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Pre Awards Procedures

Chapter 7010
Revised July 30, 2013; May 7, 2025

Table of Contents

.010 Introduction
.015 Differentiating Sponsored Projects from Fee for Service Activities and Gifts
.020 General Information
.030 Support Services
.040 Legal Name and Official Address of University
.050 Signatures of Authorized University Representatives
.060 Designation of Principal Investigator or Project Director
.070 Authorization to Negotiate a Grant or Contract with Sponsor
.080 University's tax ID and Other Identification Numbers
.085 University Policy on Classified Research
.090 Conflict of Interest
.095 Nepotism
.100 Specific Information Regarding Grant and Contract Documents
.110 Proposals
.120 Awards
.130 Assignment of Account Numbers
.140 Overdraft Requests
.150 Modifications or Amendments
.160 Expanded Authority Authorization (EAA)
.170 Notices of Proposals That Are Not Funded
.200 Processing Sponsored Project Activity Documents
.210 Internal Processing Form
.220 Signature Approvals Required
.230 University Routing Procedures for Proposals and All Other Grant and Contract Documents
.240 Lead Time Required to Process Proposals
.250 Number of Copies of Documents Required
.300 Budget Preparation
.310 Salaries and Wages
.320 Employee Fringe Benefits
.330 Service Charges for Specialized Cost or Recharge Centers
.340 Consultants and Subrecipients
.350 Tuition and Fees
.360 Other Direct Costs
.370 Cost-Sharing, Including Matching Funds and In-Kind Contributions
.380 Facilities and Administrative Costs
.390 Request for Variation of Facilities and Administrative Cost Rate
.400 Contractual Issues
.410 Insurance and Indemnification
.420 Publications
.430 Intellectual Property Rights (Inventions and Patents)
.440 Data Access and Retention
.450 Questions
Related Content
.500 Sample Cover Sheet
.510 KSU's Standard Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
.520 Overdraft Request
.530 Modification of Agreement
.540 Request for OPAS Authorization
.550 Sponsored Projects Transmittal Sheet
.560 Guide to Completing the Sponsored Projects Transmittal Sheet
.570 Request for Variation of Facilities and Administrative Cost Rate
.580 Sample Budgets and Budget Tools

.010 Introduction

The President has delegated the authority with respect to contractual and compliance matters for sponsored projects involving University personnel or facilities to the Vice President for Research. Operationally, that authority is exercised through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) which has been designated to be the sole office within the university for the required official signature authority with respect to all contractual and compliance matters that involve university personnel or space and that are proposed to be submitted to potential sponsors external to the university. Thus, all proposals whether new or continuing must be processed through OSP for formal university approval and signature prior to submission to external sponsors. The OSP also has sole authority in the acceptance of grants and contracts and subsequent modifications. These policies and procedures apply to all campuses and branch stations of Kansas State University. General areas of responsibility assigned to OSP include:

  • Negotiating the terms of all contracts and agreements with sponsors, including intellectual property rights and copyright assignments, and requested restrictions on publication rights.

  • Negotiating directly with sponsors for any requests to reduce or waive the facilities and administrative cost rate that the university is obligated to recover under the terms of the agreement negotiated with the federal government that makes it applicable to all sponsored projects.

  • Reviewing all proposed commitments of university funds, new personnel, or additional space requirements being made in the proposal.

  • Providing university assurance to external sponsors on all research compliance issues, including the use and protection of human subjects in research, use and protection of animals in research, the use of biohazardous materials, and assurance of resolution of matters with real or potential conflicts of interests.

  • Handling requests for exceptions to the university policy that principal investigator status is reserved for regular members of the university faculty.

  • Reviewing and approving requests for overdrafts and "expanded authority authorization" modifications (internal approval of modifications without agency approval).

In this chapter, pertinent information and procedures are outlined to assist faculty, staff and others involved in sponsored project activity with both the construction and the processing of sponsored project activity documents.

Sponsored project activity documents include:

  • PROPOSAL: an offer made to an external agency for the purpose of requesting financial support for the proposed research, instruction, service, or other University programs.

  • AWARD: acceptance of support from an agency.

  • MODIFICATION or AMENDMENT: a change in the initial terms of the award.

Grants, contracts, research agreements, and sponsored award documents are legal instruments which bind the parties to terms stated therein. Therefore, state and federal laws, as well as policies and regulations of Kansas State University and the Kansas Board of Regents, must be followed when preparing, accepting, signing, and executing such legal documents. The university has authorized only certain individuals to sign such documents and has officially filed these names with the Board of Regents. See Section .050 for a list of authorized signatories for sponsored projects at K-State.

As all proposals, awards, and modifications or amendments are legal documents of the University, the policies and procedures outlined in this chapter must be followed in the preparation and submission of documents to extramural funding agencies for their consideration.

The chapter consists of five sections:

  • .020 General information related to sponsored project activity
  • .100 Specific information on grant and contract documents (proposal, award, and modification or amendment)
  • .200 Processing of documents
  • .300 Basic information on constructing a budget
  • .400 Potential contractual concerns

.015 Differentiating Sponsored Projects from Fee for Service Activities and Gifts

The following information is provided to assist in determining when external funds to be received by Kansas State University should be administered as a sponsored project, a fee for service activity, or a gift. In certain circumstances, it may be difficult to determine without a review of the pertinent university and Board of Regents policies and procedures. In these cases, the intended use of the funds, the source of the project specifications, the nature of the proposed work, and the need/requirement for a legal binding agreement are all critical components in determining whether they should be managed as sponsored projects, fees for service, or gifts. The information provided is intended to help define K-State's legal obligations and liabilities, and it is relevant for all personnel who manage such funds. Unresolved issues and any questions should be referred to the associate vice president for research, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at research@k-state.edu.

SPONSORED PROJECT (Requires FIS project number beginning with G-)

Generally, when K-State agrees (orally or in writing) to provide any goods or services using university facilities or the official time and services of K-State faculty and/or staff, the funds received are to be treated as sponsored project awards to K-State. Sponsored projects occur when K-State or an employee of K-State submits a bid, offer, proposal, or the like or responds (orally or in writing) to a request, announcement, call for proposals, or the like, that results in the issuance of an award involving K-State and another party. These awards could be in the form of grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or a variety of other agreement formats. All proposals for external sponsored project support regardless of funding source must be processed through OSP. Likewise, all awards for external sponsored project support must be processed by OSP and then managed by the Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPA) team within OSP.

The presence of any one of the following factors generally distinguishes the resulting funds from a fee for service activity or gift, thus classifying the award as a sponsored project:

  1. The proposed activity requires the execution of a grant, contract, agreement, Memorandum of Agreement or Understanding, term sheet, or other such legal instrument binding the parties to terms stated therein, thus requiring a contractual review to insure that K-State's ability and responsibility to comply with all state and federal laws, as well as policies and regulations of KSU and the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) have not been compromised or superseded.

  2. The funds originate from a governmental source.

  3. The proposed work binds the university to a specific line of research or scholarly activity which requires a statement of work or an orderly testing of specific hypotheses, methodology, or validation of particular approaches, i.e., specific expectations or deliverables are attached to the project.

  4. A specific commitment is made regarding the level of personnel effort, items of output (e.g., publication of papers or reports), or achievement of specific performance targets as a condition of funding.

  5. A budget for expenditures by activity, function, or project period is required as a condition of funding and a fiscal report, activity report, or external audit is required during the course of the work or at the end of the project period.

  6. The proposed agreement with the sponsor provides for the disposition of tangible property (e.g., equipment, records, technical reports, theses, or dissertations) or intangible property (e.g., rights in data, copyrights, and inventions) that may result from the activity.

  7. Construction projects or acquisition of equipment or facilities where a state or federal government agency provides the funds.

With any of the above factors, OSP must be contacted to review and facilitate the activity.

FEE FOR SERVICE (Requires departmental restricted fees FIS account number)

All fees for service activities at K-State are subject to the KBOR policy on sales of products and services and K-State policies and procedures regarding the establishment of a schedule of charges. These policy statements may be referenced in the K-State Policy and Procedures Manual within Chapters 6080 and 6085 respectively. Generally, any sale of products or services by a Regents institution, its auxiliary enterprises, or an affiliated corporation of a Regents institution is deemed appropriate only if such sale is an integral part of, or reasonably related to, an activity which is essential to the fulfillment of the institution's instructional, research or public service mission. The provision of such services fits with the missions of the university when any of the following are met:

  1. The university is uniquely qualified to offer such special services.
  2. Those services provide additional research experience and training for the university's faculty, staff, and students.
  3. Access to those services or specialized equipment is not readily available through local commercial means. These services include the utilization of specialized expertise that faculty members possess or specialized instrumentation that may be offered to the university's various constituencies through the University's tripartite mission.

