Frequently Requested Information

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1 SBS Grants and Contracts Frequently Requested Information Resource information from the gathered sources of NAU OGCS and College of SBS Grants and Contracts Office Stacy Wyman, Grants and Contract Administrator, College of SBS 8/1/2013

2 Budget Information Direct Costs Salaries and Wages 3 Calendar Calculations 4 Employee Related Benefits (ERE) 5-7 Facilities and Administration 8 Students 9 Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) Tuition 12 Insurance 13 Consultants 14 Equipment 15 Travel 16 Procurements 17 Subcontract Agreements (Subrecipient, Subaward, Subgrant) 18 Facilities and Administration Rates (F&A, Overhead, Indirect): Proposals to Sponsors Requiring 501(c)(3) Status 21 1

3 BUDGET INFORMATION Proposal budgets typically include direct and facilities and administrative costs (F&A). Direct costs are those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, or that can be directly assigned to such activities easily with a high degree of accuracy. Direct costs may include salaries, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, subcontracts, tuition, and operations as described below. To be eligible as a direct cost, a cost must be (1) allocable to the project; (2) allowable under the cost principles; and (3) charged consistently. For federal awards, OMB Circular A 21, Section J. contains an extensive list of allowable and unallowable expenditures ( For non federal awards, consult the proposal announcement. 2

4 DIRECT COSTS Salaries and Wages Faculty and staff wage rates are calculated based on the appointment period. Faculty contracts are typically 9 month academic year appointments whereas service professional contracts are renewed annually based on the July 1 June 30 fiscal year. Use the following table to calculate hourly, daily, or weekly rates: 3

5 Academic/ Fiscal / Calendar Year Work Period Calculations Academic Year: 38 weeks 190 days 1,520 hours Summer: 14 weeks 70 days 560 hours Fiscal/Calendar Year: 52 weeks 260 days 2,080 hours Faculty and exempt staff salaries on sponsored projects may only be paid as release or replacement salary to NAU unless supplemental salary is specifically allowed by the program. See consulting section below. 4

6 Employee Related Benefits (ERE); also called Fringe Benefits Employee related expenses (ERE) are rounded estimates based on the projected cost of health, dental, life, disability, FICA and medicare, unemployment, and retirement benefits relative to the employee's salary and/or wages, FTE, and election of benefits. The employee s ERE rate is calculated by dividing his/her salary by the total cost of his/her benefit package. A benefit rate calculator is available for these calculations: All voluntary benefits, including health, dental, vision, etc. are calendar year benefits (January 1st to December 31st). 5

7 Non benefit eligible employees (part time temporary) receive the following benefits: Workers Comp. (0.71%); FICA OASDI (6.20% on the first $113,600 earned for a maximum of $7,043); Medicare (1.45%) (no limit); and State Unemployment (.650% of the first $7,000 earned in a calendar year up to a maximum of $45 annually). Note: The State Unemployment information applies only to employees who work for NAU in Arizona; rates vary from state to state. 6

8 Benefit eligible employees receive the following additional benefits (FY13): Retirement 7% Optional Retirement Plans (ORP) (TIAA CREF, Fidelity, Valic 10.9% Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) (effective 7/1/2012) (Note: For retirees who return to work, include an additional.0864%; contact NAU Benefits for additional guidance) 36.81%, PSPRS (Public Safety Personnel Retirement System) Health $16,980 (Family); $12,652 (Employee + 1), $6,506 (Single) (based on BC BS rates) Note: a 5% annual escalation is included for health insurance coverage. Dental $164 (Family); $119 (Employee + 1); $60 (Single) (based on Delta Dental rates) Note: a 5% annual escalation is included for dental coverage Long term Disability 0.25% (ORP) (employer only) (revised 10/01/2009) 0.24% (ASRS) (employer) (revised 07/01/2012) Basic Life $0.90 per pay period ($23 annually) (revised 01/01/2012) Retiree Sick 0.4% (Funds are used to reimburse retiring employees for unused sick leave.) 7

9 Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs are those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily or specifically with a particular sponsored project normally including most administrative/clerical salaries, office supplies, basic telephone service, and routine postage in addition to other indirect costs (OMB Circular A 21, Section E.1). 8

10 Students: Students (graduate and undergraduate) who are enrolled full time pay only worker s compensation. If the student is not enrolled full time, the budget also should include FICA and Medicare. For budget estimates, assume that students are enrolled full time during the academic year (fall and spring) and part time, or not at all, during the summer. 9

11 Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) Compensation and Benefits A GRA appointment is a professional position which is compensated based on either an academic year (38 weeks) or a semester (19 weeks); it is not an hourly wage position. If a student is funded by more than one project, benefits should be charged to each sponsor proportionately to the amount paid by the sponsor. Specific information about GRA compensation and benefits is available from the Graduate College at The manual contains additional information about payments, including minimum levels. 10

12 Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) are eligible for tuition and insurance benefits. Note: (1) GRA tuition remission and health insurance costs that may be charged on sponsored projects are capped at the amounts provided by the University for state funded GRAs; and (2) benefits should be charged to each sponsor proportionately to the amount paid by the sponsor. Note: fees are not included in the GRA/GTA tuition benefit! 11

