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Proposal Preparation Guide
The Office of Grant & Contract Administration (OGCA) is the authorized institutional office having sole responsibility for submitting proposals and applications to funding agencies on behalf of the faculty and staff of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. See Trustee Document T94-034. If in doubt whether a proposal must be submitted through OGCA, contact the proposal team for clarification. OGCA invites you to review this section and the rest of the homepage prior to crafting your proposal. If you have any questions about the grant's process, we encourage early contact with the OGCA Pre-award Administrator assigned to your proposal. A budget will ordinarily consist of Direct Costs (DC) and Indirect Costs (IC) See Basic Budget Building Tutorial, a Powerpoint tool that provides detailed step by step pointers on budget building. This is strongly recommended for new faculty, infrequent fliers of the proposal process, or those just seeking a refresher. Budget construction is often the most difficult part of the proposal. The difficulty arises because research itself is unpredictable; therefore, it is often difficult to estimate the resources needed to accomplish the project. The past experience of the principal investigator should serve as a guide for correct budget estimation. If new to the process, consult with a more senior colleague or contact your OGCA Pre-award Administrator for assistance. Budget Justification A well developed budget is accompanied by a budget explanation. A complete and realistic budget justification demonstrates that your project is well conceived. It also tends to minimize the chances that sponsors will arbitrarily reduce or eliminate budget categories. Sponsors have a good idea of what a project should cost, and generally know when you are over or under budgeting. The budget is reviewed by OGCA and the sponsor to verify that costs are reasonable, allowable, allocable and necessary to carry out the proposed project, and if it conforms to the sponsor's instructions. During award negotiations a budget is sometimes subjected to further analysis by the sponsor's audit staff. Thus it is important to maintain all the documentation and justification you can assemble for each cost element and category, in case the sponsor questions items and estimates. For newcomers to the process, consult with experienced faculty or staff within your department for advice, or contact the OGCA proposal team to discuss potential costing. Principal Investigators submitting proposals to fund the creation of Centers or Institutes must simultaneously submit a proposal to the Rules Committee of the Faculty Senate as the first step in a formal approval process. Please indicate on page 2 of the Internal Processing Form (IPF) that this step has or will take place. Awards will not be processed until the Center is formally approved. Commitments beyond the period of support Commitments beyond the period of support should not be included in a proposal unless it is required by the sponsor. In the event the commitment is required, please provide a letter from the department documenting support of the proposal's commitment to resources or funding beyond the life of the grant/contract, for examples: supporting fellows beyond that committed by the sponsor; or purchasing equipment; running a center or program. This letter should be signed by the individual authorized to commit funds for the anticipated costs. Third party Third Party contributions should not be part of a proposal unless required by the sponsoring agency. In the event of such a requirement, and if a non-UMass/Amherst third party pledges significant contributions to the project so that without that resource, the thrust of the project could be jeopardized, it is necessary to provide OGCA with a letter of support/commitment from the third party. This letter would provide some detail about the non-monetary resources committed at no cost and should be signed by the individual authorized to make such commitments (OGCA equivalent; contracting officer, business official, etc). Third party contributors should use this model Third Party Cost-Share letter on their official letterhead and have it signed by the authorizing official as noted above. Also see Cost-share. Confidential information should not be included in proposals unless necessary. If confidential matter or proprietary information is involved or uncertain in its definition, please bring it to the attention of the OGCA proposal team. For your protection, a proprietary rights legend should be added to the cover page of your proposal. Two versions are provided here for your consideration: 1)
This data shall be disclosed only to sponsor employees or outside evaluators
under contract to the sponsor and shall not be duplicated, used or disclosed
in whole, or in part, for any purposes other than to evaluate the proposal;
provided that, if an award is made to this offeror as a result of, or in
connection with, the submission of this data, the sponsor shall have the right
to duplicate, use or disclose the data to the extent provided in the contract,
grant or cooperative agreement. The data subject to this restriction is
contained on page(s): And mark each page that is to be restricted with the following: Use of disclosure of proposal data is subject to the restriction on the Cover Page of this proposal. OR when the proposal contains ideas and information that could lead to patent applications and stronger, more specific language is desirable, the following sample legend is recommended: 2)
This document, or portions of it, contains confidential information that is or
may become the subject of a United States patent application and that is
important to future commercial efforts based on such confidential information.
