will not remain the property of UTSA, and food and entertainment expenditures.

Salary. UTSA Policy. OMB Circular A-21 requires that charges for work performed on sponsored agreements by faculty members must be based on the individual faculty member's regular compensation which constitutes the basis of his/her salary, i.e., the faculty member's budgeted academic rate. In no event may charges to sponsored agreements exceed the proportionate share of the base salary for the period covered.

Budgeted salaries and wages for non-faculty employed on grants and contracts must agree with the payroll plan currently in effect at UTSA. Employees on grants and contracts are considered to be State employees and are entitled to State mandated pay increases.

Personnel Action Forms (PAF's) either paper or electronic must be used to appoint both faculty and non-faculty employees to grants or contracts.

State employees are also entitled to Career Incentive (Longevity Pay) which is not reflected in an employee's gross annual salary. An appropriate amount should be budgeted as follows:

Months of State Service
36 to 71
72 to 107
108 to 143
144 to 179
180 to 215 and so on 		 Monthly Longevity
$ 20
$ 40
$ 60
$ 80
$100

Once an award has been funded, questions regarding the hiring of personnel should be directed to Human Resources. The following chart show the forms required for processing new employees:

Required Processing Forms.

Approval Form ** Sign-Up Form Payment Form & Method
Regular Employees Personnel Action Form (PAF) Sign-Up in Human Resources Hourly-payroll voucher; Semi-monthly Payroll Monthly-automatic
Part-time Employees Personnel Action Form (PAF) Temporary Employee Packet Payroll Voucher; Semi-monthly Payroll
On-call Employees Personnel Action Form (PAF) Temporary Employee Packet Payroll Voucher; Semi-monthly Payroll
Occasional Employees Occasional Employee Packet Occasional Employee Packet Payroll Voucher; Semi-monthly Payroll

** These forms must be submitted and approved PRIOR to performance.

Payroll appointments are verified to insure that the account has sufficient funds to cover the appointment; and that the appointment period falls within the project period. Personnel cannot be appointed before the beginning date or beyond the expiration date of the project. These dates can be changed only if an approved modification has been issued by the sponsoring agency.

Electronic Personnel Action Forms (PAF's) may be used to appoint employees to grants or contracts. However, electronic documents may not be used for retroactive corrections. Please contact Human Resources for information on electronic appointment documents.

Subcontracts. In most cases, subcontracts require prior approval by the sponsoring agency. The Terms and Conditions governing subcontracts should be discussed in advance with the Office of Grants and Contracts Administration.

Travel. Travel regulations published by the University in the "Travelers Aid" must be followed regardless of the source of funds. Reimbursement for food and lodging is calculated on a per diem basis. Therefore, written approval from the sponsoring agency is required if reimbursement is requested for travel costs in excess of the published rates.

The rates published by the University allow $30 for meals and $80 for lodging per day in the state of Texas. Outside the state, the limits are set by the federal government and vary by locality. These rates are available in the *DEFINE system (Command: GG1). Federal funds cannot be used to make trips to secure additional funding.

Travel Authorization forms must be processed in advance.

If foreign travel is anticipated it must be specified and approved in the proposal budget. The UT System rules for foreign travel approvals must be followed.

Travel vouchers should be completed for reimbursement of travel expenses for employees and students. Scholarship/Fellowship forms are not appropriate for travel costs.

Tuition and Fees. The University is not authorized to waive tuition and fees. If a particular grant program requires such a waiver, an alternate source of funding must be identified prior to the submission of the proposal.

    
Participant Costs

Whenever a sponsoring agency designates funds for participant costs, those funds cannot be re-budgeted or used for any other purpose. It is the responsibility of the PI/PD to insure that all funds labeled as participant costs are expended in compliance with the agencies' guidelines.

Stipends/Scholarships. Monthly payments, in the form of stipends/scholarships may be made to individuals enrolled as degree seeking students. The stipend/scholarship must support the student's participation in an educational project or experience directly and demonstrably related to completion of the degree. PI's and PD's should budget for research assistant or research associate salaries and fringe benefits (rather than stipends) except in those cases where the nature of student participation is clearly intended as training experiences directly related to degree programs and where grant policies and objectives favor the use of stipends.

  1. The PI/PD must complete a "Scholarship Notice of Award" form for each student. These forms are available from the Office of Grants and Contracts Administration. The form requires an acceptance signature of the student and should be routed through the Scholarship Office. The form states that no employer-employee relationship exists between the student and the sponsoring agency or the university.
  2. It is the responsibility of the PI/PD to insure that monthly scholarship/loan vouchers are prepared and submitted to the Office of Accounting. A copy of the "Scholarship Notice of Award" should be attached to the voucher. If a specific research or training program allows students to receive summer payments, even though the student is not enrolled during the summer, the payment voucher, as certified by the PI/PD, must contain the statement "Student not required to be enrolled during the summer." Students are required to pick up scholarship checks at the Bursars'.

Tuition and Fees. Tuition and Fees for participants in a particular program may be charged directly to the grant account.

  1. Prior to registration, the Bursar must be notified, in writing, of the names and social security numbers of the participants. Also required is the name and account number of the program to be charged, as well as any restrictions governing the allowability of the charges (e.g. - parking fees, ID card, specific courses, etc.)
  2. If the required information is not available prior to registration, please discuss the situation with the Bursar to avoid delays/problems with the registration process.
  3. It is the PI/PD's responsibility to notify the Bursar and the Office of Grants and Contracts Administration whenever a participant withdraws from the program or is otherwise ineligible for tuition coverage.

Participant Support. Generally these funds are used to purchase supplies, books and student meals when allowable.