Prior to the sale of any product or service, the responsible unit must establish and receive approval of a schedule of charges through the Division of Financial Services. The subsequent service center established within a department or other administrative unit is referred to as a recharge and service center that has been established for the purposes of providing support for the research and public service activities of university departments, the University community, as well as the provision of services on an incidental basis to external users. The approved pricing, called the schedule of charges, shall include applicable facilities and administrative costs (when products or services are offered to external users), and shall follow the breakeven concept, which is accomplished by balancing the accounts at the end of each fiscal year and analyzing the rates on a fiscal year basis and adjusting them to account for any operating surplus or deficit. All fees collected are to be deposited to the appropriate restricted fees fund and shall be used solely for the specific purpose or purposes for which they are collected. The presence of the following factors generally distinguishes the resulting activity from a sponsored project and classifies the activity as a fee for service.

  1. The activity does not require the execution of a grant, contract, agreement, Memorandum of Agreement or Understanding, term sheet, or other such legal instrument binding the parties to terms stated therein.

  2. The approved activity involves the standard routine analysis, evaluation, classification, diagnostic, or interpretation of a client's data, samples, mechanisms, procedures, or products, as detailed and approved in the Schedule of Charges and no applied or basic research by the university will be involved in the preparation of or in the conduct of the proposed activity.

Fee for service activities, including the establishment of a schedule of charges, should be coordinated with Division of Financial Report (see PPM Chapter 6085).

GIFT

All gifts to Kansas State University are administered by the KSU Foundation. The presence of any one of the following factors generally distinguishes the resulting funds from a sponsored project or fee for service activity and classifies the award as a gift.

  1. The funds are from a non-governmental source and are for facility enhancement ("bricks and mortar") or for the university's endowment.

  2. The funds are from a private individual, corporation, or foundation and no specific deliverables like those in a sponsored project are specified or expected.

  3. Similarly, the donor specifically intends the contribution to be a charitable gift with no sponsored project deliverables specified or expected.

  4. General conditions or stipulations placed on the intended use of the money serve merely to direct the funds to some areas such as scholarships, facility enhancement, or general research support. The donor may request a summary of how the funds were utilized.

  5. The donor intends the gift to be irrevocable and, therefore, relinquishes the right to reclaim the gift or any unused portion thereof.

  6. The donor makes the gift to the university without expectation of economic benefit or other tangible benefit commensurate with the worth of the gift.

Gift solicitations should be coordinated with the appropriate KSU Foundation representative in each college or other relevant unit. The KSU Foundation should be contacted about procedures applicable to gift solicitations.

NOTE: Regardless of whether funds are classified as sponsored projects, fees for service, or gifts, approval(s) must be obtained from the proper compliance committee(s) if any of the funds are to be used to support activities involving human subjects, animal care and use, radiological hazards, or biohazards. The approval(s) must be obtained prior to the commencement of activities and the expenditure of any funds in support of such activities, per federal regulations.

.020 General Information

General information on sponsored project activity includes:

  • University support services
  • Legal name and official address of the University
  • Signatures of authorized university representatives
  • Designation of Principal Investigator/Project Director
  • Authorization for negotiating a grant or contract with a sponsor
  • University's Tax ID and other identification numbers
  • University policies on classified research, conflict of interest and Nepotism

.030 Support Services

The Office of Research Development (ORD) provides comprehensive services for new program development, proposal preparation assistance, seed grant programs and other internal competitions, and matters related to university policies on research, including research compliance assurances.

Office of Research Development
102 Fairchild Hall
785-532-6195
ord@k-state.edu

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) provides comprehensive services related to proposal and award activities.

Office of Sponsored Programs
103 Fairchild Hall
785-532-6804
research@k-state.edu

View the website of the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Services provided by OSP include:

  • Review of applicable Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and other sponsor proposal guidelines.
  • Budget preparation assistance.
  • Assistance in completion of forms, e.g., assurances and certifications.
  • Securing signatures for special approvals, including research compliance.
  • Review of proposal documents to determine responsiveness to and compliance with sponsor guidelines.
  • Review, negociation, and execution of award documents.
  • Post award management of sponsored projects.

.040 Legal Name and Official Address of the University

The Board of Regents' policy states that ALL CONTRACTS SHALL BE IN THE NAME OF THE INSTITUTION and that individual departments, divisions, or colleges SHALL NOT ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.

The legal name and official address (to be used on all sponsored project documents) for the university are:

NAME:Kansas State University
  
ADDRESS:

1601 Vattier St.
103 Fairchild Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-2504

 

.050 Signatures of Authorized University Representatives

The president has designated university signature authority for all sponsored programs to the Vice President for Research. This authority is delegated to the Associate Vice President for Research. In general, all sponsored program activity documents must be authorized prior to any communications of a contractual nature with the sponsor. All proposals should show the following name and title on the signature page of the proposal or other formal document related to the sponsored program:

Paul R. Lowe
Associate Vice President for Research

If sponsors require signatures from other university officials, allowances for these signatures should be made as follows:

When the signature of the UNIVERSITY FISCAL OFFICER or the VICE PRESIDENT for RESEARCH is required, the additional designations should be:

Ethan Erickson
Vice President for Administration and Finance

Hans Coetzee
Interim Vice President for Research

When the signature of either the PRESIDENT or the BOARD OF REGENTS is required, leave the signature block blank for OSP to complete.

.060 Designation of Principal Investigator or Project Director

The Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD) is the individual who accepts full responsibility on behalf of the university for the technical execution of the proposed project. The normal requirement to serve as a PI/PD is that the individual be a regular member of the faculty of Kansas State University as defined in Section C10 of the University Handbook.

When it is desirable or necessary for other individuals who have official, continuing relationships with the university, to serve as a PI/PD, special permission may be granted by the Vice President for Research. This permission should be sought by making a request in writing that states clearly the reasons for requesting such an exception. This request should be accompanied by signatures of approval of the appropriate Department Head and the appropriate College Dean. Such requests must provide assurances by the department that all necessary space is available for the conduct of the proposed work, that the department will assume full responsibility for the financial aspects of the project, provide assurances that all research compliance issues will be satisfied, and that all sponsor requirements (including intermediate and final reports) will be provided according to the sponsor schedules so that funding for other programs is not placed in jeopardy. Usually, the Department Head assumes the responsibility to satisfy these sponsor or university requirements in the event that the designated PI/PD is unable to fulfill them.

In special circumstances, non-K-State employees may serve as Co-Principal Investigators. This requires a written agreement between either the university and the non-K-State employee, or the university and the non-K-State employee's institution. The agreement should outline both the commitment and the responsibility of the individual and the institution to the project. This written agreement normally takes the form of a subcontract with the institution where the non-K-State Co-PI/PD is employed.

.070 Authorization to Negotiate a Grant or Contract with Sponsor

The negotiation of terms and conditions of grants and contracts requires full compliance with the laws of the State of Kansas and the federal government, as well as the policies and procedures of the Kansas Board of Regents and of Kansas State University. Furthermore, consideration of the specific terms and conditions set forth by the potential sponsor is equally critical.

The Vice President for Research has delegated the negotiation of grants and contracts for sponsored projects to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP); these negotiations are generally conducted by the Associate Vice President for Research, OSP, or designee. In more sensitive cases, the Vice President for Research will conduct these negotiations. On special or unusual occasions, authorization to conduct negotiations may be delegated by the Vice President for Research to other university administrators and/or faculty members such as when these negotiations must take place in a foreign country. This delegation must be secured in writing in advance, and will be made only on a project-by-project basis.

.080 University's Tax ID and Other Identification Numbers

The federal tax identification number (TIN) for Kansas State University is 48-0771751.

Other useful identification numbers are:

ID for DHHS1-480771751A1
Institutional Code for NSF0019281000
Dunn & Bradstreet Number92-977-3554
Unique Entity ID (UEI)CFMMM5JM7HJ9
FEIN Number (same as TIN)48-0771751
CAGE Code4B817
Congressional DistrictKS-001

.085 University Policy on Classified Research

The university has the policy (see University Handbook, sections G51-G53) that classified research may not be carried out under university auspices. Classified research is broadly defined as research about which any of the following aspects are kept secret for an indefinite period, with control of their release or publication exercised by an agency other than the university:

  1. The purpose of the research.
  2. The name of the investigator(s).
  3. The amount or the source of funds.
  4. The university facilities used.
  5. The research procedures.
  6. The results of the research.