Accordingly, this document and the confidential information is exempt from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, Sections 552(b)(3) and (b)(4)
of Title 5 of the United States Code and corresponding regulations of United
States government agencies. Each page containing confidential information should be marked " CONFIDENTIAL" Also see Intellectual Property For potential conflicts of interest, see Policy on Conflict of Interest Relating to Intellectual Property and Commercial Ventures T96-039 or see Conflict of Interest in Research and Scholarly Activity Policy. Contact OGCA if unsure of conflict of interest potential. Perceived "Nepotism" Direct supervision of relatives, including spouses, must be fully justified and explicitly approved by the Chancellor's Office: Susan Pearson, Associate Chancellor. Payroll will not process these appointments without prior approval. Clearly disclose and justify any familial relationships in the proposal. Proposal can be sent prior to Chancellor’s Office approval, but award can only be processed when OGCA has received written approval from the Chancellor’s Office. PI must coordinate matters of nepotism or conflict of interest. Because the Internal Revenue Service issued findings against UM in a recent audit regarding the payment of individuals as consultants rather than employees (temporary), special consideration must be taken in the appointment of consultants. Please consider the following when budgeting:
The following guidelines are provided to assist in the determination of consultant status: Establishing control: To determine whether a worker is an employee or a consultant, you should apply the common law test of control. Under this test, if you have the right to control and direct what a worker does and how he or she does it, a relationship between you and the employee exists. In the absence of such control, a worker may be classified as a consultant. To determine whether control exists in an employer-employee relationship, the IRS uses the following 20 common law factors:
If the individual does not qualify as a consultant, see Temporary Employee If the collaborator's facilities (Industry or University) will be used preponderantly for that part of the research s/he is responsible for, the vehicle for funding is not a consultant’s contract but rather a subcontract. (see Subcontract) If the transaction is for a fixed service at a set fee, such as published "per analysis" costs, the procurement may qualify as a so-called Fee for Service in place of consultant appointments or subcontracts. If you are unsure as to how the worker should be classified, contact Human Resources for a ruling. All Contracts for Services are screened by Procurement prior to further processing. Questionable contracts are referred back to the requesting departments Maximum federal rate When applicable, the maximum federal rate for consultants shall not exceed the daily equivalent of the current maximum rate paid to an Executive Schedule Level IV Federal Employee. NSF enforces this maximum. A consultant’s fee should be consistent with the rate s/he charges other organizations for the same or similar services. Contracts are the most formal type of award. Under a contract, the sponsor supports clearly defined activities. Characteristics include:
See Grants, Cooperative Agreements, Fixed Price Contracts A financial assistance mechanism to be used in lieu of a grant when substantial Federal programmatic involvement with the recipient during performance is anticipated by the awarding office. The UM has two types of cooperative agreements, individual agreements and umbrella agreements. The UM has several umbrella cooperative agreements under which individual awards are issued for separate proposals. Often the standing umbrella cooperative agreements require budgeting at a reduced indirect cost rate. Consult with an OGCA Pre-award Administrator for assistance. Cost of Living Allowances (COLA’s) Salaries Budget 3% to 5% COLA’s for future years on multiple year projects. Some sponsors set limits on COLA's: NIH limits them to 3%. If the budgeted rate of pay exceeds the employee's current rate of pay by more than 5%, or is otherwise out of line with bargaining unit agreements, please provide an explanation. Are there any pending personnel actions? Since OGCA is required to assess reasonableness of cost, provide detail either in a note to OGCA or in the text of the proposal. The PI should be prepared with supporting documentation when sponsor award negotiation occurs in case any questions arise. For the latest bargaining unit contracts and information on COLA's and merit raises, visit Human Resources website. Curriculum fee Refer to OGCA's Fact Sheet for current COLA recommendations. Non-salary inflation factor Anywhere from 3 to 5% is also recommended. Some sponsors place limits on the rate of inflation built into the proposal – check sponsor guidelines for any restrictions Cost of living increases should not be applied to indirect cost (F&A) rates: use current (predetermined) rates or provisional rates as applicable – see rate agreement. Cost Restrictions on Federally Supported
Projects Administrative/Clerical Direct charging of administrative, secretarial or clerical salaries on federal funds is appropriate only where all of the following conditions are met:
