1. Sponsored Research & Federal Relations Grant Management 101 for Department Administrators (and everyone else)
Angie Rochat, Director of Sponsored Research & Federal Relations
Cynthia Stengel, Grants Specialist
Shannon Malone, Senior Grants Accountant
Fort Lewis College
January 24, 2018

2. Agenda
Introductions
Work Flow between Pre & Post Grant (contract) Awards
Budgets: Common Mistakes, Tools & Resources
Purchasing Procedures with Grants
Human Resource Issues
Forms
Common Terms
Questions?

3. Sponsored Research Website www.fortlewis.edu/sponsoredresearch

4. Grants at a Glance at Fort Lewis College
•Since the inception of the office in 2004, FLC has been awarded $42.0 million dollars in grant awards
•$30.0 million are federal grant awards
•Average annual amount of grant awards is $17.6 million
• FLC submits an average of 70 new grants per year
• In any given year, there are approximately 200 grants that we are managing in some part of the cradle to grave cycle of grants

5. Pre Award Office (Director of Sponsored Research & Federal Relations and Grants Specialist in Academic Affairs)
All grants and contracts (regardless of amount requested) are routed internally for approval through our electronic system called Cayuse prior to submission to the sponsor.
Pre Award office duties include assisting faculty and staff with grant writing, creating budgets, interpreting requests for proposals, and electronic research administration with various federal agencies.
If a project is awarded, the Project Data Sheet is the last piece of the process that happens in the pre award office. The PDS must be signed and the award documentation attached before it can be processed.
Compliance takes a village! We ensure expenses are allowable, allocable, and reasonable for all projects.

6. Post Award (Senior Grants Accountant in the Controller’s Office)
• The completed Project Data Sheet goes to the Controller’s office to start the Post Award process
• A PDS is needed for every year of the grant award
• The Senior Accountant sets up the award in the Banner accounting module and assigns a budget org code to the award
• The PI is responsible for managing the award money as per the funded award, and FLC and sponsor regulations;
• The PI submits all required reports to the sponsor, EXCEPT FOR:
• Financial reporting to sponsors, which is done by the Senior Accountant

7. Division of Duties between Pre & Post Award
Pre Award (Sponsored Research & Federal Relations Office in Academic Affairs)
Proposal and Budget Development
Institutional Approval via Cayuse
Grant Submission to Sponsor
Federal/State Signature Forms
Pre Award Budget Negotiations
Sub- recipient Forms
Both Pre & Post Award
No Cost Extension Negotiations
EAS Forms, CARF
Budget Changes/Modifications to
existing grant awards
Sub Recipient Forms
Project Data Sheets
Compliance
Post Award (Senior Grants Accountant in Controller’s Office)
Award set up in Banner
Expenditures & Revenues: Invoicing to sponsor & fiscal agent, payment & receipts, purchasing, Pcards
Expense Reconciliation/JVs/Grant Activity Report and Reporting Options
Audit
Banner Grants Accounting
Organization of Grant File

8. Pre-Award: Grant Budget Development– Common Mistakes
• Confusing fringe benefits (retirement and health benefits) with indirect costs
(F & A and overhead)
• Not building an annual increase in fringe benefits into each year of the budget
• Not including indirect costs when allowed
• Paying students hourly vs. stipends
• Not getting help from the Pre Award office with your proposed budget before submitting for internal approval

9. Post-Award: Grant Financial Management- Common Mistakes
Overspending
Underspending
Using out-of-date benefits rates, old forms (Project Data Sheets, & CARFs), wrong forms, no forms
Not giving the Department Admin Banner access on the PDS
Expenses not hitting the grant account directly (i.e. charging these to the Dept. general fund budget instead, setting up a red flag for an audit)
Not getting prior approval from sponsor/fiscal agent for moving money between categories that are non compliant with federal regulations (10% rule) or sponsor guidelines
Misalignment between college accounting system (banner) and grant codes
Grant fiscal year end is often always different then college fiscal year (6/30); all transactions related to the FLC fiscal year should be recorded to the grant by the FLC fiscal year end regardless of the grant’s performance period.
Reporting?? What reporting????

10. Show Me the Money! – Invoicing & Grant Payments
Know how the grant money will be provided by the granting agency. Every grant is different although grant money typically comes in one of two ways:
1.) At the beginning of the grant performance period (the check is in the mail!)
2.) On a reimbursement basis after grant expenses have been incurred
 If your grant is funded at the beginning of the performance period, a check will be mailed from the granting agency to the college directly, either to the PI, to the FLC Foundation, or to the Controller’s Office. If the PI receives the grant check, it goes to the Senior Accountant in the Controller’s Office to be deposited. If it goes to the Foundation, the Senior Accountant will request that it be transferred to FLC.
If your grant is funded on a reimbursement basis, the Senior Accountant will work with the PI to prepare invoices and submit them to the funding agency as required in the grant agreement.