.090 Conflict of Interest

PIs/PDs who have, or whose family members may have, any financial interests with any non-governmental sponsor proposing to fund their research, must disclose that interest according to university policy. These financial interests may include, but are not limited to: equity, managerial roles, or consultantship arrangements. Faculty and unclassified staff must submit disclosures to their department head and dean of the college, and then to the provost, prior to the submission of a proposal involving such potential conflicts of interest (COI). In addition to the submission of the disclosure, a management plan must be developed by the PI/PD and approved by the department head, dean, and provost for apparent conflict of interest. Federal regulations dictate that an acceptable management plan must be in place prior to acceptance of funding for the proposed research.

Both NIH and NSF have published regulations that require all universities and other recipients of federal funds to have a Conflict of Interest Policy in effect to be eligible to receive extramural funding from their agencies; all other federal agencies have a congressional mandate to publish similar policies addressing COI. Disclosure should be made to department heads and college deans and forwarded to the provost's office annually, with updates submitted as needed to indicate any significant changes throughout the academic year.

The current version of the university policy can be found in Section S of the University Handbook. The Kansas state laws governing Conflicts of Interest are set forth in K.S.A. 46-215, et seq. of the State Government Ethics Act.

.095 Nepotism

The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) has a policy regarding appointments of family members (Section 4095 of the Policy and Procedures Manual) that states:

If a person is in a position which requires an evaluation or a personnel decision such as those concerning appointment, retention, promotion, discipline, transfer, tenure or salary of a family member, someone with whom such person is in a consensual romantic relationship, or a member of such person's household, such condition shall be deemed a conflict of interest and that person shall not participate in such a decision, and that person shall not participate in any group or body which is considering any such decision. Persons may be appointed to university support staff or unclassified positions at Kansas State University without regard to family relationship or living arrangements with other members of the faculty and/or staff so long as the personnel processes are conducted, and decisions are made in compliance with institutional and Board policies.

This policy applies to all appointments at the university, including those on extramural sponsored programs. Procedures should be set up for the administration of this policy, usually by having the department head assume administrative responsibility. A memo should be placed in the personnel file for each such situation detailing how personnel actions will be handled, referencing all of the categories prescribed by the Regents, including salary. A copy of that memo should also be provided to OSP for inclusion in the project file. The latter is best done at the time of proposal submission so that OSP can respond properly and knowledgeably to inquiries from federal agencies. This must be done prior to making any appointments that fall into this category.

The state law governing nepotism is set forth in K.S.A. 46-246 of the State Government Ethics Act.

.100 Specific Information Reagarding Grant and Contract Documents

Grant and contract documents include proposals, awards, and modifications or amendments. Specific information on each of these types of documents is provided below. Section .200 provides information on processing grant and contract documents through university channels.

This section also includes topics on: assignment of account numbers, overdraft requests, expanded authority authorizations, and notifications of non-funding.

.110 Proposals

Proposals include:

  • Solicited proposals in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Application (RFA).

  • Unsolicited proposals in various formats.

  • Standard applications such as those to federal agencies or to foundations.

FORMAL PROPOSALS: Most proposals are FORMAL and require university approval prior to submission. Formal proposals are usually prepared using forms and guidelines provided by the sponsor. When submitting proposals for university approval, a copy of the sponsor's guidelines must be provided to the Pre Award Service team with the Office of Sponsored Programs, with the exception of standard applications to DHHS, NSF, USDA-CSREES, and DOE.

FIXED PRICE AGREEMENTS or INFORMAL PROPOSALS: In some instances, it is encouraged as well as advantageous to submit an "informal proposal" that often takes the form of a fixed price agreement. This method is particularly advantageous when dealing with corporate sponsors, as the proposal specifies a set or "fixed" price to perform an agreed upon set of specified deliverables but contains no details of the budget. Rather, the detailed budget is kept only internal to the university for cost accounting purposes only. In these types of agreements, sponsors agree to the scope of the work to be performed, with an agreed upon value, but provide no details of how the funds are to be spent on personnel, supplies, equipment, travel, or facilities and administrative costs. Further, in such fixed price agreements, should any funds remain at the conclusion of the project, the residual funds may be transferred to a departmental Restricted Fees Account, if permitted by the agreement (see PPM Chapter 7050, Section .210). To ensure that university policies on these matters are adhered to, investigators must utilize the services of OSP.

The proposal signed by OSP is a legal document binding on the university and hence no changes in the proposal may be made after that signing without the written approval of OSP. OSP retains this legal document until an award notice is received.

.120 Awards

An award is a SIGNED DOCUMENT from the sponsor notifying the UNIVERSITY that a project is being funded at a specified level, usually for a specified term. Notification of an award comes in various forms, such as by a letter, grant, contract, cooperative agreement, service agreement, or purchase order. For non-federal sponsors that do not have a standardized format for making awards or that do not require that their format be used, the university's standard Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is recommended. The MOA is accompanied by a description of the scope of work and a project budget. However, if a fixed-priced agreement (Section .110 and .300) is used, the detailed budget will not be provided with the MOA.

Official awards must be ACCEPTED by BOTH the SPONSOR and the UNIVERSITY. That is, communications such as phone conversations, letters of intent, or unsigned documents are NOT official awards and will not be honored.

When the award notice is received by OSP, the notice is forwarded either to the affiliated administrative unit or to the PI/PD, depending on the procedures established by the unit, for processing through the appropriate administrative channels (see Section .230). When a fully executed award notification is processed, the OSP Pre Award Services team first processes the award and then transfers both proposal and award notification to OSP Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPA) Team. SPA has sole responsibility for activating the fiscal accounts for the required financial reporting and for maintaining auditable records (see Chapter 7050 on Post-Award Procedures for more details).

.130 Assignment of Account Numbers

Upon receipt of the proposal and award notice from PAS, SPA assigns the account number. The accountant for the department or other administrative unit responsible for financial matters will be notified via email of the account number.

.140 Overdraft Requests

When a department or college has received either verbal or written notification that an award is forthcoming and believes that the risk is minimal, provisions can be made for establishing an account prior to actual receipt of the official award. This is done by submitting an Overdraft Request Form via the Cayuse Sponsored Programs (SP) system. If the project is not funded, the unit(s) indicated on the Overdraft Request Form assumes financial responsibility for all expenses incurred. Approval of an overdraft is also contingent upon an adequate balance in the state's restricted fees account.

.150 Modifications or Amendments

Modifications or Amendments to a project include:

  1. change in PI/PD
  2. change in scope of work
  3. change in period of performance
  4. budget revision
  5. carryover of funds
  6. other contractual terms and conditions

Because a modification is a change in the legal terms of an agreement, whether initiated by the PI/PD or by the sponsor, it must be reviewed by the University and is subject to the approvals for the initial proposal or award. When initiating a modification, the appropriate method for accomplishing this may be sponsor dependent, with the usual options given in 1-3 below. If there is doubt about the most appropriate method, consult OSP.

  1. Many sponsors ask for a letter from the PI/PD to the sponsor, approved and cosigned by the institutional representative. Some sponsors are willing to approve the modification simply by signing the letter of request; other sponsors have formal vehicles for modifying a grant of contract.

  2. Where sponsors signed K-State's standard Memorandum of Agreement, the appropriate modification template should be used.

  3. Several agencies of the federal government delegate broad authority to the institution to make on-site changes although some restrictions apply. This authority is referred to as the Expanded Authority Authorization (EAA), discussed in Section .160 below.

Note: When an award document allows minor reallocation of funds from one budget category to another category (usually within a certain percentage of the overall budget), no action is required by any of the parties involved. In other cases, the award document may require institutional approval only via EAA request.

.160 Expanded Authority Authorization (EAA)

Federal agencies that delegate EAA authority to Kansas State University include:

DHHSDepartment of Health and Human Services (research grants only)
DOEDepartment of Energy
EPAEnvironmental Protection Agency
NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
NSFNational Science Foundation
USDAU.S. Department of Agriculture

As this list is not all inclusive, please contact OSP for guidance.

Within the constraints imposed by the expanded authorities, changes that the University is empowered to authorize must be approved first by the department head or chair and the college dean and/or the director of the research office through which the project is administered (see the Expanded Authority Authorization form). If this request is approved by OSP, a copy is uploaded in Cayuse SP and is forwarded to the SPA team for implementation.

EAA guidelines require that any changes approved by the University must be in advance of the action, and that all changes must be deemed necessary to carry out most effectively the goals for which the original award was made. The guidelines also stipulate that the change must be adequately justified in writing.

UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED IN THE GRANT AGREEMENT, the institution is authorized to approve the following:

  1. PRE AWARD COSTS:

    Expenditures are authorized within 90 days prior to the effective date of the award. However, such expenditures that precede the award are solely at the financial risk of the unit requesting these expenditures (e.g., college or department). When EAA approval is granted by OSP for such pre-award expenditures, a project account number is assigned by SPA.

  2. NO-COST TIME EXTENSION (in the final budget period):
    • Extensions of up to 12 months for many federal agencies, please confirm with OSP.
    • Extensions may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using unliquidated balance.

    When time extensions are granted through the EAA process, the university is required to notify the agency in writing within 10 days of approval and/or at least 10 days prior to the end date specified in the award. OSP will communicate the granting of a time extension to the agency. A copy of the letter to the agency will be sent to the PI/PD, departmental head/chair and director or dean.

    Federal EAA guidelines authorize the university to grant an EAA time extension up to 10 days prior to the expiration date of the award. If OSP receives a request for a time extension after this deadline, the request will not be processed per federal regulations.

  3. CARRYOVER OF FUNDS from one budget period to the next period for continuing awards. When necessary, SPA will notify the agency when the last billing for the period is made.

  4. REBUDGETING OF FUNDS FROM ONE CATEGORY TO ANOTHER may be approved under EAA with certain exceptions. Exceptions to this authority are:

    • Significant transfers that result in a change in the scope or objectives of the project.
    • Reallocations of funds budgeted for participant or trainee costs.
    • Reallocation to transfer funds for subcontracts or subawards if not described in proposal and funded in the award document.
  5. SPENDING FOR NON-BUDGETED ITEMS, such as equipment or travel with certain exceptions. Exceptions to this authority are:

    • Capital expenditures for land or buildings
    • Equipment over $5,000 on NASA awards
    • General purpose equipment
    • Equipment that was originally proposed but removed from budget by sponsor prior to award
  6. UNDER EAA, THE UNIVERSITY CANNOT AUTHORIZE:
    • Change in principal investigator.
    • Change in scope of work.
    • Expenditures not directly related to the agency approved scope of the project.

.170 Notices of Proposals That Are Not Funded

If a PI/PD receives a notification that a project will not be funded, that notice should be emailed to OSP at research@k-state.edu so official records can be updated accordingly.

.200 Processing Sponsored Project Activity Documents

The following topics are addressed in this section:

  • Internal Processing Form (IPF)
  • Signature approvals required
  • Routing procedures for grant and contract documents
  • Lead time required for processing

Documents prepared for the purpose of seeking support from any source external to the university must be processed through the appropriate administrative unit(s) on campus and then submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs as the authorized representative of the university. Notifications of funding and subsequent contractual documents are to be processed using the same procedures.

.210 Internal Processing Form

The Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form (IPF) is a required, internal university control form used for recording sponsored project related information. This is an official document of the University that must accompany proposals, revised proposals, award notifications, and project modifications. All university commitments of personnel, matching funds, and additional space requirements, along with certifications regarding research compliance issues such as conflict of interest, use of human subjects, use of biohazards, use of animals, etc. are made on this form, and these must have signature approval of all parties responsible for making these commitments and/or certifying compliance.

.220 Signature Approvals Required

Generally, sponsors require signatures on proposals and award documentation, including those of the PI/PD(s) and the authorized institutional representative. In addition, the University requires the signatures of approval of the appropriate department head(s) (chair), college dean(s), and the director of an experiment station, if appropriate, in the Cayuse SP system.

On occasion, other signatures of approval may be required, either by the sponsor or by the University. These approvals, referred to as SPECIAL APPROVALS, are discussed in Section 2 below, and include:

  • Certifying all research compliance issues, such as the use of human subjects, live animals, radioactive materials, recombinant DNA, other biohazardous materials, and infectious agents.
  • Assignments of intellectual property rights.
  • Any other administrative approvals and programmatic commitments.

Provisions for signatures of approval of academic and research units and for all required special approvals are made in the Cayuse SP system. In addition, the delineation of financial commitments of matching funds should be made on the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form (IPF). It should be noted that approval signatures indicate concurrence with the contents of the document in terms of contractual and financial commitments and are considered binding commitments. If concerns or disclaimers about the contents or commitments exist, the exception must be noted in writing on IPF or, if preferred, in a separate memorandum accompanying this form. Signatures of approval obligate the signatories to provide all space and fiscal commitments, except where deviations are specifically delineated and accepted by OSP.

  1. Department, College and Experiment Station Approvals

The department head or chair approves for the department or unit. The dean of the college approves for the college; other signatures may be required such as those involving experiment stations.

If a sponsored project involves faculty members (with time direct- charged or cost-shared) from MORE THAN ONE department, college, OR if a project involves faculty members with JOINT department, college and/or station appointments, approval of each represented department, college, and/or experiment station is required.

If additional space is required that is not already available in the department or is not committed by the dean of the college, then a letter must be included with the proposal notifying the University that additional space will be required if the award is made and accepted. If this request is not made and accepted, the home unit assumes sole responsibility for providing the additional space required to conduct the project.

        II. Special Approvals

In addition to department, college and experiment station approvals, other University approvals are required for the following reasons:

    • To inform individuals whose operation(s) are affected by the project.
    • To indicate review by research compliance committee(s.
    • To safeguard standards and policies. Special approvals are described below under the following categories:
      • INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Proposal/award requires intellectual property to be licensed by, or assigned to, the sponsor (vice president for research).
      • ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS are required for:
        • New faculty hired using project funds, but who will have continuing commitments or expectations beyond the duration of the project (college dean).
        • Faculty members on the project who will be off-campus for three months or longer, e.g., sabbatical or IPA (college dean, provost and Kansas Board of Regents).
        • Seeking federal monies for capital improvements (vice president for administration and finance and Kansas Board of Regents).
        • Faculty overloads in instruction (department head, college dean and vice president for research).
        • Construction or alterations of facilities, including electric power modifications, additional or unusual space requirements, or project space not presently available or assigned to PI, department or college** (department dead, associate vice president for facilities).
        • Purchase of computer equipment in excess of $50,000 per year (chief information officer, office of the vice president for Information technology).

** It is assumed that all space requirements for a sponsored project being proposed can be satisfied within the space assigned to the department or the dean of the appropriate college. Concurrence is signified by the appropriate signature on the Cayuse SP IPF.

When additional space for the project is required, a separate letter identifying necessary space and requesting its use should accompany the Cayuse IPF so that the request can be reviewed. Approval of the request must occur before the proposal is submitted.

In general, the university will attempt to provide needed space when the award recovers full facilities and administrative costs, as obligated by the university in accepting the award. Projects that require additional space but do not recover full facilities and administrative costs will be expected to include all costs of the space required as a direct cost in the proposal.

      • PROGRAMMATIC COMMITMENTS: Various programmatic commitments require signatures of approval before a proposal may be submitted to an extramural sponsor. These include:
        • New academic programs or administrative organizations to be established (college dean, graduate dean, vice president for research and provost).
        • Project or program involving K-State as a member of a formally established consortium (vice president for research).
        • New centers and institutes (vice president for research, provost and Kansas Board of Regents).
        • New graduate programs and graduate instructional credit or fellowships (dean of the Graduate School).
        • International program activities (associate provost for international programs).
        • Cooperative extension programs (director of cooperative extension).
        • Conferences, workshops, or off-campus courses (provost on behalf of Academic Affairs and Innovation).
      • RESEARCH COMPLIANCE: When the proposed research activity involves the use of human subjects or animals, radioactive materials, and/or biohazards including recombinant DNA and infectious agents, federal regulations require that appropriate committees established within the university approve the project prior to the initiation of the work. These procedures apply to ALL activities at the University, independent of whether the project receives any intramural or extramural financial support. The signature of the chair of the appropriate committee must be secured prior to starting the project, assuring committee approval according to university and federal requirements.
        • Use and protection of human subjects in research (chair of the Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects).
        • Use of radioactive materials (chair of the Radiation Safety Committee).
        • Use of live vertebrates (chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee).
        • Use of biohazards including recombinant DNA or chemical, biological and infectious hazards (chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee).

The Cayuse SP system includes an electronic routing process of the Internal Processing Form (IPF) that provides for assurance and approval by the PIs/PDs, Department Heads, Deans, and Directors that they agree with the contents of the attached document and are prepared to comply with all obligations contained therein.

Specifically, the PIs/PDs agree that by signing, they agree to abide with University policies and regulations, including, but not limited to, those defining responsibilities, conditions of employment, outside financial interests, and all other research compliance matters. PIs/PDs also agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the outside grant or contract which supports the proposed activity. PIs/PDs are also certifying that they have not been debarred, suspended, or declared ineligible to receive federal funds, that they have disclosed any potential conflict of interest through the K-State Report of Non-University Interests and Commitments, and that to the best of their knowledge, no appropriated funds have been expended that would influence awarding the proposed grant or contract. They also agree to disclose promptly each subject invention made under the sponsored program and to execute all papers necessary to file patent applications to the University or its designee.