Clarification: Account monitoring, meeting arrangements, or typing general correspondence or reports on behalf of a grant/contract would be considered the normal services to be provided by the University and treated as an indirect cost; consequently they would NOT be allowed as a direct cost. However, when administrative/clerical services involve extensive data collection literature/ library searches, analysis, surveying or similar services required for accomplishing the programmatic objectives of the grant/contract, such services may be direct charged. Also, if a grant/contract requires an extraordinary amount of normal services such as large, complex programs, admin./clerical services may be direct charged. Other examples are projects that require travel arrangements for large numbers of participants, such as conferences and meetings; projects whose principal focus is the preparation and production of manuals. Large reports, books and monographs (EXCLUDING routine progress and technical reports); projects that are geographically inaccessible to normal departmental administrative services; projects requiring project-specific database management or project- specific regulatory protocols. Review these sample secretarial justifications to get a flavor of allowability. Charging for administrative/clerical costs on federally funded projects is not normally allowable on Federal funds but if the criteria listed above is met, the position can be budgeted, but only at 25% effort or greater and justification must be provided in the proposal itself. If budgeting for less than 25%, a policy waiver request must be submitted to and approved by the Paul Kostecki Vice Provost for Research. Proposals containing secretarial expenses, whether temporary or permanent, require adequate justification. Federal regulations permit the direct charging of administrative and clerical costs only when the nature of the work performed under a particular project requires an extensive amount of administrative or clerical support which is significantly greater than the routine level of such services provided by academic departments. This type of expense may be appropriate as a direct charge to a grant/contract only when it clearly benefits/supports programmatic objectives. Examples would include research notebooks and computer paper used during the technical course of a project . Items such as pencils. paper clips, memo pads and post-its are normally considered an indirect cost and therefore not allowable as a direct charge. Reasonable judgment should be exercised when charging office supplies directly to a grant/contract because they are likely to be highly scrutinized during sponsor proposal review or during an audit. Postage The direct charging of postage to an award for purposes such as the shipment of materials, mailing of research surveys to human subjects and submitting deliverables is appropriate if reasonable care is taken to assure that such costs are for the sole purpose of the grant/contract and can be specifically identified and justified as such. Routine correspondence is considered to be an indirect cost and not an allowable direct charge. Telephone Service Toll calls are allowable if they are allocable to the project. However, local calls (including service) should not be included as a direct expense unless documented and justified to the project, i.e. that the nature and size of the project is such that the line is crucial for the successful execution of the project. Normally this will mean that the service is 100% dedicated to the project and no other use will be made of that line. Review these sample administrative cost justifications for a flavor of allowability. For further details on administrative cost restrictions, see Policy on Administrative Costs. Applicability: Applies to all federal and non-federal sponsored agreements. UMASS Policy & Procedure for Cost Sharing Definition of Cost Sharing: Cost Sharing is defined as the portion of the total project costs of a specific sponsored agreement that is borne by the Amherst campus (or in some cases, a third party), rather than the sponsor. Cost sharing normally represents a reallocation of departmental or school resources to partially support an externally sponsored project. Cost sharing on federal projects must be from non-federal sources. Examples of cost sharing include contributions of personnel effort and associated fringe, equipment, tuition waivers, and the associated indirect cost. Should the Indirect Cost rate the sponsor allows be lower than the University’s negotiated rate, the difference between the two rates may also be used as University cost share. In the event of an indirect cost waiver from the Vice Provost for Research, those indirect costs may also be cost shared. Cost sharing is classified as either mandatory or voluntary. Cost sharing that is classified as "mandatory," is a written requirement of the sponsor, and the ability to apply for and receive an award is contingent upon the campus's willingness to comply with this requirement. Cost sharing is classified as "voluntary" when it is not a requirement of the sponsor and the campus voluntarily proposes to cost share an expense, whether it is included formally in the budget or, included within the text of the proposal. Voluntary cost share also includes situations