It is the responsibility of the PI to charge expenditures to his/her sponsored program in strict accordance with the budget specified in the agreement. PIs should avoid incurring overdrafts on projects. The PI or designee should review each account’s financial status monthly. Detailed and summary financial project reports are distributed to PI’s. Financial information can also be reviewed online daily through the University’s Kuali Financial System (KFS). Accounts should be reviewed carefully for incorrect salary distribution, incorrect charges, and other errors.
Accounting statements can also be used as a management tool to determine the award balance available for expenditures, the spending level of each cost category (e.g., salary, travel, equipment), the status of open encumbrances, and any cost sharing commitments that must be fulfilled. Discrepancies should be followed up and resolved immediately. Any questions regarding an account statement should be directed to the project’s Grant Manager in SPS. The Grant Manager is there to help PIs manage their projects, and can provide a wealth of valuable assistance in this regard.
Program Income
Program income must be identified, appropriately documented, and the resulting revenue and expenses properly recorded and accounted for. Therefore, a separate account will be established by SPS in KFS to record program income. Program income funds should be utilized to cover project expenditures according to the program income treatment required by the award. If a portion of the income is the result of activities that are not directly related to the sponsored award, it is necessary to prorate the program income to identify the proportion attributed to the sponsored award. Program income earned during the project period should be expended prior to expending sponsored funds during the period of performance. Efforts should be made to avoid having unexpended program income remaining at the end date of the grant.
In the event a grantee has unexpended program income remaining at the end of an NSF funded grant, it must be remitted to NSF by crediting costs otherwise chargeable against the grant. If it is not possible to record the credit via ACM$ (NSF’s electronic system for drawing down funds from and crediting funds back to the NSF), the excess program income must be remitted to NSF electronically or by check payable to the National Science Foundation. See the Program Income Guidance for additional information.
Summer Salary Charged to Sponsored Projects Guidance
Please note this guidance is limited to the allowability of charges to sponsored project funds and does not address other University fund sources.
Salary and Corresponding Effort
Generally salary charged to a sponsored project has to correspond to effort devoted exclusively to the activities supported by the project. This is always the case with federal projects.
For example, if 100% of salary is charged to a sponsored project, then the individual being paid would be entirely committed to work on that project and would not have time to do other activities.
Activities which are typically unallowable to be charged to a federally sponsored project
Activities that are not directly in support of the sponsored project may not be part of the effort of charged to the sponsored project. These activities include but are not limited to:
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- Advising students (outside the scope of the sponsored project charged)
- Unsponsored research
- Administrative committees
- Preparing new or renewal proposals
- UConn teaching and curriculum development
- Peer reviews
- Refereeing and/ or writing other scholarly publications
Sponsor Salary Limitation
Some sponsors, such as agencies that fall under DHHS, limit or cap the amount of salary that can be charged. Salary up to the cap may be charged to a sponsored project. The amount over the cap cannot be directly charged to the project.
9 and 10 months faculty who plan to be entirely funded by sponsored projects
Guidance to Investigators: To better enhance compliance with sponsor requirements, 9- and 10-month faculty who plan to receive 100% support on summer projects should make a minimum of one week available to account for activities that cannot be charged to sponsored programs.
The OVPR will fund one half of one week of summer salary for faculty members who intend to work and receive pay on sponsored projects for the entire summer, to assist and better account for non-sponsored activities. The remaining half of one week should be funded by another unrestricted source of funds (IDC for example). There is no change to current practice for 9- or 10-month faculty members who are not 100% committed to a sponsored project for the entire summer.
For assistance for 9 or 10 month faculty planning to be 100% funded over the summer contact Research Finance:
Julie Schwager, 860-372-2531, julie.schwager@uconn.edu
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who is responsible for the non-OVPR covered portion of the week? The PI may use their IDC or other unrestricted account(s) or may work with their department heads, center/institute directors, and deans to identify other sources of funding for the other one-half week.
Do PIs have to fund a full week off non-sponsored accounts? OVPR guidance is that minimally one week should be funded from non- sponsored funds.
What type of accounts can be used for the non-OVPR portion? With the exception of sponsored accounts and related match accounts, any other discretionary university account would be acceptable (for example: IDC, salary savings, royalty, or residual account)
Who publishes the updated form and when can I find it? This is an HR form. Please see the HR website: A Guide to Unclassified Offer Letters | Human Resources (uconn.edu)
Where can I send completed forms? researchfinance@uconn.edu