Department heads, directors and deans agree that in signing, they have reviewed the IPF and the appended document for all institutional commitments and approve and commit to the obligations therein. Their signature also authorizes they have reviewed the documents for any real or apparent conflicts of interest and affirming either that none exists or is being managed. That is, an approved management plan for the potential conflict of interest has been forwarded to the provost's office along with the individual's Report of Non-University Interests and Commitments.

It should be noted that "all institutional commitments" and "obligations therein" include the commitments made by the faculty member to complete the project as agreed, that the physical space required to complete the project has already been assigned to the PI/PD, or will be made from space currently under the control of the department head or dean. If the space required is not available, a letter of request and justification must be submitted with signature of the vice president for administration and finance.

.230 University Routing Procedures for Processing Proposals and All Other Grant and Contract Documents

The processing of proposals and all subsequent grant and contract documents follow a routing path that is determined by:

  1. the type of PROJECT ACTIVITY,
  2. the ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT with which the PI/PD is affiliated.

PROJECT ACTIVITY is classified as (1) research or (2) non-research.

RESEARCH activity is categorized as basic, applied, or some blend of the two activities.

Research: systematic inquiry or investigation to discover or revise knowledge, theories or applications.

    • Basic: Investigations directed at discovering new knowledge, procedures or information.
    • Applied: Using known knowledge and procedures to solve a practical problem.

NON-RESEARCH activity includes instruction, training, non-research related equipment, facilities and construction, and public service.

Instruction/Training: Involving instructional course work or training classes/workshops.

Equipment: Purchase of equipment for research or other programs

Facilities/Construction: Building, installing or renovating a structure.

Public Service: Service rendered to the general public. Includes cooperative extension, and "Other." Currently, "Other" consists of those activities of the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives, Small Business Development Center, and the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development.

.240 Lead Time Required to Process Proposals

Through delegated authority issued by the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Sponsored Programs (OSP) is designated as the office responsible for supporting the development, review, final approval and submission of proposals requesting external funding for K-State research, education and public service activities; development, review and negotiation of grants, contracts and agreements with external sponsors; development, negotiation and approval of subcontracts, subawards, consultant and service agreements to be issued pursuant to the authorizations contained within sponsored grants, contracts and agreements; monitoring commitment of university funds, personnel and space; providing assurance to sponsors regarding compliance issues and mitigation of conflicts of interest; processing sponsored project modifications; and securing final K-State approval and signature for all proposals and agreements from K-State’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), currently the Associate Vice President for Research. AOR signature is a requirement for all proposals prior to submission and for the acceptance of all subsequent grants, contracts and awards. This clearance and approval process serves to establish these documents as legally binding commitments upon the university. Timely submission to OSP ensures thoughtful consideration and review of the proposal in order to meet this obligation.

OSP is committed to the quality and success of K-State’s externally sponsored proposals and supports timely submission of proposals which are compliant, accurate, and complete. The AOR, the Principal Investigator and his/her department and college, share responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in these proposals and its conformance with sponsor guidelines and directives, along with all applicable federal and state laws, and institutional policies and procedures. Therefore, sufficient time (i.e. lead time) must be provided to OSP for an adequate and thorough review. This review will in turn allow investigators to act on recommendations made based on the review. Through this process, OSP is able to perform its duty to confirm and provide assurance of compliance with federal and state laws, as well as policies and procedures of both the university and sponsor. This “Lead- Time” policy applies to all proposals, subaward proposals, and non-competing continuations for both paper-based and electronic applications. This policy also applies to pre-proposals or letters of intent presenting budgetary or cost information, including fixed-price or fully-burdened quotes, or specific personnel or facility commitments to a sponsor.

DEFINITIONS

Internal due date: The internal proposal deadline date determined by K-State in accordance with the policy outlined herein to provide units within the institution sufficient lead time for review of documentation prior to the Sponsor Due Date.

Sponsor due date: The deadline (date and time) after which the sponsor will no longer accept proposals or corrections to recently submitted proposals for the targeted competition.  This also includes due dates set by a pass-through entity.  For example, if the prime sponsor’s due date is October 1, but the proposed funding is coming through another university and that university sets a due date of September 1, the September 1 date serves as the official Sponsor Due Date for K-State and is the date utilized to determine the Internal Due Date.

At-risk proposals: Proposals and/or proposal components routed through for university review and approval after the Internal Due Date, as more fully described in IV.3 below.

5-day submissions: Proposal submissions where the normal development services provided by OSP are assumed by departmental/college proposal support services and the proposal does not include an unresolved complicating feature more fully described below.

10-day submissions: Proposal submissions where OSP is providing all of the proposal preparation support, or the proposal includes one of the complicating features more fully described below that has not already been resolved.

  1. 5-Day Submissions
    Internal due cate: Five (5) business days in advance of sponsor due date.

    1. When proposal development support is provided to principal investigators by departmental or college proposal support personnel, investigators must adhere to a 5-day advance Internal Due Date for the following documents to allow the OSP staff time to complete their internal review and collect necessary approvals:

      • Final budget and budget justification in sponsor form, including those for any subawardees certified by subawardee research office.

      • Draft personnel documents including current and pending support, biosketches and Conflict of Interest forms/information, if applicable.

      • Draft project summary, abstract, or scope of work.

    2. In order to support investigators in creating the most competitive proposal package for submission, when documents identified above are received by the Internal Due Date, OSP will provide initial feedback regarding the documents received no later than three business days after their receipt.

      • All remaining final technical-based documents outside of those identified above, such as the final project description, project summary/abstract, references, etc., are due no later than 24 hours prior to the Sponsor Due Date. This later Internal Due Date for technical documents will allow investigators to continue to draft their project description and other technical sections of the proposal. 

  2. 10-day Submissions
    Internal due date: Ten (10) business days in advance of sponsor due date.

    1. When OSP is providing all of the proposal development assistance or proposal submissions include complicating issues not previously resolved, investigators must adhere to a 10-day advance Internal Due Date.  Complicating issues include but are not limited to research compliance committee concerns, intellectual property or other such prior contractual review or negotiation requirements, assisting with developing, obtaining and reviewing subawardee proposal documentation, securing commitments for additional space, interpretations requiring general counsel review, multi-entity collaborative submissions, budget development support, foreign sponsor guideline interpretation and review, obtaining and verifying commitment of internal and/or third party matching funds and new sponsor submission portals requiring a prior registration process.

    2. In order to support investigators in creating the most competitive proposal package for submission, OSP will provide an initial status update regarding the received documents no later than three business days after their receipt, when documents identified in Section I above are received by the Internal Due Date.

    3. The OSP staff member assigned to your unit will determine additional internal deadlines for documents and other information to keep the process on task to ensure an efficient and timely submission, including deadline requirements for subawardees to submit their documents. 

    4. All remaining final technical-based documents outside those identified in Section I above, such as the final project description, project summary/abstract, references, etc., are due no later than 24 hours prior to the Sponsor Due Date.  This later Internal Due Date for the technical documents will allow investigators to continue to draft their project description and other technical sections of the proposal. 

  3. At-Risk Proposals
    Proposals received after the Internal Due Dates identified above are considered At-Risk Proposals.  These submissions cause inequities in proposal review and processing and jeopardize both the submission of the At-Risk Proposal and the submission of timely received proposals.

    1. In order to not be considered an At-Risk Proposal, OSP must receive the documents outlined in Section I by the Internal Due Dates outlined above (5 days or 10 days prior to the Sponsor Due Date, as applicable, except for the technical documents which can be received 24 hours prior to the Sponsor Due Date).

    2. At-Risk Proposals will be identified with special notations on the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form when the receipt date is less than the required 5 or 10 business days prior to the Sponsor Due Date.  A word of caution is warranted here.  OSP doesn’t officially receive the documents until the IPF is complete and routing for electronic signature, so even if the IPF is created 5 days or 10 days in advance (as required, depending on the Internal Due Date), the Internal Due Date can still be missed if the form is not complete and routing for electronic signature 5 days or 10 days (as applicable) prior to the Sponsor Due Date.  In these cases where the parties are waiting on the IPF form to be completed by the PI/PD, the proposal documents must be uploaded to the IPF and an email notification sent to the OSP staff member to officially submit the proposal documents to meet the Internal Due Date.  When college/departmental proposal support services are being provided, the uploaded documents should be provided by these personnel to avoid the submission of outdated documents.