where a commitment is not made in a proposal, but the campus absorbs costs which directly benefit the project. It should be noted that UMass policy does not allow for the inclusion of voluntary cost share in proposals unless the Principal Investigator has the approval of the Vice Provost for Research to include such voluntary cost share. An agreement to cost share, whether voluntary or mandatory, represents a commitment, subject to audit, of the Amherst campus to provide the stated services or assets during the performance of the project. Principal investigators are urged to discuss proposed cost-sharing arrangements well in advance of submission of the sponsored agreement proposal with their department chair and pre-award staff of the Office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA). UMASS Policy & Procedure for Cost Sharing Guidelines
When is Cost Sharing Permissible? Mandatory Cost-Sharing: Although mandatory cost sharing was eliminated as a requirement by the National Institutes of Health in the eighties, mandatory cost sharing is still a requirement of some private and government sponsors. Mandatory cost sharing can include any direct cost budget item and indirect costs, depending upon the specific requirements of the sponsor. The campus accepts mandatory cost sharing requirements when the following conditions have been met:
Non-Mandatory or Voluntary Cost-Sharing: It is the policy of the Amherst campus to assume a cost-sharing commitment only when required by the sponsor or by the competitive nature of the award, and then to cost share only to the extent necessary to meet the specific requirements. Unnecessary cost-sharing adds an administrative cost and burden to the principal investigator, the department, the Controller’s Office, and other administrative functions on campus due to the need for creating an adequate and auditable paper trail for those costs. Undocumented or improperly documented cost-share leaves UMASS vulnerable to audit findings. Principal investigators are strongly encouraged to request reimbursement of the total anticipated costs of a project in the proposal budget. Proposals which voluntarily offer to provide personnel effort of other resources at no cost to the sponsor are offering cost sharing which is generally discouraged by the campus. The campus accepts voluntary cost sharing on grant or contract proposals only when the following conditions have been met:
Cost share categories: The following categories for cost sharing are in order of preference for cost sharing commitments 1. Salaries Cost share of salaries is allowable for the portion of salary associated with any UMass employee's effort committed to the proposed project. Facts to consider:
Cost share of Graduate Research Assistant salaries typically represents real cash vs. the in-kind share of a faculty member's time. Take care not to sign up to what may turn out to be burdensome financial commitments for the department.
Only cost-share fringe that is associated with cost-shared salary. See the Fact Sheet for current rates. 3. Indirect Costs
Sample (Please note – 55% for the indirect rate in the following table is used for exemplary purposes only. For current UMASS Indirect rates, please see the Fact Sheet
Waiver of indirect costs: If indirect costs ordinarily charged to the sponsor are totally or partially waived by the Vice Provost for Research, or if the sponsor forbids the charging of indirect costs, the percentage value of the waived amount can be cost-shared - unless restricted by the sponsor. (See Indirect Costs, Variance. See below for sample calculation of the scenario where the indirect cost rate has either been waived or restricted by the sponsor. Contact the OGCA pre-award administrator responsible for the sponsor in question if any questions arise. MTDC & TDC cost share issue When the indirect cost rate in effect for the sponsored program is less than the UM indirect cost rate, cost-share on the difference between the two rates can be utilized (see example below). Since the basis for the calculation of cost-shared indirect costs is always MTDC, the value of indirect costs assessed on the sponsor funded equipment and subcontracts - that portion of subcontracts in excess of $25,000 - are then subtracted from the shared amount of indirect costs (see example below). When the sponsor indirect cost basis is Total Direct Cost (TDC) and the Sponsor limits indirect costs to an amount less than UM rate for project type (i.e., 8%, 10%, etc), consider the following example where the sponsor only allows a 10% TDC rate. The example rate of 55% MTDC research rate is used for illustrative purposes in the UMass column. For current UMASS Indirect rates, please see the Fact Sheet
Explanation of indirect cost share: Sponsor budget:
UMass cost-share: Two components of shared indirect costs: I. Cost share indirect costs at the rate of 45% on the sponsor direct costs. This rate represents the sample rate of 55% MTDC rate for research less the rate allowed by the sponsor (10%). The base is $77,000 less $10,000 (equipment) = $67,000
The difficult part, because the overall project indirect cost cannot exceed our federally negotiated sample indirect rate at 55% MTDC, it's necessary to subtract the value of 10% of the equipment cost that is charged to the grant in the sponsor column.
