Managing NIH Training Grants & Fellowships Leslie Kennedy Modified from SPA Symposium Presentation

 Preaward & Proposal  Award Set-Up  Appointments  Spending & Rebudgeting  Terminations  Miscellaneous

 Training Grant refers to The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) (T32). Supports multiple trainees. Its purpose is to develop a program of coursework, research experiences, and technical and/or professional skills development appropriate for the selected trainees at the pre- or post-doc level.  Fellowship refers to The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Fellows (i.e. F31, F32 etc). The grants support one individual. ◦ F31 (pre-doc) - provides support to doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training that falls in a research area that is within the scientific mission of the awarding Institute. ◦ F32 (post-doc) - provides support to promising postdoctoral applicants who have the potential to become productive and successful independent researcher.

 Stipend – not salary/fringe (The stipend can be supplemented as long as it is from non-sponsored funds)  NRSA Stipend Levels ◦ ht p://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD html (the stipend level is based on number of years of relevant experience) - See more at: Career LevelYears of ExperienceStipend for FY 2014Monthly Stipend PredoctoralAll$22,476$1,873 Postdoctoral0$42,000$3,500 1$43,680$3,640 2$45,432$3,786 3$47,244$3,937 4$49,128$4,094 5$51,096$4,258 6$53,148$4,429 7 or More$55,272$4,606

 What program will your trainees be enrolled in?  What is the number of credits required for completion?  What is the cost per credit?  How long will it take to complete the degree?  Resident versus Non-Resident Put the full tuition calculation on the proposal.Let the NIH do the reduction for the 60%.

 Training Grants: Yes ◦ Using Training Related Expenses ◦ Must be allocable and reasonable  Fellowships: No

 PI and any co-I must certify their effort at the level indicated in the proposal.  For any other individuals (except trainees), if they are being paid, their effort must be certified.  For the unpaid mentors, most consider this part of their “teaching time”  For the individual fellowships, no effort is certified.

 All trainees must be appointed to a mentor that has been approved for that training program.  All potential mentors were identified in the grant application.  Adding a new mentor to the program, requires prior, written approval from NIH.

 Training Grant: ◦ Statement of Appointment submitted to NIH in xTrain ◦ Cannot start before budget period start date ◦ No stipend until Statement of Appointment is submitted ◦ Payback Agreement for Post-Docs with first 12 months (USPS)  Fellowship: ◦ Activation Notice ◦ Cannot activate before award issue date ◦ Generally have 6 Months from issue date to activate

 HR Job Code Postdoc: 9560 (post-doctoral fellow)  Predoc: 9562 (graduate school trainee) ◦ Tax Forms ◦ Appt. Letter (include: period, stipend, tuition/fees, travel, leave/sick/vacation, supplemental funds, compensation) ◦ Must be given 30 day notice if switching from regular to UNS  Tuition/Fees ◦ Third Party Billing – Internal Billing Authorization ◦ Graduate Office (resident tuition)  Health Insurance ◦ Graduate Assistant Health Plan – Dept Auth Form

 Trainee Costs: ◦ Stipends – Slide 4 ◦ Tuition/fees – Max $16,000 per  Trainee-Related Expenses: ◦ Health Insurance Pre - $4,200 per ◦ Supplies Post - $7,850 per  Trainee Travel

 Stipends and Tuition/Fees: ◦ Training grants – Can rebudget between stipends & tuition/fees. Cannot rebudget these funds into other categories. ◦ Fellowships – May not rebudget either the stipend or tuition/fee funding  Trainee-Related Expenses: ◦ Training grants – Can rebudget to any allowable category, including stipends and tuition & fees. ◦ Fellowships – Can be rebudgeted into allowable categories. Cannot be used to increase stipend. Cannot be used for tuition/fees if none was awarded.  Trainee Travel g Al l o w ed

 Yes – For appointed trainees, the total amount awarded for those slots is available for all trainees and the PI/Program Director can decide how these funds are distributed.  Funding for any un-appointed slot must be returned to NIH at the end of the budget period.

 The NIH will award an amount per trainee “equal to 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution.”  Proposal budgets should include the full tuition costs. The NIH will make any required reduction based on the budgeted amount when they make the award. Example: You submit your budget for $20,000/trainee for tuition costs for 4 trainees for a total of $80,000. At minimum, NIH will cut the award and give you $12,000 per trainee or a total of $48,000.  The 60% is what NIH uses to determine the amount they are going to fund. It does not apply to the expense itself. Example: A trainee presents a tuition bill for $5,000. You can cover the entire amount from the grant if the funds are available. You are not limited to covering only 60% of that cost.

Maybe.It is Institute dependent.However, most appointments are for 12 months, so to refill the slot you will more than likely need to make a short-term (less than 9 months) appointment. In that case the answer would be no since short-term appointments cannot be made without prior, written agency approval.

 Since for most training grants, expanded authorities do not apply, expenditures are assigned to the budget period in which the funding was awarded.  So, if award is not under expanded authorities, for appointments that cross budget periods, only the stipend and tuition/fee funding can be carried forward to the next budget period.  If the award is not under expanded authorities, any travel or trainee-related costs funding remaining at the end of the budget period reverts back to the agency.

No. Per the NIH Grants Policy Statement “Trainees must be appointed to the training grants at time of the actual travel for this to be an allowable cost.”

 International travel to an approved conference may be allowable.  International travel to actually pursue the research training requires prior agency approval.

 Vacation/Holiday - Trainees may receive the same vacations and holidays available to individuals in comparable training positions at the grantee institution. Note the time between semesters is considered an active part of the training period and not considered to be vacation or holiday.  Sick & Other Leaves – Trainees may continue to receive stipend for up to 15 calendar days of sick leave per year.  Parental Leave – Trainees may receive stipends for up to 60 calendar days (equivalent to 8 work weeks) for parental leave per year for birth or adoption of a child, if individuals in comparable training positions have access to this level of paid leave for this purpose.  Terminal Leave – This is not permitted.  Unpaid Leave – Any leave that is more than the 15 calendar days of sick or 60 calendar days of parental leave, must seek prior agency approval from the awarding Institute prior to taking the leave. NOTE: To suspend an appointment during an extended leave, an amended Statement of Appointment and Termination Notice must be completed and submitted to the awarding Institute. To re-activate the appointment another Statement of Appointment form must be completed and submitted. NOTE: If the trainee is on an approved leave and uses Short Term Disability Insurance, they need to be terminated from the training grant and reappointed when they return.

 When an individual has completed their training program, a Termination Notice must be completed.  This document is completed and submitted via the xTrain system.  Must be submitted for both trainees (training grant) and fellows (individual fellowship).  The document is approved by SFR.

Other Questions?

 NIH Kirschstein NRSA Stipend Levels  NIH NRSA Training Grants FAQs  NIH NRSA Fellowships FAQs

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