FAQ

The best option for faculty or staff interested in obtaining external funding for their project is to contact the Office of Sponsored Programs directly. Staff are friendly and helpful, and will provide an introduction to the process, including the tools available for seeking opportunities and preparing a grant application. Faculty may also peruse this website where there are links to various Sources of Funding, and other helpful material.

Principal investigator (PI): the primary person who is legally responsible for carrying out a research grant, service project, or other sponsored activity. Per University of Hartford policy, the PI must be a full-time faculty or staff member.

Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): an individual who shares legal responsibility with the PI for successfully executing a sponsored activity. Like the PI, the University of Hartford mandates that a Co-PI must be a full time faculty or staff member.

Consultant: a professional who is employed externally whose expertise in a particular subject is offered on a temporary basis. Note: University of Hartford faculty cannot serve in an official manner as consultants on other faculty members’ sponsored research activities.  

Honorariums are payments made in recognition of services performed, but for which payment is not compulsory. Payment of an honorarium is of the payer’s volition.

Stipend: a fixed sum of money paid for services rendered.

Time and Effort Reporting is required from all key personnel who have received awards through the University of Hartford’s Office of Sponsored Programs. Time & effort reports are sent out three times a year: at the end of summer, fall, and spring terms. Completing a time & effort report certifies how much actual time was expended on a sponsored project in relation to the proposed time commitment outlined in the original proposal or contract. Time & effort reports for sponsored activities must be completed before payment can be issued.

The authorization forms below can be found on this website, but we recommend that you reach out to OSP directly. We can provide you with both the forms, and other support material such as budget justification templates, checklists for select programs, etc. However, for those interested:

The ProSum Authorization Form provides FAS, OSP, and your dean a quick snapshot of your proposal, including contact information, a short project summary, budget information, number of course releases, university resources like facilities, and whether IRB or IACUC approval is required. The form also contains a conflict of interest statement for the PI and Co-PI to review.

Signing the ProSum certifies you and your Co-PI are award of the conditions of your award. The dean signs to certify any resources the school is providing (e.g. course releases) and to sanction your research activity. The director of OSP signs the form to certify the proposal meets university and funder policy requirements.

The Internal Budget Form is used by Financial Accounting Services (FAS) to set up your fund number and the budget lines for your expenditures. As expenses are reviewed by FAS during the course of your project, they will be matched against this form and your application’s budget justification.

Obtaining a course release to pursue a grant is solely at the discretion of the deans. The best approach is to demonstrate the value of your research to the university, your school, the students, and the research community. Make your case, preferably on paper, and/or schedule a meeting with your chair or dean to discuss your research.

Course release compensation on a grant is calculated as 8.5% x the IBS or institutional base pay of the faculty member who is being released from teaching. The official policy can be found here.

Please note adjunct costs are not a direct cost on a grant budget. It is your lost time and effort that is an expense to the university, and therefore passed on to the funder.

The official policy can be found here.

University of Hartford Policy on Supplemental Grant Income

Certain public and private funders will allow Principal Investigators (PI) to request compensation over and above their base salary. This request must be explicit in the grant proposal and in all internal documents, and is subject to the following guidelines.

Full-Time faculty members on 40-week contracts may earn supplemental compensation (above their salary) from sponsored research as follows:

• Up to 20% of their base salary during the academic year and
• Supplemental summer grant income according to funder guidelines but not to exceed 30% of base salary. Please note the federal restrictions below.

Faculty should be aware that maximizing summer effort at 30% would prohibit vacations, etc. that redirect effort commitments. The time and effort certification process carried out in September, however, will provide an opportunity to document actual effort, and will initiate compensation.