II. Cost share indirect costs at the sample rate of 55% (MTDC) on the direct costs shared by UMass.
Total Indirect cost-share: $36,300 4. Equipment: Equipment can be cost-shared only if it meets the following criteria:
For those situations when the sponsor does not require matching funds on equipment and it is anticipated that the amount budgeted for sponsor support will only fund a portion of that equipment, please adhere to the following procedures:
If the Vice Provost approves inclusion of non-mandatory cost-share:
Contact the OGCA proposal team with any questions. 5. Tuition Cost share of tuition is allowable as long as graduate student(s) have a "working" vs. a "non-working" appointment. A "working" appointment results in the waiver of tuition and fees. "Non-working" appointments may result in tuition waivers as well. For help in defining "working" vs. "non-working" graduate appointments call the Graduate School Business Office for assistance and on the determination of graduate student appointments (5-5289) or see The Graduate School Homepage for the same. See the OGCA Fact Sheet for the current annual cost-share allowance for in-state and out-of-state tuition. This figure is the result of an audit worthy equation that blends the value of in-state and out-of-state rates since the graduate student’s residency is often unknown at the time of submission. Further considerations on Tuition:
6. Subcontractor If the budget includes a subcontract to another organization, that organization can include shared costs in their own budget if the following is observed:
Subcontractor cost share would be detailed in the subcontractor detailed budget and appear in the overall UMass budget as follows (dollar figures are hypothetical):
Further considerations on subcontractor shared costs from sample:
7. Third Party cost share Cost share from third-parties are not allowed unless specifically required by the sponsor. If the sponsor does not require it, or if the sponsor does not maintain written policies for the requirement or encouragement for third party cost share, then approval for the inclusion of the same must be secured from the Vice Provost for Research, Paul Kostecki. An email request should be submitted to the Vice Provost with a cc to Bruce McCandless. Contact the OGCA proposal team to discuss before submitting your waiver request to the Vice Provost. If the Vice Provost formally approves third party cost-share, the following considerations must be taken into account:
Documentation of Cost Sharing:
When such effort is committed in a sponsored project proposal, or is otherwise provided to a sponsored project, it must be identified and tracked on the annual effort survey. The campus is responsible for documenting to sponsors and auditors that the proposed expenses were actually cost shared. Each faculty or staff member who provides a cost sharing contribution to sponsored project(s) must identify the percentage of his/her effort from campus funding which is devoted to the project(s). The account number used to fund the cost shared effort is also identified on the effort survey. The campus computes the total cost sharing payroll and fringe benefit dollars related to sponsored research and then adds it to the research modified total direct costs for the indirect cost proposal.
The campus discourages cost sharing of other (non-payroll) expenses primarily due to the difficulty in documenting these types of costs. If cost sharing of other expenses is anticipated on a sponsored agreement, the principal investigator must provide an account reference and means of documenting the costs to OGCA. Annually and upon completion of the sponsored agreement the principal investigator must provide a report of cost shared expenditures to the Assistant Controller or designee for the Grant Accounting Section.
In kind contributions from non-university sources is only allowed in unusual circumstances. If allowed, documentation of the commitment from the non- university source must be provided with the submission of the proposal to OGCA. Should the project be awarded, the third party would be required to enter into a formal agreement with the University indicating its commitment to provide the University reports and supporting documentation on their contribution for auditing purposes. This fee must be budgeted in all grants that include graduate research assistantships or other GEO covered appointments. See Fact Sheet for current rates and use. The UMass curriculum fee provides the financing of student instruction, research, public service, and the support thereof. The curriculum fees are utilized in the same way that other institutions utilize tuition. For further substantiation of curriculum fee cost, see memo entitled Clarification Regarding the University of Massachusetts Amherst Graduate Student Curriculum Fee Waiver Charge Direct costs are those which can be directly attributed to the project Types of Direct Costs Salaries and wages, fringe, equipment, research supplies, consultants, subcontracts, maintenance contracts, and "other costs." Guidelines Costs must be 1) Reasonable, 2) Allocable to the project, 3) and Allowable Reasonable: "Padding", "cushion", or utilizing a "fudge factor" results in "defective cost-pricing". Gross defective cost-pricing can result in audit disallowances if the costs cannot be reasonably substantiated. Although it is difficult to predict the future development and direction of the majority of sponsored projects, especially research and development, it is therefore all the more important to provide the sponsor with adequate justification for each budget line item at the proposal stage. This will impress upon the review panel and the sponsor’s contracting/grants office that the costs are substantiated and directly linked to the needs of the project and therefore less prone to reduction or elimination at award stage. Costs should be based on current and accurate rates with reasonable increases for inflation or anticipated changes to the project, see COLA’s.With the advent and implementation of the Federal Government’s Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), costs must also be consistently treated across campus. Allocable: costs must be directly related to the sponsored project activity.Examples of unallocable costs:
Allocable solutions to the above:
Allowable: costs must be allowable according to the governing cost principles, the policies of the sponsor, and UM procedures. For federally supported projects, The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-21 is the document - other than sponsor guidelines - that determines allowability of cost. (see Cost Restrictions On Federally Supported Projects). OMB circular A-21 is not applicable to non-federal projects unless the UM is subcontracted to by a non-federal sponsor with flow through federal terms and conditions. Click here, to access OMB Circular A-21 for further discussion on direct costs on federally supported sponsored projects. Emeritus (retired) faculty are eligible to be principal investigators as long as both the Department Head and Dean sign the IPF. Salary charged to sponsor when combined with retirement salary cannot exceed the base annual salary upon retirement. If the Emeritus had an academic year appointment, summer salary can be charged to the sponsor without effecting the retired salary equation: retirement + sponsor funded salary = not greater than base salary upon retirement. Fringe is assessed on summer and academic salary as follows:
See fringe information on the Fact Sheet for current rates on Worker’s Compensation and FICA Emeritus Status is available only to those faculty who have permanently retired from the University. Normally, it is granted only to those with ten or more years of service to the University and who have attained the rank of full professor. Emeritus status is awarded by the Chancellor only upon recommendation by the Provost. Definition
The unit cost of a piece of equipment can be under $5,000 and still qualify as equipment if it's purchased simultaneously with accompanying pieces that together make up a total functioning unit valued at $5,000 or more. If it does not meet these criteria, it should be budgeted as supplies. Fabricated Equipment From time to time for reasons of cost efficiency, timeliness of delivery, non-availability or uniqueness of a particular piece of equipment, it may be necessary or advantageous for a research project to fabricate a piece of equipment rather than purchase the item. Fabricated equipment is exempt from indirect costs if all of the following apply:
Expenses related to the fabrication of equipment are exempt from indirect costs. Fabrication costs normally include a portion of salaries, fringe, supplies, and equipment items that should be separately budgeted from the rest of the budget. The portion of the budget assigned for fabrication costs should be footnoted on page two of the Internal Processing Form (IPF). See Policy for the Exclusion of Equipment Fabrication Costs from the Modified Total Direct Cost Base Fees must be approved by the UM Business Office and the Board of Trustees to be considered allowable. When a vendor provides a service for a set fee according to a published rate schedule routinely charged for same or similar items to all potential customer, the procurement may fall under the rubric "Fee for Service" as opposed to a Subcontract, or Consultant contract. Examples of fee for services have included items such as assay services, catscan services, MRI facilities use, aerial photography, etc. The vendor would not be responsible for conducting a portion of the research but simply provide a defined service for a set, published fee. Fee for service items should be budgeted under "Other". Fellowships are exempt from indirect costs. A fellowship ordinarily provides a subsistence stipend to help defray living expenses during the research training experience. Fellowships do not ordinarily require the execution of any specific research project or the provision of any deliverables. A true fellowship appointment would not include any fringe (GEO health fee). Sponsor may allow for charging the mandatory, non-waivable student fees to the fellowship. To clarify budgeting under fellowships, it's important to define whether the fellowship would be considered a working or non-working fellowship: The categorization of a Working Fellow vs. Non-working Fellow is a malleable thing. A Working Fellow generally works on a specific research project and generally needs to provide the sponsor with some kind of deliverable while a Non-working Fellow receives funding to support the student's dissertation research. Of course, the specific research project could overlap with the student's dissertation research exactly and thus the determination of WF/NWF falls in a grey zone subject to interpretation and the specific needs of the fellow. Check with your OGCA Pre-award Administrator for assistance. The administrator may seek further assistance in the process of defining the student as either WF or NWF from Josh Kroner in the Graduate School Business Office. Depending on the guidelines, the following charges are typically charged on either Working fellowships or Non-working Fellowships: If Working Fellow:
See Fact Sheet for current rates. If Non-working Fellow:
See Bursar's Office Fee Schedule for current rates. For current Summer health fee rate, contact Patient Services at the University Health Services at 577-1592. Institutional Allowance Sometimes provided in fellowships to help support the cost of training the fellow. UM practice is to deduct 8% of the total institutional allowances as indirect costs with the rest made available to the program with which it is associated. Check with your OGCA Pre-award Administrator for assistance on sponsor specific fellowship budgets. The majority of federal and non-federal sponsor forms are available on the web. Visit sponsor homepages
Check the Fact Sheet for latest fringe rates. For a sample budget demonstrating fringe use, see Basic Budget Building Tutorial Fringe The following items are charged to all working graduate student research assistant appointments:
See the Fact Sheet for current graduate student fringe rates. Rates subject to change. It's advisable to work off the webpage for rates rather than a printed hard copy which may stale. Use the Grad Student Fringe and Curriculum Fee Calculator, also available off of the Fact Sheet for a current calculation. Graduate student salaries Graduate student salaries vary on campus. See the Fact Sheet (Graduate Students) for current minimum rates for each College and major subdivision or consult with your bookkeeper or Department Head. Graduate Assistantships and Associateships are required to carry a stipend at a rate which is no less than the established minimum set for the campus. This amount may vary from year to year, depending on budgetary and other considerations. In lieu of guidance, budget a minimum 3% COLA from year to year. The Research Assistant is working in a professional capacity in work that is directly related to their degree; student hourly is for students who are engaged in clerical or other non-professional, non-research work. You may call the Graduate School Assistantship Office for further information (545-5287). Curriculum fee The curriculum fee is assessed on all graduate student appointments. It is only assessed on academic time worked on an hourly basis. Only academic time is assessed the fee, summer is exempt. Maximum number of hours charged per graduate student per academic year is 760 hours. See the Fact Sheet for current rates. Curriculum fee is always exempt from indirect costs regardless of whether the base is TDC or MTDC. This cost should be budgeted in "OTHER" not in "FRINGE". Use the Grad Student Fringe and Curriculum Fee Calculator, also available off of the Fact Sheet for a current calculation. Student hourly & fringe No fringe assessed except FICA if student is not enrolled in any classes. Tuition waiver In order to earn a tuition waiver, the student must earn a specific minimum salary. See memo on Assistantship Information to determine current minimum. A financial assistance mechanism whereby money is provided to carry out approved activities. A grant (as opposed to a cooperative agreement) is to be used whenever the awarding office anticipates no substantial programmatic involvement with the recipient during performance of the financially assisted activities. Grants are made to the UM on behalf of faculty and staff to perform a specific project. The sponsor generally supports the project as outlined in a proposal. Grant characteristics include:
See Cooperative Agreement, Contract Unless required by the sponsor, personnel effort and rates of pay should not be shown in an hourly format but rather on a percentage of effort basis. See Salaries for an example. If the sponsor requires effort and rate reporting in an hourly manner, add the following qualifier to the budget or budget explanation: "In accordance with OMB Circular A-21, any hourly rate stated is for information purposes only and not subject to audit. The University pays its faculty and staff on a salary base and any conversion to an hourly rate is for convenience." Definition Indirect costs, also known as overhead and more recently defined by the federal government as Facilities and Administration (F&A), are those costs that the UM incurs for common or joint objectives that cannot be identified easily with a particular project. Such costs are for UM facilities and services as a whole. The following are some examples of the pooled costs used by the University in determining its indirect cost rates: maintaining and operating a physical plant; utilities; general administration; library; use of capital assets; and staff services such as purchasing, payroll, grants and contracts, and accounting. See Section F of OMB Circular A-21 for more details. Application Indirect costs are assessed on the direct costs of the project -- including salary, fringe, supplies, administrative costs, travel, consultants, subcontracts, maintenance contracts, etc. Example based on research rate of 55% used on federal and industry sponsored research:
Important considerations: 1) Indirect cost rates vary according to the following factors:
For current rates by project type and sponsor type see the OGCA Fact Sheet. Indirect costs are assessed either on a Total Direct Cost (TDC) basis or a so-called Modified Total Direct Cost basis (MTDC). Check sponsor guidelines for direction. If the guidelines are inconclusive, please confer with the OGCA pre-award administrator assigned to that particular sponsor. Total Direct Cost basis (TDC) Important considerations:
Sample TDC budget: (10% Commonwealth of Massachusetts indirect cost rate used below is for illustrative purposes)
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