13 Tuition: Full time GRAs (20 hours per week) receive a 100% tuition remission benefit; part time GRAs (10 to 19 hours per week) receive a 50% tuition remission benefit. For AY 2012/13, full time GRAs (38 weeks, 20 hours per week or.5 FTE) will receive $7,560 per year ($3,780 for the 19 week Fall semester and $3,780 for the 19 week Spring semester); part time GRAs (10 19 hours per week) receive $3,780 per year ($1,890 for the 19 week Fall semester and $1,890 for the 19 week Spring semester). These are the actual AY12/13 rates; rates for future periods should be incremented 5% annually. 12

14 Insurance: Only full time (20 hours per week) GRAs receive the insurance benefit. The cost of insurance in AY 2012/13 is $1,612 (fall $623; spring/summer $989). This amount should be incremented 5% annually. 13

15 Consultants Consultants are outside experts whose expertise and skills will add value to a project; generally, faculty and staff should not be listed as paid consultants on a proposal submitted by their own institution. Consultant pay should be listed under services rather than included in the salaries and wages category. OMB Circular A 21 Section J.10(d) sets forth the limits of consultant or extra compensation (supplemental compensation) for an institution s own employees, including the requirements that the consulting work must be outside the individual s normal discipline and that approval must be explicitly granted by the agency. 14

16 Equipment NAU defines equipment as movable tangible property having a life expectancy of one year or more and a unit cost of $5,000 or more. See CMP : Capital Equipment for additional information on NAU s equipment policy available at 24.html. 15

17 Travel Travel rates are available at pdf Vehicle rental rates are available from Transportation Services 16

18 Procurements Less than $25,000: no formal quotes or bids are required, but the University requires written justification for the offer; $25,000 to $49,999: obtain phone quotes, faxed quotes, or informal written bids and document the results in the file; $50,000 or more: a RFP stipulating sealed bids is required. Procurement subcontracts should not be used to transfer programmatic effort to another institution. Consult Purchasing for specific guidance related to your proposal: 17

19 Subcontract Agreements (Subrecipient, Subaward, Subgrant) Subcontract agreements (also referred to as subrecipient, subgrant, or subaward agreements) are used to transfer programmatic effort to a collaborator. Agreements are negotiated by OGCS and a signed agreement or modification is required prior to issuing or increasing the amount of a purchase order. 18

20 Facilities and Administration Rates (F&A, Overhead, Indirect): Cognizant Agency: Division of Cost Allocation, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 347, San Francisco, CA The Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base for calculating indirect costs consists of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits (except tuition remission); materials, supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract). The MTDC base excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, student tuition remission, rental costs of offsite facilities, scholarships and fellowships, as well as the portion of each subgrant or subcontract in excess of $25,000. The new rate agreement was approved February 07, 2013 for the five year period ending June 30, The new rates are as follows: Effective Period Type From To Rate (%) Location Applicable to: PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Organized Research PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Organized Research PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Organized Research PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Organized Research PRED. 07/01/ /30/ Off Campus Organized Research PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Instruction 26.0 Off Campus Instruction PRED. 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Other Sponsored Activity PRED 07/01/ /30/ On Campus Other Sponsored Activity PRED 07/01/ /30/ Off Campus Other Sponsored Activity PROV. 07/01/2017 Until amended Use same rates and conditions as those cited for the fiscal year ending June 30,

21 The university s policy is to request our federally approved rates unless a different rate has been specified by the sponsor (documentation required). Exceptions (waivers or reduction of F&A) are VERY RARE and must be approved in writing by the Chair(s), Dean(s)/Director(s), and Vice President for Research. Requests must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the proposal deadline. When using NAU s federally approved rates, please include this or a similar statement in your budget justification: Indirect costs are requested at the (for example) 49% MTDC oncampus research rate in accordance with Northern Arizona University's approved Colleges and Universities Rate Agreement (February 7, 2013) (Cognizant Agency: Department of Health and Human Services). The Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base consists of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits; materials, supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract. The base excludes equipment, capital expenditures, student tuition remission, rental costs of off site facilities, scholarships and fellowships, as well as the portion of each subgrant or subcontract in excess of $25,000. If your proposal budget includes different rates, please provide a statement from the sponsor showing the allowable rate and base. 20

22 Proposals to Sponsors Requiring 501(c)(3) Status NAU and the NAU Foundation (NAUF) are tax exempt entities under separate codes of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). As a public entity, NAU is eligible to receive tax exempt charitable contributions under IRC 170(b), while the NAUF is eligible as a 501(c)(3) entity. OGCS and the NAUF work collaboratively to respond to grant announcements from foundations, with proposals submitted through the University unless the sponsor requires submission from a 501(c)(3) entity. In these cases, the NAU Foundation is able to submit the proposal and accept the award on behalf of the University. Depending on the terms and conditions of the award agreement, the award will be managed either by the Foundation or the University. Faculty and staff are requested to notify the Office of University Advancement prior to submitting a proposal to a foundation or corporate sponsor. Notification assures that the Foundation is aware of all potential submissions so that proposals can be managed to maximize gift funding. In limited cases, faculty may be requested to delay submission so as not to conflict with a planned or current solicitation. Note: Unless a sponsor does not allow facility and/or administrative costs, all proposals submitted through the NAU Foundation must include a 5% administrative fee. For awards managed by the University, the 5% administrative fee will be transferred to the University. Additional information can be found on the OGCS website, under the Proposal Development tab: 21

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES RATE AGREEMENT

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES RATE AGREEMENT EIN: 1316000989A1 ORGANIZATION: University of Cincinnati P.O. Box 210225 Cincinnati, OH 45221-0225 DATE:03/15/2017 FILING REF.: The preceding agreement was dated