    3. At-Risk Proposals will not be given priority status over proposals received on time.  At-Risk Proposals will not receive the benefit of feedback within three business days of receipt as described above. 

    4. Every effort will be made by OSP to submit all proposals, even those designated as At-Risk Proposals.  In many instances at least a partial review of the proposal, particularly the documents identified in Section I above, can be completed by OSP in an effort to accommodate a reduced review period.  However, submission of At-Risk Proposals cannot be guaranteed if such would jeopardize the timely submission of non-At-Risk Proposals.

    5. If an At-Risk Proposal is found to be in non-compliance with regulations or institutional policy via a post submission review, the university necessarily reserves the right to withdraw the proposal from consideration.

      As noted in above, receipt of proposal documents is determined by the completion and routing for electronic signatures of the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form (IPF) or by email to the applicable OSP staff member, or, if the staff member has posted an automatic out-of-office email reply notice, by email to research@ksu.edu.  OSP can only ensure the on-time, accurate, complete and compliant submission of applications to external sponsors when the above timelines and practices are followed.  Proposal submission requests not adhering to the Internal Due Dates identified above are not guaranteed submission. Therefore, the principal investigator is making a conscious, deliberate, and controllable decision regarding submission of their proposal and has explicitly taken full responsibility for the outcome of all aspects of the submission or non-submission of their proposal.

      Individual colleges, schools, departments or units may impose additional deadlines in advance of the Internal Due Dates dictated by this policy.

      Any proposal will receive a much diminished review when documents identified in Section I above are received after the Internal Due Dates; thus, there is no guarantee that the proposal will be complete when submitted.  The goal of OSP will be to get the proposal submitted, with an understanding the proposal may be withdrawn if a post submission review finds that the submission was incomplete.  If OSP determines that insufficient lead time has been provided for even the most basic compliance and regulatory review, the proposal will not be submitted.   Every effort will be made to notify the departmental/college support personnel or the investigator of this situation prior to the Sponsor Due Date.

  4. Office of Sponsored Programs Staff Availability
    Regular hours for the Office of Sponsored Programs staff are 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. CST on days the university is open for business.  Investigators should plan for their submissions to occur during regular business hours even if the submission deadline is after 5 p.m. CST.   Investigators must also consider scheduled closings, holidays, and potential inclement weather when developing their submission timeline.  For the avoidance of doubt, references to “days” throughout this policy regarding Internal Due Dates and Sponsor Due Dates mean “business days” and references to 24 hours refer to the 24 hours on the last business day before the Sponsor Due Date.

    As submission of proposal documents via email is an acceptable method, OSP staff will use the automatic email reply feature within their email software to advise investigators and departmental staff of an absence.  If an automatic reply is received, the proposal documents should then be emailed to research@k-state.edu.

  5. Unauthorized Proposal Submission
    Proposals, including pre-proposals, letters of intent and concept papers that propose the commitment of personnel and facilities or other such financial considerations, including fixed-price and fully-burdened price quotes, cannot be submitted directly to the sponsor without the prior review of the Office of Sponsored Programs and authorization of K-State’s AOR.  Any award granted as a result of an unauthorized proposal submission is subject to rejection by the institution.  

.300 Budget Preparation

All proposals should have a well-planned budget designed to achieve the objectives of the project. In this section, some guidelines are presented on items that might be included in a budget. It is advisable that the PI/PD consult with the OSP staff (or other appropriate unit offices) early in the proposal preparation process for advice on items that might be important for the design of the project. When a corporate or foundation sponsor does not require an itemized budget, the PI/PD should consider proposing a "fixed price" contract (see below).

Fixed Price Agreements:
A number of sponsors, especially foundations and corporate entities, may not require an itemized budget from the University. Although it is beneficial to construct such a budget in the design of the project and for use within the University, the PI/PD should not submit the detailed budget to the sponsor unless required. An alternative procedure to including a detailed budget is to develop a "fixed price agreement" (see Section .110). These agreements have very definite advantages to the PI/PD in that no details about direct or facilities and administrative costs are provided to the sponsor. Instead, the PI/PD quite simply agrees to perform a specific set of activities or deliverables for an agreed upon price.

DISPOSITION OF BALANCES IN FIXED PRICE AGREEMENTS:
In such fixed price agreements, internal arrangements are made as to the disposition of the awarded funds, and funds not required as direct or associated facilities and administrative costs may be transferred at the conclusion of the project (see Section .110) pursuant to the procedures outlined in PPM chapter 7050, section 210, "Close Out Procedures."

If a complete budget is required, specific attention should be given to the following budget categories:

  • Direct costs, such as:
    • Salaries and Wages of all Personnel
    • Employee Fringe Benefits
    • Service Charges for Specialized Cost Centers
    • Consultants and Subcontractors/Subrecipients
    • Tuition and Fees
    • Other Direct Costs
  • Cost Sharing, Matching Funds, and In-kind Contribution
  • Facilities and Administrative Costs

Each of these items is discussed below.

.310 Salaries and Wages

Generally, salaries of faculty members and other personnel are charged directly to the project for the percent effort devoted to the project. In some instances, salaries are cost-shared (see .370 below) to fulfill sponsor requirements. In either case, when a salary is charged directly to a project, or when it is committed as cost-sharing, the percent of effort should be proportional to the base salary; federal regulations (and those of other agencies) prohibit charging for more than the proportional share of a person's time. Salary in excess of full-time status (overload) is strictly limited by the Kansas Board of Regents policy and federal regulations (2 CFR 200 Subpart E, Section 200.430). Furthermore, when a project is sponsored by federal funds or federal flow-down funds, overtime compensation must be specifically provided in the agreement or approved in writing by the sponsoring agency. Institutional review and approval of overloads are delegated to the vice president for research.

Attention should also be given to limitations imposed by some sponsors on salary or on "percent of effort" that may be charged. While the guidelines of the sponsor usually address such restrictions, please consult OSP for the current status of such restrictions.

.320 Employee Fringe Benefits

All employees of the institution are eligible for fringe benefits which typically include social security (FICA), retirement (including life and disability insurance), unemployment compensation, worker's compensation, health insurance, and sick/annual leave assessment. When charging a portion of an employee's time to a sponsored project, a pro-rata share of the employee's fringe benefits must also be charged directly to the project.

To assist in developing estimates of fringe benefits for proposal budgets, a summary of the current fiscal year rates may be obtained from the OSP budget webpage. Fringe benefits are broken down by employee status and by benefit category. All benefit categories are fixed percentages, except for the health insurance which is an estimated average. Although estimated fringe benefit rates are used in the proposal for budgetary planning purposes, the actual rates applicable at the time are charged to the project.

In a few cases, sponsors may place limits on the magnitude or the percentage of fringe benefits they will pay. In such cases, arrangements will need to be made by the department with the Payroll Section of Human Resource Services for charging the unrecovered portion; otherwise, the grant will be overcharged on fringe benefits.

.330 Service Charges for Specialized Cost or Recharge Centers (Schedule of Charges)

When a department or unit of the university provides a service for a fee, the department/unit must establish a Schedule of Charges with the Division of Financial Services. The Schedule of Charges defines the service and states the fee charged for the service and must include only the direct costs of providing the product or service. This would normally include the non-state funded salaries, wages, and benefits of employees directly involved in completing the work, plus any supplies, materials, and other contractual services used in the work. The fee should not include depreciation or administrative expenses as they are recovered through facilities and administrative cost components included in the university's facilities and administrative cost rate. Line items contained in budgets to extramural sponsors that propose the use of university service centers must be consistent with an approved schedule of charges and be verifiable prior to proposal approval. Policies and procedures relating to schedule of changes can be found in PPM chapter 3085.

.340 Consultants and Subrecipients

When preparing proposals for extramural funding that include a transfer of a portion of the research or substantive effort of the prime award to another institution or organization, or in seeking professional advice or services from external sources, a determination must be made during the proposal development stage as to the appropriate mechanism for this transfer of effort, or outside consultation.

The two mechanisms commonly used are the issuance of a subaward (sometimes referred to as a subcontract), or a consultant agreement.

A subaward, subgrant, or subagreement is a document written under the authority of, and consistent with the terms and conditions of a prime award (a grant, contract or cooperative agreement), that transfers a portion of the research or substantive effort of the prime award to another institution or organization.

A consultant is an individual hired to give professional advice or service for a fee but not as an employee of the hiring party. The term "consultant" also includes a firm that provides paid professional advice or service. Recipients of federal funds are expected to have policies governing their use of consultants that are consistently applied regardless of the source of support and are expected to justify using consultants instead of salaried employees.