Full-time faculty members on 12-month contracts may earn supplemental compensation from sponsored research as follows:

• Up to 20% of their base salary during the calendar year

Federal Restrictions

Federal agencies which subscribe to Uniform Guidance regulations (e.g., NIH, NSF) do not allow supplemental pay during the academic year except under limited circumstances; rather universities are allowed to charge a portion of faculty time as a buy out of faculty time and effort, thus reimbursing the institution. As stated under Uniform Guidance: "Except as noted in paragraph (h)(1)(ii) of this section [regarding incidental activities], in no event will charges to Federal awards, irrespective of the basis of computation exceed the proportionate share of the IBS [institutional base pay] for that period" ( 2 CFR 200.430 (h)].

The National Science Foundation also limits commitments to 2-months at the time of the proposal submission.

Please contact OSP if you have questions regarding this federal regulation. The full policy can be found here.

Budgets are created at the proposal stage which detail either a flat fee for work performed (stipend) or a percentage of effort expected during the course of the project (estimated cost). The budget also outlines work periods, such as summer work, or work during the academic year. These factors are used to determine whether compensation is due the university (e.g. academic year work on a federal grant) or the faculty member (e.g. supplemental pay from a non-federal source or summer work).

Three times a year (Jan, May, Sep), the Office of Sponsored Programs mails out Time and Effort (TE) forms to faculty requesting they certify the work performed reflects their allocated budget. These TE reports are then used by OSP to generate rosters, which are circulated to the appropriate campus authorities who sign off. Accounts Payable then uses the signed rosters to amend faculty and staff payroll.

Please note per IRS guidelines, the university is required to deduct a minimum amount of tax, and to report all compensation as income.

Faculty who wish to hire students on their grant funded project should first confirm the grant allows for it. They should then contact an administrator within their school or department who will walk them through the process. The information below was gathered from Human Resources, and may assist the administrator.

If the Principal Investigator on a grant or contract is hiring a student to perform a task, generally the student worker’s University of Hartford Employee Classcode will be S2: Temporary Student Staff.

S2 employees must be full-time students with a specified hourly rate of pay. These students cannot work more than 24 hrs/wk while in school. During the summer, full-time students may work up to 40 hrs/wk.

An ePAF must be generated in order to hire an S2 student employee through the University’s self-service system. Faculty must work with the designated grant administrator within their college or school in order to initiate a new ePAF. The grant administrator must have ePAF originator permissions, and they must input the following information about the student employee:

• Name of student:
• ID#:
• Start Date:
• Rate of Pay:
• Position #:
• In addition, grant administrators must set up principal investigators to be ePAF approvers so they can approve student timesheets

The student employee will need to fill out an I-9 form and bring the proper documentation such as a passport or driver’s license. (See I-9 form for a complete list of acceptable documentation.

Note: the student is required to submit their I-9 form and supporting documents to Human Resources in Beatrice Fox Auerbach Computer & Administration Center, CC 121 no later than their 3rd day of employment. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination as mandated by law. Please be reminded the student’s ePAF will not be approved without a completed Form I-9 on file.

If the newly hired student needs to obtain a social security number, please download and complete the On-Campus Employment Form For International Students. This form, verifying that the student has a pending job offer, is used when applying for a social security number through the office of Social Security Administration. Please be advised that this process may take a few weeks.

Newly hired employees will have their wages directly deposited to a financial institution of their choice, consistent with University policy. Please contact HRD with any questions regarding direct deposit.

S2 student employees are required to enter their hours into the self-service system every two weeks, and Principal Investigators will need to approve timesheets at the end of each two-week pay period.

If you are hiring a part-time student or a student from another institution, they must be classified as a temporary employee (E6 or N6). The only exception is if a student is hired on a fee-per-service gig as an independent contractor (C-1). Note: Full-time students cannot be employed as regular full-time or regular part-time staff.

For more information on how to add a student to your grant, please contact Tina Berrien at berrien@hartford.edu or call x4666.

