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Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ePA-005 and why is it required?

The ePA-005 is an internal form that provides the PI with all required "permissions" to submit a proposal for funding. The ePA-005 has two purposes: (1) It documents administrative, budgetary, and compliance information about the proposal and provides chairs, center directors, and deans with a summary of this information; and (2) Campus signatures on the form authorize the Research Foundation to submit the proposal (on behalf of the PI) to an external sponsor.

Do I need to submit my proposal through OSURF? Legal Affairs? Submit by myself?

The Office of Research requests that PIs contact OSURF early in the proposal development process to determine whether or not the proposal should be submitted through OSURF or some other avenue (i.e., Legal Affairs). As a rule of thumb if you answer "yes" to any of the following questions your proposal will be routed through OSURF:

  1. Does this proposal include any area requiring regulatory oversight (i.e., human subjects, animal testing, export control, radioactivity use)?
  2. Is the sponsor of this proposal an agency of the federal government?
  3. Does this proposal have A21 or A133 reporting requirements, which includes time and effort reporting (A21 defines allowable costs, A133 outlines audit requirement)?
  4. Does this proposal have documented cost-sharing requirements?
  5. Will this proposal produce publishable research and/or new knowledge?

Who pays for graduate associate tuition and fees on a funded research project?

Either the project or School/Department pays GRA tuition and fees. If the sponsor allows tuition and fees to be budgeted, PIs should do so. If the sponsor does not allow tuition and fees to be charged as a direct expense, the School or Department will be responsible for covering these costs.

How should tuition and fees be budgeted?

For every quarter/month of graduate student stipend in the budget, a quarter/month of tuition and fees must also be budgeted. A 50% appointment (20 hours work per week) is most common. A student cannot be appointed for more than 75% time. Appointments below 50% also are permitted, with tuition and fees pro-rated accordingly. For example, half the tuition and fees would be budgeted for a 25% appointment.

Do proposals for sponsored projects need to include in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees, as appropriate?

No. The Research Foundation charges sponsors a single "pooled" rate for tuition and fees, regardless of state residency.

Who pays for fourth quarter tuition and fees?

Graduate students holding a 50 percent or greater GA appointment for three consecutive quarters are entitled to a full fee authorization during the immediately following fourth quarter without being on appointment. Students using the fourth quarter fee authorization must be registered for at least nine hours of credit, except during the Summer Quarter, when the minimum is seven. A graduate student who elects not to enroll during the fourth consecutive quarter may not defer the use of the fourth quarter fee authorization.

Responsibility for the fourth quarter fee authorization is shared proportionally by the GA-appointing units from the previous three quarters. Generally, this fourth quarter fee authorization will be for students who are taking classes but are not on GA appointments during the fourth quarter. In cases where students are on GA appointments for less than 50 percent during the fourth quarter, the fee authorization responsibility is shared proportionally by the GA-appointing unit for the fourth quarter and the GA-appointing unit(s) for the previous three quarters.

When students are on GA appointments of 50 percent or greater for four or more consecutive quarters, such cases are considered regular GA appointments and the fee authorization must be paid by the appointing unit. A fourth quarter fee authorization would occur at the conclusion of the consecutive GA appointment quarters when the student is not appointed or is appointed to a GA appointment of less than 50 percent.

What are indirect costs and do they need to be included on every proposal submitted through the University?

Indirect costs, also known as F&A costs, are those costs associated with providing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports the research enterprise (buildings and their maintenance, libraries, etc.) and which cannot easily be identified with a specific project. The university encourages including the appropriate F&A costs in all proposal budgets, unless the sponsor specifically prohibits them, and it expects that F&A costs will be recovered to the maximum extent possible.

Indirect costs are determined in conjunction with auditors from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There are separate rates for different types of activities, but in each case the rate is calculated and charged as a percentage of modified total direct costs (MTDC). When an F&A rate lower than the appropriate university approved rate is used, the rate is applied to all direct costs (i.e., the base to which the F&A rate is applied is total direct costs, not modified total direct costs), unless the sponsor specifically excludes certain categories.

Can an investigator sign agreements with sponsors for external funding?

No, grants and contracts are awarded to the institution, on behalf of an investigator or project director, not to the individual. Therefore, agreements accompanying an award need to be signed by an authorized official in OSURF. All award letters and checks should be forwarded to OSURF when received to ensure proper recording and processing.

I've been asked by a colleague at another institution to participate in a project (i.e., subcontract). What do I need to do?

Working on a project funded by an outside agency to another college or university is quite similar to applying for external funding directly. The EHE Office of Research should be contacted soon after it is clear that an application will be made by the collaborating institution. In effect, you are applying to the lead university to fund your research, program or project.

You must provide the lead university with a description of the work you propose (scope of work) and a budget and budget justification which includes the appropriate direct and indirect costs. This information needs to be reviewed and approved, just like any other external funding request, PRIOR to submission of the application by the lead institution. If the proposal is successful, the lead institution will make an award to OSU/EHE in the form of a subcontract or sub-grant which contains the same terms and conditions to which it is bound.

What is Grants.gov?

Grants.gov is a federal system that allows investigators and their staff to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all federal grant-making agencies.

Do I need to register with Grants.gov?

No, OSURF is registered as an organization in Grants.gov. PIs and other project personnel do not need accounts in Grants.gov. OSURF will submit all Grants.gov application packages on behalf of the university (and PI?) and track the status of submissions through Grants.gov.

What is Cayuse 424?

Cayuse424 system is available to investigators and their staff who are submitting proposals electronically to select federal agencies through Grants.gov. This web-based application enables investigators to easily create, share, and save proposals that use the SF424 forms that are required by federal agencies and Grants.gov.

What's the difference between a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, gift, and donation?

Grant: A type of financial assistance awarded to OSU for the conduct of research or other program as specified in an approved proposal. A grant, as opposed to a cooperative agreement, is used whenever the awarding office anticipates no substantial programmatic involvement with the recipient during the performance of the activities. Grants are normally awarded by sponsors whose purpose in supporting research is scientific, cultural, or philanthropic.

Contract: A mechanism for procurement of a product or service with specific obligations for both sponsor and recipient. Typically, a research topic and the methods for conducting the research are specified in detail by the sponsor, often in the Request for Proposal (RFP) which announces the funding opportunity. In general there are greater performance expectations associated with contracts, including project milestones and detailed deliverables (e.g., reports). The arrangement is usually designed to benefit the sponsor by achieving an expected outcome or product.

Cooperative Agreement: An award similar to a grant, but in which the sponsor's staff may be actively involved in proposal preparation, and anticipates having substantial involvement in research activities once the award has been made.

A gift or donation is a voluntary and irrevocable transfer of money, services or property (e.g., equipment, personnel time and skill, etc.) from a donor without any expectation of or receipt of direct economic benefit or provision of goods or services from the recipient.

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