When a subrecipient or a consultant is a "sole source" and the service is expected to exceed $5,000, the name of the source and the justification for the sole source are both required. "Sole source" justification may consist of:

  1. a statement or representation in the proposal that the named supplier/contractor is the only source for the desired supplies or services, or

  2. a statement in the proposal that the named supplier/contractor is uniquely qualified to perform the desired services because of location, reputation, and expertise. Most sponsors also require that justification be included in the proposal for the use of subrecipients and/or consultants.

IF THE SOLE SOURCE IS NOT IDENTIFIED IN THE PROPOSAL, BIDS MUST BE LET AT TIME OF UNIVERSITY'S RECEIPT OF AWARD. This is a standard purchasing mandate contained in both State and Federal laws and regulations. Note that a letter of commitment from the source is required at the proposal stage.

The fee for a consultant should be commensurate with the qualifications of the individual and the time devoted to the project and shall not exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum rate paid to a GS-15 (Executive Schedule Level IV) federal employee exclusive of facilities and administrative cost, travel, per diem, fringe benefits, and supplies. This rate is currently $706 per day and applies if federal funding is being used to fund the project. All costs for the consultant should be included in the K-State budget aes a single line item.

Documentation is required at the initial proposal stage when submitting proposals for extramural funding that include requests for funds to support subcontract/subawards, and/or consultant expenses. The amount of documentation varies, but generally a separate budget detail and budget judtification for the proposed subcontract/subaward or consultant must be included, a statement of work detailing the responsibilities being contracted out, along with a "letter of commitment" from the outside entity that provides assurance of their intent to fulfill their obligations if the project is awarded.

A consultant agreement or a subaward will be prepared upon receipt and acceptance of the prime award by OSP if such was part of the original proposal. OSP will consult with the PI/PD concerning the statement of work, budget details, billing requirements, and other issues not detailed in the original proposal and will provide a draft copy of the agreement to the PI/PD for review before sending originals to the consultant or subrecipient for signature.

.350 Tuition and Fees

There are generally two circumstances in sponsored projects activity in which tuition and fees are an issue:

  1. GRADUATE STUDENTS: All sponsored project activity should include graduate students to the extent possible. When graduate students are supported by sponsored projects, tuition and campus privilege fees are to be charged directly to the project, if permitted by the sponsor. If the sponsor allows tuition to be charged, but not fees, then the latter necessarily becomes the responsibility of students. Graduate students who have 0.4 FTE (or greater) appointments, and meet certain appointment term requirements, as stipulated by Board of Regent policy, are eligible for tuition charged at the employee/staff rate. Graduate students who have teaching responsibilities associated with their appointment may be eligible for full or partial waiver of tuition depending on the FTE commitment and other terms of the appointment.

  2. INSTRUCTIONAL COURSES: For cases in which the ENTIRE COST of instruction is funded by a sponsor, tuition is not charged for student enrollment. "Entire cost" is defined as including the total direct (salaries, supplies, etc.) and facilities and administrative costs of the project. When the course is offered on campus, campus privilege fees must be borne either by the sponsor or by the student. Campus privilege fees are not required for courses taught off campus.

When tuition and fees are quoted in a proposal, the most current rate or projected rate, whichever is appropriate, should be used in conjunction with a statement that "tuition and fees are subject to change without notice by the Kansas Board of Regents."

.360 Other Direct Costs

Other typical costs that should be considered in budget preparation are:

  • Equipment and equipment repair.
  • Travel expenses, e.g., professional meetings; non-local research/project sites, etc.
  • Expendable supplies.
  • Publication charges.
  • Mainframe computer charges.
  • Costs of acquiring data.
  • Maintenance contracts.
  • Mailing and shipping expenses.
  • Copying/duplication/printing charges.

.370 Cost-Sharing, Including Matching Funds and In-Kind Contributions

Kansas State University will pursue full costs of sponsored project activities funded by extramural sponsors. The full costs include all allowable direct costs and Facilities and Administrative costs.  Cost sharing, matching, and in-kind contributions are the commitment of university resources in support of a project beyond the funds provided by the sponsor.  These funds may be required by the sponsor or may be offered to emphasize the University's commitment to the project.  Cost share commitments on behalf of the University will not be allowed unless required by published policies of the sponsor. This commitment may be from the University's resources, from a third party, or from a combination of both. Regardless of the source, the University is responsible for maintaining records that satisfy state and federal audit requirements. Reference the Cost Sharing PPM Chapter 7070 for additional information.

Full Costs: Costs on sponsored projects are divided into two major categories: (1) direct costs and (2) facilities and administrative (F&A) costs [indirect costs or overhead]. 

    • Direct costs are those are attributed to the scope of work of a particular project.  Examples include project-specific salaries and fringe benefits for personnel, materials and supplies, travel, equipment, tuition, laboratory fees, shipping, and long distance telephone charges.
    • To the extent allowed by the sponsor, the Principal Investigator efforts in these creative activities should be compensated as well.
    • Departments or administrative units wishing to provide mandatory cost resources to sponsored projects may not rely on voluntary waived or reduced F&A as a source of mandatory cost sharing.

Regulatory Requirements: The Kansas Board of Regents’ policy requires that sponsored projects be funded on a full cost recovery basis unless such recovery is restricted by law or other public policy. 

Limited Exceptions: Some sponsors limit the payment of full costs by statute and/or published program-specific policy.  If so, the differential between the sponsors’ maximum cost allowance and the full project costs will be a university cost share and must be documented on the Sponsored Project Transmittal Sheet and approved through the normal routing chain for the submitting unit[s].

University Operational Procedures: Cost sharing, matching, and in-kind contributions are the commitment of university resources in support of a project beyond the funds provided by the sponsor. These funds must be required by the sponsor through published program-specific policies.

This commitment may be from the university's resources, from a third party, or from a combination of both. Regardless of the source, the university is responsible for maintaining records that satisfy state and federal audit requirements.

Cost sharing or matching funds include:

  • Salary and associated fringe benefits.
  • Unrecovered facilities and administrative costs.
  • University contributions for other expenses associated with the project, such as travel, equipment, supplies, etc. (i.e. "hard dollar match").

Of these, salaries and fringe benefits are the most effective means of cost sharing because they are automatically recorded in the Personnel Activity Report (PAR). See PPM chapter 7070 for further information about PAR's. When there are cost share or "hard dollar" matches, those funds must be transferred to a "matching" account established by the Sponsored Programs Accounting team at the time that a project is established.

The identification of all sources of matching funds is required at the proposal stage. Space for approval and commitment is provided on the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form (IPF) to indicate source(s) and amount(s) of hard dollar commitments. Authorized signatures from all contributing units must be secured through the Cayuse SP IPF routing in advance of submission of the proposal, all signatures are legally binding if the award is made by the Sponsor.

Contributions by a third party may include actual monetary contributions for project expenses (matching) or non-cash contributions (in-kind) such as services or the loan or gift of equipment. For third party contributions to qualify for cost-sharing, those items must be necessary to accomplish the project and allowable by the sponsor (sponsor would allow the cost to be charged to the project if they were paying the entire project costs). Third party contributions, whether monetary or in-kind, must be documented in the proposal by a binding letter of commitment or via an existing agreement which includes details.

.380 Facilities and Administrative Costs

Kansas State University will pursue full costs of sponsored project activities funded by extramural sponsors. The full costs include all allowable direct costs required to complete the sponsored activity and the affiliated Facilities and Administrative costs borne by the University, but which are not included in the direct costs. The F&A cost is a federally negotiated rate. Limited exceptions to this policy exist, described below, as defined by government statues or policy.  For-profit organizations will be expected to provide full costs of sponsored projects. Additional fees may be required for their exclusive limited licensing of intellectual properties resulting from University Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities, and Discovery (RSCAD) activities. The Office of Sponsored Programs may not approve proposals, awards, or contracts which do not adhere to these policies.

Full Costs: Costs on sponsored projects are divided into two major categories: (1) direct costs and (2) facilities and administrative (F&A) costs (indirect costs or overhead). 

    • Direct costs are those are attributed to the scope of work of a particular project. Examples include project-specific salaries and fringe benefits for personnel, materials and supplies, travel, equipment, tuition, laboratory fees, and shipping charges.
    • F&A costs (indirect costs or overhead) are pooled project support costs that cannot be credited on a project-specific basis, but support the facilities and administration required for RSCAD activities supported by extramural sponsors.  By including these costs, each sponsored activity contributes to these pooled costs. By not including these costs, the university and the taxpayers of Kansas support a large percentage of the work.