  1. Routine purchasing rules apply to the purchase of supplies.
  2. Participants may charge text books at the UTSA Bookstore. The PI/PD should request the appropriate book charge forms from the Bursar. The PI/PD completes these forms and provides them to the participants. The Bookstore will submit their charges to the Bursar for posting to the grant account. It is the responsibility of the PI/PD to insure that specific charges do not exceed the allowable amount per student.

Participant Travel. The University's travel rules and regulations apply to participants as they do to faculty and staff. Special arrangements for students may be made through the Office of Accounting as circumstances dictate. Please contact Accounting as early as possible in your planning process. Generally, the following procedures will apply:

  1. Hotel arrangements should be made on a Purchase Order through Purchasing.
    1. If the hotel will not accept a Purchase Order, the faculty member who is accompanying the students, can request an advance from the Accounting Office. The faculty member will be required to sign a promissory note for the funds advanced.
    2. If a faculty member is not accompanying the students, the students may request advances from the Accounting Office. The students will be required to sign promissory notes.
  2. The PI/PD should request a meal allowance for each student through the Accounting Office. This is done using a Petty Cash Voucher and funds are drawn from the Bursar. Please give the Bursar as much notice as possible so that the funds will be ready in the denominations needed. The meal allowance is based on the per diem of the designated city; therefore, the students are not required to turn in receipts for food. It is the responsibility of the PI/PD to prepare a sign-up sheet and have each student sign for the funds when distributed by the PI/PD. The sign-up sheet must be returned to the Accounting Office to clear the Petty Cash Voucher.

    
Cost Sharing

The following guidelines should be observed in preparation of budgets to support applications, proposals, and contract agreements:

General. The University recognizes in many cases work performed resulting from grants and contracts serves the objectives of the University as well as the sponsor; therefore, through the University's cost participation in such projects, the concept of mutual benefit is reflected. As defined by OMB Circular A-110, this is the portion of projects costs not borne by the federal government.

Costs are allowable to meet cost sharing requirements if they are verifiable from institutional records; are necessary and reasonable to obtain project objectives; are allowable under OMB Circular A-21, "Cost Principles for Educational Institutions;" are not charged either directly or indirectly to any other project supported by the same sponsor (all federal agencies are considered as a single sponsor); and the basis for determining the value of non-cash items must be documented.

UTSA Policy. Cost sharing required by federal agencies must represent more than a token amount (normally defined as one percent or less of total project cost). Proposals showing cost sharing at a significant level (greater than five percent of total project costs ) must be adequately justified and approved by both the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or his designate, and the Vice President for Business Affairs. When not required by the sponsor, a proposed commitment by the University to defray part of the project's total costs, including the waiver or partial waiver of indirect costs as matching, will not be approved unless adequate justification in writing is presented to and subsequently approved by the two previously designated vice presidents. Decisions regarding the use of University funds for matching commitments are made on the basis of a number of criteria, including, but not limited to, budgetary concerns, academic priorities, relevance of the proposed project to the mission of the University, strategic initiatives and new program development.

Prior approval from the University administration is required before any proposal committing cost sharing or matching funds can be submitted to a sponsoring agency. The nature and extent of cost sharing or matching funds must be clearly outlined in the proposal, explained on the "Request for University Matching Funds" form and noted on the proposal routing form, "Grant and Contract Proposal Review and Approval". This notation must identify the source of funds to be used and must be signed by the University official responsible for the funds.

Methods of Cost Sharing. Any one, or a combination of, methods may be listed as proposed partial support of project costs including the reduction of allowable indirect costs; the reassignment of other departmental funds to the direct support of a sponsored project; a statement of support (cash or in-kind) from an agency external to the University; and revenue generated from project activity, such as registration fees.

Funds from other funding organizations may be used for matching if allowed by both funding organizations.

Responsibilities of Principal Investigators/Project Directors. The PI/PD must ensure that cost sharing and matching funds are appropriately expended as proposed to and accepted by the sponsoring agency, and they must provide the Office of Grants and Contracts with adequate documentation to support the use of cost sharing and matching funds.

Cost Sharing Records. The Office of Grants & Contracts Administration will ensure adequate documentation of departmental cost sharing records are maintained and reported in accordance with sponsor requirements.

Arrangement of Matching Support. To ensure the most efficient and effective use of the University's resources, requests for matching funds and indirect cost reductions must be reviewed early in the proposal planning process. An appropriate review cannot be conducted nor an informed decision made in haste to meet an external agency's deadline.

As early in the proposal writing stage as possible, the principal investigator or project director must establish a dialogue with the appropriate institutional administrators to review the commitments needed for a specific project. Advanced knowledge of the extent to which the University is able to support a given project will benefit the principal investigator or project director in addressing the scope of the project. Early discussions will provide the approving authority with the time needed to seriously review the request; and if necessary, to explore any alternatives which may be available to provide support to the proposed project.

To this end, principal investigators or project directors will submit a memorandum to the Vice President for Business Affairs, through their Division Director, Dean, Director of Research Development, and the Associate Vice President for Research, as early in the planning stages of the proposal process as possible detailing the title of the proposal, the funding agency and submission deadline, amount of funds requested from the agency ( direct and indirect ), the type of support requested from the University, timeframe during which funds will be needed, agency cost sharing requirements, and any commitments from the division or college.

Course Release Matching Support. Beginning immediately, the automatic course release that is given to every faculty member each semester for research and service should be used for matching funds that the university must provide. Whenever the course release alone is not sufficient for matching funds, other resources (e.g., equipment, course releases) can be negotiated with the Associate Vice President for Research and Vice President for Business Affairs. The automatic course release, however, should be the first component in any match whenever possible. Please note that this policy does not preclude course buyouts (we encourage these) or even additional course releases from the university when they are available, nor does it affect summer salary in any way. It is simply an attempt to stretch our limited resources and use them in the most efficient way possible.