Once a grant or contract is awarded to the University, it is often accompanied by a written agreement/contract with specific terms and conditions of funding, requiring the signature of an Authorized Official Representative of the institution. As an initial step, OSP sends the funding agreement/contract to the Office of General Counsel, and the legal officers within this department provide a thorough review of the award documents. If legal issues arise that warrant revisions to the agreement/contract, these changes are negotiated with the funder with OSP acting as intermediary. Once the Office of General Counsel approves the agreement/contract, OSP facilitates the signing of all necessary paperwork by the appropriate authorized official(s), and returns the signed agreement/contract and other required documentation to the funder. After the paperwork has been signed, OSP sends an award setup request to Financial Accounting Services, the Principal Investigator associated with the award, and the collegiate grant administrator.

Matching funds (also referred to as cost share) are funds committed by your institution or by other external sources that match a portion of direct expenses for your project or program budget. Matching funds can be in-kind (donated) or cash. If matching funds are required in your proposal budget, you must complete a matching funds form, and your dean must sign this form before your proposal is submitted to the funder. Please allow sufficient time to process this paperwork ahead of the application deadline. We encourage you to work with OSP for assistance with developing your budget.

Matching funds for awarded grants and contracts must be tracked. For actual cash matching funds, work with the grant administrator in your college to provide back-up documentation for all sources of revenue. Please submit all match documentation to Financial Accounting Services in a timely manner for reporting purposes. In-kind effort matching funds for awards processed through OSP are documented through time and effort reporting three times a year. 

Before you purchase any supplies or equipment associated with an externally-funded grant or contract, OSP will first generate an award setup request to Financial Accounting Services (FAS). FAS will issue a unique fund number once your account is added to the Banner financial system. When you have your fund number, you must work with the grant administrator in your college to make purchases in accordance with your budget that was approved by the funder. Your grant administrator will work with you and with the university’s Procurement Department to acquire supplies and equipment. Goods and services charged to your fund must be accompanied by a purchase order signed by the Director of Procurement. Depending on the cost of an item, a quote or bid may be required. Invoices and receipts for all items purchased must be submitted to FAS along with the fund number associated with your grant or contract. You will not be reimbursed for items purchased with personal money.

Funding may be impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic, including the cancellation or postponement of events, or travel restrictions imposed by this institution or others. The recipient should therefore take care to purchase refundable tickets, and not make travel plans that cannot be rescinded until further notice. To keep up with the latest travel information for the University of Hartford, please see Health & Safety Guidelines.

No travel reservations may be made before an award setup and fund number have been issued by Financial Accounting Services. When booking travel associated with an externally sponsored activity, work with the grant administrator in your college. You will not be reimbursed for items purchased with personal money.  Note that travel cost reimbursement requires standard university Travel and Expense Voucher (TEV) forms, as well as itemized receipts. Be sure to include your unique award fund number on the TEV. Required forms may be downloaded from Financial Accounting’s webpage through the following link Accounting.

Mileage rates may be found by visiting:

2020 Travel and Expense Voucher

As the Principal Investigator (PI) of a project, you may seek to reallocate funds in your budget. This process takes time, and must happen in advance of the end of the budget period.

1. Make the grant administrator of your college aware of your intentions to request a budget change.
2. Contact OSP to determine if your funding contract requires you to seek permission from the funder to change your budget. If it is determined that permission is not required, please proceed directly to step three.

If the contract does require that you ask permission from the funder for a budget reallocation, OSP will reach out to the funder to determine the process for submitting a modification request. OSP will work with you to revise your budget and complete any forms required by the funder. Note: this process may involve obtaining signatures from various authorized officials of the university. Also, please be aware of any cost share obligations that will be affected by the proposed budget change.

3. If OSP (and the funder, if necessary) approve(s) the budget change, please work with OSP to complete a budget revision using the university’s internal budget spreadsheet. In addition, download and complete a budget change form from Financial Accounting Service’s (FAS’) website: Accounting. OSP can assist with transferring the information from the internal budget to the budget change form, if needed. Once completed, submit the budget change form to ospgrants@hartford.edu. OSP will forward the budget change form, revised internal budget, and any documentation from the funder to FAS who will update your budget in the university’s Banner financial system.