11. FLC Grant Org # & Spending Money
When the PDS has been officially processed and approved internally, the PI receives an from the Senior Accountant with a grant org number.
The PI uses the grant org number for grant expenditures only
The award money does not need to be received by FLC prior to expenditures being made on the grant, BUT there must be a grant award notification AND grant expenditures must be done in accordance with the grant agreement dates and approved budget. Pre Award spending is not allowable.
If the grant is multi-year, the PI can only expend funds that have been approved for each year in accordance with the grant terms– expenditures cannot be made with future year funding unless that future funding has been formally approved by the granting agency.

12. Deposit Transmittal Form for Grant Checks

13. Cool Budget Resources & Other Tools to Help You Manage Grant Funds
• Project Data Sheet – establishes grant orgs at the College
• Grant Activity Report in theFort
• FRIGITD form in BANNER
• Journal Vouchers – Please use as a last resort; not the preferred method of charging expenses
• The good, bad, and ugly of your own internal excel spreadsheets

14. Budget Management Tool #1: Project Data Sheet

15. Grant Budget →Project Data Sheet
A grant’s budget is approved by the granting agency and then is translated into FLC’s accounting structure via the Project Data Sheet (PDS).
Examples of budget approved by granting agency
Translates into FLC Account
Translates into FLC Account#7440 – Supplies & Materials
Translates into FLC Account#7280 – Outside Services Individuals or Account#7352 – Outside Services Corporations

16. Grant Budget →Project Data Sheet
Examples of narrative budget approved by granting agency
Translates into FLC Account
Acct#7580 – In State Travel Non Employee Or
Acct#7581 – Out of State Travel Non Employee
Acct#7440 – Supplies & Materials
Acct#7931 – Indirect Costs Federal

17. FLC Accounts Commonly Used on Grants
Account Title
6200
Faculty Salaries-Full Time
6204
Staff Salaries-Exempt Regular FT
6210
Classified Regular Full Time
6230
Student Hourly Labor
6234
Exempt Temp FT Hourly
6235
Exempt Temp PT Hourly
7250
Exempt Staff Benefits
7251
Classified Staff Benefits
7253
Staff Benefits-Hourly Labor Employe
7280
Outside Services - Individuals
7300
Postage
7305
Voice Mailbox
7306
Fixed Telephone
7307
Toll Charges
7315
Network Link
Account #
Account Title
7316
Network Printer
7319
Books (Non-Libr, Bookst)
7323
Workstation Usage Charge
7340
Printing
7352
Outside Services - Corporations
7439
Copying Costs--Internal
7440
Supplies & Materials
7554
Non-FLC Student Stipend
7570
In-State Travel--Employee
7571
Out-of-State Travel--Employee
7572
International Travel--Employee
7580
In-State Travel-NON-employee
7581
Out-of-State Travel-NON-employee
7931
Fed-Indirect Cost Expense
7933
State-Indirect Cost Expense
7934
Private-Indirect Cost Expense

18. Cool Reporting & Budget Management Tool #2: Grant Activity Report
Shows the transaction level detail by grant including budget vs. actual, all recorded transactions, and a summary showing total revenue earned and due, total expenses, total transfers, award balance, cash balance, and cash match.

19. Cool Reporting & Budget Management Tool #2: Grant Activity Report (continued)

20. Running the Grant Activity Report in theFort
Login to theFort (
Click on the Webopus icon; login.
Go to Finance tab; from there click on Printable Budget Reports.
Click Grant Activity Report button.
Select the grant org number from the drop down menu. Not there? Call Shannon Malone for access.
Click “Run Report.” Choose to run the report between specific dates or life to date. (This may take a bit depending on report size.)
A PDF report downloads; click on it to open.

21. Cool Reporting Tool #3: FRIGITD Banner Form
FRIGITD – shows budget vs. actual by account, open commitments, and available balance by account. FRIGITD can be exported into Excel.
In FRIGITD press F4 to drill into transaction detail by account. Input the grant number into the index field to use this form as an administrator.

22. Human Resources
All labor costs on grants are sensitive and require additional approval for ANY changes, no matter the dollar amount
Faculty are on nine month contracts; they are eligible for up to three months of summer salaries
Faculty salaries can never be more than 100% of their annualized salary – which means they can either conduct research in the summer or academic year by receiving additional time (course release) or money
Consultants vs Employees
EAS Forms are used to pay faculty or staff on grants
CARFS are used to pay students
EAS & CARFS are the only tools we have to manage federal Time & Effort Regulations

23. EAS Form Used to pay faculty or staff from the grant.
Faculty members are subject to academic year and summer salary limitations; the Senior Accountant will help determine the grant payout schedule.
Do not include fringe/benefits expenses on the EAS form, the fringe/benefits amount will automatically follow the salary dollars.
Stipends or lump sum payments are also paid through an EAS form for research assistants.
Find the current version of the EAS form:
Staff on grants cannot be more than 1.0 FTE on a grant or at the College from a combination of positions.
Salary determinations for staff on grants are made in alignment with similar positions on campus based on job duties, education, and experience.
For federal compliance, either Shannon or Angie must sign off on grant EAS forms.

