Internal Funding

University Policies

University Research
Council

Minigrants

Faculty Research Grants

Research Development
Program Grants

Information For Recipients

Faculty Salaries (FRG awards)

Long Semesters – As a recipient of a Faculty Research Grant , you are expected to commit a sufficient amount of time during the academic year to the project to ensure successful outcomes, as detailed in your grant application. Extra compensation is not provided for this effort.

Summer Sessions – Summer salaries are provided for faculty members who requested compensation for a summer term in their grant application. During this time period, the faculty member is considered a regular salaried employee of the university and is subject to all applicable policies and procedures. This includes adhering to a 40-hour work week. Personnel Action Requests (PARs) for summer salaries must be completed by the faculty member’s department.

Faculty Salaries (RDP awards)

Compensation may be provided to faculty members based on the conditions of their award. The faculty member is subject to all applicable university, state and federal policies and procedures. Personnel Action Requests (PARs) for summer salaries must be completed by the faculty member’s department.

Graduate / Student Assistants
Graduate Assistants - Personnel Action Requests (PARs) must be completed for salaried graduate students (students with assistantships) paid from research accounts.

• Graduate Assistants must be identified correctly on the PAR based on their principal assignment (not the purpose of the grant)
• Research = GRA, 1520
• Administrative = GAA, 1530
• Teaching = GTA, 1430

Student Assistants - Project directors/account managers should contact Student Employment to complete the necessary paperwork to employ student assistants. The research account from which a student assistant is to be paid should be indicated on the employment card. Payroll will send student time sheets to the appropriate department for completion every pay period.

• Additional Information
  Student Employment
  Human Resources (PAR Processing)

Accounts
All Research Development Program (RDP) grant and Faculty Research Grant (FRG) recipients, and some minigrant recipients, receive their own research account. These accounts begin with "1837" (RDP) or "114" (FRG and minigrants), and are indicated in award letters. If you have your own research account, you are listed as the account manager in the SFA accounting system and are responsible for ensuring the expenditures are appropriate to your award and are in compliance with university purchasing policies. Monthly statements of account activity are available through MySFA. You can also view your account using the online Financial Records System (FRS). Typically, the person in your department who has purchasing authority (i.e., the administrative assistant) also can log in to the FRS to view your account activity. ORSP and the grants accountant, Letiticia Hamilton, also can assist you in monitoring your account.

Account Viewing Information - FRS
FRS Screen 019 - Account Summary
FRS Screen 023 - All Account Transactions
Training is available for FRS Accounting

Budget Changes
Any changes to your award budget, including transferring funds between line items or using funds for an alternate purpose, must be approved by Dr. Carrie Brown, Director of ORSP. Please submit all such requests to Susan Jones in ORSP for processing.

Purchasing
Typically, the person in your department who has purchasing authority can enter requsitions on your behalf to be charged to your research account. ORSP staff will approve requisitions to verify that the expenditures are appropriate and are in compliance with the award. Please notify ORSP of the requisition number and our staff will expedite the approval process. FRS Purchasing Manual

P-Cards
P-Cards for FRG accounts may be obtained; however, care must be exercised to make sure purchases are allowable on P-Cards and appropriate accounting procedures are followed. P-Cards should not be used for Research Development (1837 account) expenditures.

Food Purchases
With the exception of perdiem associated with travel, food and beverages CANNOT be purchased from internal grant accounts.

Reimbursements
In the rare event that you need to use personal funds to purchase items budgeted for your project, you should ensure you have documentation and/or receipts of these expenses. This documentation should be provided to the person in your department who has purchasing authority so he or she can enter a requisition for your reimbursement (you are indicated as the vendor). The documentation then should be forwarded to Accounts Payable for final processing.

Travel
The purpose of the travel must have been approved as requested in your application and/or award notice. Anyone traveling on university business must obtain permission in advance of the trip. A travel request must be completed before travel and routed for appropriate signatures. This ensures that funds are encumbered against the appropriate accounts. Upon return from a trip, a travel voucher must be completed in order to receive reimbursement approved in the request. Foreign travel must be approved by the chair of the Board of Regents; requests for foreign travel must be submitted to the Provost's office.

TRAVEL is not allowed on Research Development (1837) accounts, except for the use of SFA vehicles.

Awards for travel are often paid directly from an ORSP account. In these instances the travel request AND voucher must be submitted to ORSP (Box 13024) for the account manager's approval.

Additional Information - Travel Office

Equipment Purchases
Equipment, non-capitalized equipment and supplies (such as computers, cameras, printers) purchased with grant funds remain the property of SFA.

Final Reports
All internal grant recipients must complete an interim and/or a final report, depending on the type of award (please refer to your award letter). For RDP and FRG awards and minigrants of $1,000 and over, a 3-5 page report is required. For minigrants less than $1,000, a 200-word abstract describing the project outcomes and citing any resulting publications or proposal submissions and funding is required.

Results from previously funded internal grants will be considered in subsequent awards, as will the timeliness of the final report submission. Reports should be submitted to ORSP, PO Box 13024.