24. EAS Form

25. CARF Form Used to pay a student or hourly employee from the grant.
The PI will determine the hourly rate and timeframe of employment for the worker.
Students can only work 20 hours per week or less during the academic year. (If a student is registered and taking classes and works more than 20 hours/week they risk losing exempt status with the IRS.)
Hourly workers cannot be paid less than Colorado’s minimum wage, currently at $10.20.
Student hourly workers do not get charged fringe benefits; Non-student hourly workers do get charged fringe benefits.
A person can be classified as a student worker in the summer if they were enrolled in classes during both in the spring semester prior to and the fall semester after their summer employment. Otherwise student workers are classified as non- student hourly and the grant is charged fringe benefits.
Find the current version of the CARF form:

26. CARF Form

27. Purchasing
Follow FLC policies and procedures:
Federal grants use the “Procurement Claw” →
Consultants, equipment, instrumentation, and renovation expenses may fall under procurement regulations
Equipment (one item > $5,000) vs supplies (everything else) for federal grants
Bids, Sole Source, and Micro Purchases
Micro Purchase threshold for IHEs is $10k; if buying items $3-5k do price shopping, document why you purchased the product from a particular vendor (discount to FLC, only one vendor for product, other reason)
The PI, Grants Accountant, and Sponsored Research office are responsible for compliance issues related to purchasing for grants, not the Purchasing Office
Travel Forms

28. Vendor Lookup & Vendor Creation Request
Vendor Setup –New vendor set up requires the vendor to fill out a W-9 and provide the college with a bill/invoice.
To look up a current vendor or make a vendor creation request:
All information required to make a vendor creation request is on the W-9
Check Request Forms submitted without a vendor ID and W9 will be rejected! Include the required documentation!

29. Procurement Card (P-Card) – required form of payment for all purchases of goods under $5,000 from grant funds
Follow FLC procurement rules – don’t make prohibited purchases (i.e.-Alcohol)
Secure the card
Use the card to pay vendors for goods up to $5,000 (individual limits may vary)
P-Card purchases are tax exempt
Obtain proper purchase documentation – an itemized receipt for all charges, the vendor name, date of procurement, item description, quantity, unit cost, total cost
Inspect goods before acceptance
Resolve disputes promptly and fairly
Cycle begins on the 26th of each month and ends on the 25th of each month
Reconcile statements before the 30th or 31st each month
When possible – use price agreement vendors, use educational discounts, use recycled products
Banner form for P-Card Reallocation is FAAINVT. Watch the P Card Reallocation Tutorial video:

30. Check Request Form – CRF (to pay consultants, vendors, invoices not on Pcard)
*Signature section of CRF not pictured*

31. Travel Authorization and Reconciliation Form
*Signature section of TA not pictured*

32. Moving expenses between orgs and/or accounts
Did expenses related to the grant get recorded to a different org or to the wrong account? Has the transaction been recorded in the accounting system?
No – Be sure to code your transaction directly to your grant org. If the purchase was made using a p-card, give the p-card holder/re-allocator the org and account you want the transaction recorded to.
Yes ?
Once transactions have been posted to Banner, you must make a JV request to move the expenses. explaining what transactions you want moved, which org/account the original expense was recorded to, and what org/account the expense should be moved to. These actions flag audits! Be kind to the Controllers Office and use as little as possible!

33. Common Terms
Principal Investigator (PI): This is the primary person responsible for the preparation, conduct, and administration of a research grant (National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Labs)
Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR): For Academic Affairs this is Barbara Morris. Often a required signature on grants or contracts.
Indirect Costs (IDC): Costs that are not directly related or identifiable with a project, such as payroll processing, facilities (office space, electrical), audit, legal, accounting. The college had a federally negotiated rate that is renewed every 10 years.
Institution of Higher Education (IHE): Self-explanatory
Time and Effort (T&E): The percent of the total amount of PI time spent on work-related (effort) activities of a Federal grant award.
Other Comprehensive Expenditures (OCE): All expenses outside of personnel.
Fringe Benefits: A percentage of salaries charged in addition to salaries that pays for employee benefits such as retirement, medical insurance, disability, etc. This changes annually at FLC.

34. Questions? www.fortlewis.edu/sponsoredresearch
Contact Us!
Angie Rochat, Director of Sponsored Research & Federal Relations, ,
Cynthia Stengel, Grant Specialist, Office of Sponsored Research & Federal Relations, ,
Shannon Malone, Senior Accountant, Controller’s Office, ,