Regulatory Requirements: Government regulations require that the approved F&A cost rate be applied consistently to ensure that the government is provided the most favorable costs with respect to other sponsors. There is intense scrutiny to ensure that the F&A rate is applied to all sponsored projects.  The Kansas Board of Regents’ policy requires that sponsored projects be funded on a full cost basis unless such recovery is restricted by law or other public policy.

Limited Exceptions: Some government sponsors limit the payment of F&A costs by statute and/or policy.  This situation is encountered with state agencies and some federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Education.  If so, the differential between the sponsors’ mandated rate and the federally negotiated rate will be a university cost share.  When funding flows from a federal sponsor through an intermediary sponsor [federal flow-through funds], the F&A cost rate policy of the federal sponsor will always apply.

Deviations from the approved F&A cost rate may be considered for organizations with published policies, consistently applied and applicable to all applicants, that reduce full cost recovery.

For projects requiring an exception, requests must be made via email, accompanied with substantiating documentation, to the Senior Associate Vice President for Research via ord@ksu.edu. If an exception is granted, confirmation of approval must be uploaded to the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form so that the authorizing authority for each requesting department(s), college(s) or administrative office(s) to the Vice President for Research can review and approve.

All budgets on sponsored projects must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) prior to being provided to a sponsor. Requests for waivers of F&A or other forms of cost sharing without OSP prior review and the Office of the Vice President for Research approval will not be considered.  Submission of a budget to external sponsors without the required prior review and approval through OSP is a violation of University policy.

All projects have two types of costs associated with them, DIRECT COSTS and FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

DIRECT COSTS are typically specific items that can be identified in-line item budgets.

FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE (F&A) are other real costs incurred by the university and the project that are not so readily identifiable. In essence, facilities and administrative costs are "pooled research support costs," averaged over many users at the University that benefit from those facilities or services. These pooled costs, which are separated into two categories called facilities costs and administrative costs, include such diverse items as: research library expenses, computer facilities, electric power, building use and depreciation, heating and air conditioning of research space, janitorial services, research administration in departmental or college offices, etc. As these are clearly real costs that must be paid by sponsored program activities, it is critical that each project pay its appropriate share.

The federal government has established a mechanism for determining facilities and administrative costs that may be assigned to sponsored program activity; these are averaged for specific categories over the total costs incurred by the University. The percentage of the costs that may be assigned to research activities is determined relative to the total costs in that category for the University (e.g., the percentage of library costs associated with sponsored research vs. total utilization of the library). Based on combining the categories allowed by federal guidelines, an average rate (or percentage) of direct costs is used to determine each project's share of the facilities and administrative costs incurred by the university. It should be noted that all universities are capped at a 26% rate for the administrative cost component of the total F&A rate by federal regulations. The actual percentage rate used is periodically negotiated with the federal government, through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as the designated "cognizant agency" for K-State.

The 2 CRF 200 Subpart E provides the cost principles for educational institutions and contains the condition that the facilities and administrative cost rate that is negotiated with an institution's cognizant agency shall be consistently applied to all sponsored program activity at the University, including all NON-FEDERAL AND INDUSTRIAL SPONSORS. As DHHS sets the F & A rates for each fiscal year, these rates may change from year to year.

A summary of the current university F&A rates as well as a copy of the current Cost Rate Agreement is available on the OSP budget webapge.

DETERMINING THE APPROPRIATE F&A RATE TO USE ON PROPOSALS

The rate to be charged to a specific project is determined by four factors:

  • Beginning date of the project period.
  • Type of project activity.
  • Location of project activity.
  • Subcontracts and subawards.

These are discussed below.

  1. Project Period

    F&A rates for the university are negotiated on a fiscal year basis. The INITIAL RATE IS DETERMINED BY THE FISCAL YEAR IN WHICH THE AWARD STARTS. For projects that extend beyond one year, BUDGETS SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTED ON A YEARLY BASIS FOR SUBSEQUENT YEARS, using the F& Arate applicable for that year. That is, appropriate F&A rates are generally known two to four years in advance per the agreement with DHHS, allowing the proper rate to be used for each budget year. Federal regulations require that budgets funded with federal funds utilize the rate in effect at the time of the initial award throughout the life of the sponsored agreement. "Life" is further defined as each competitive segment of an agreement. If DHHS revises the rate during the grant period, such that it could not have been anticipated in the original budget, direct costs will not be used to make up for any shortfall in facilities and administrative costs caused by an increased rate.

  2. Type of Project Activity

    DHHS negotiates separate rates for research, public service, and instruction. The appropriate negotiated rate for the proposed activity must be selected to match the activity.

  3. Primary Location of Project Activity

    DHHS negotiates a separate F & A rate depending upon whether the project is "on-campus" or "off-campus." While most projects are conducted on-campus, the off-campus rate may be used when the project satisfies the following conditions which have been excerpted from the University's current F & A rate agreement:

    "For all activities performed in facilities not owned by the institution and to which rent is directly allocated to the project(s), the off-campus rate will apply. Grants or contracts will not be subject to more than one facilities and administrative cost rate. If more than 50% of a project is performed off-campus, the off-campus rate will apply to the entire project." Off-campus may be further defined as those activities occurring off-campus without use of, or access to, any on-campus facilities (office, laboratory, telephone, library, etc.).

    Projects performed at Kansas Agricultural Branch Experiment Stations carry a separately negotiated F&A rate. Projects at the K-State Olathe campus use the off-campus rate. Projects at the K-State Salina campus use the on-campus rate.

  4. Subcontracts and subawards

    Subcontracts and subawards may also affect facilities and administrative cost rates. The two possible scenarios are: 1) K-State as a subcontractor or subrecipient, and 2) K-State as the contractor subcontracting to other firms/agencies/etc. These are described below:

    1. K-STATE AS SUBCONTRACTOR or SUBRECIPIENT. When K-State is a subcontractor or subrecipient of another entity, such as a university, a firm, or an agency, the federally negotiated K-State F&A rate is applicable to the K-State budget. However, the contractor could have an F&A rate lower than the rate applicable to K-State or could have negotiated a rate with the sponsoring agency lower than the K-State rate such that the contractor may request that K-State accept that lower F&A rate. The signed agreement between DHHS makes no exception to this, and hence the University has no obligation to accept the lower F&A rate. However, the university may, in unusual cases, consider this request to accept the contractor's request, in which case, the PI/PD should initiate the "variation of facilities and administrative cost rate" procedure discussed in Section .390. Approval of such a waiver will be an exception.

    2. K-STATE AS CONTRACTOR. When KSU is the prime contractor for a budget that includes subcontracts or subawards, the appropriate KSU rate is assigned to the KSU portion of the project budget. With respect to subcontracts and subawards, the DHHS agreement specifies that KSU collects facilities and administrative costs only on the first $25,000 of each subcontract in KSU's budget.

CALCULATING FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ON A BUDGET

The negotiated rates for K- are based on MODIFIED TOTAL DIRECT COST (MTDC), which means that the rate applies to all direct costs of a project except:

  • Equipment (defined as having unit cost of $5,000 or more, AND a life expectancy in excess of one year).
  • Capital expenditures (land and building).
  • Charges for patient care.
  • Tuition and fees.
  • Rental costs of off-site facilities.
  • Scholarships and fellowships.
  • That portion of each subcontract exceeding $25,000 per total award period.

To establish the MTDC base to use in calculating facilities and administrative costs:

  1. Calculate the Total Direct Costs (TDC) of the project.

  2. Subtract items excludable from the MTDC basis (Items listed above) from the TDC base, producing the MTDC base.

  3. Multiply the MTDC base by the appropriate facilities and administrative cost rate in the table to obtain the facilities and administrative costs (F&A) to be charged to the project.

  4. The Final Total Cost of the project is the sum of the TDC and the F&A.

Budget templates and sample budgets can be found on the OSP budget webpage. Please consult with OSP early in the budget preparation process for advice and guidance.

.390 Request for Variation of Facilities and Administrative Cost Rate

The university, following Board of Regents' policy, requires that all sponsored program activity will recover the full total costs of conducting the project, including the full facilities and administrative costs. Furthermore, federal regulations (2 CFR 200 Subpart E) state that the institution's negotiated F&A cost rate shall be consistently applied by the University to all of its extramural support activities regardless of the source of funds. The federal government states in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E that "it does not in any way want to subsidize the F&A costs of our other sponsors, especially industry and foreign governments." This policy is based on the recognition that F&A costs are real expenses associated with the project and that these costs are the responsibility of the sponsor, and NOT of the taxpayers of Kansas or the federal government. As expenses must be paid from the limited financial resources available to the university, F&A costs should be requested on all sponsored program activity. However, there are occasions when it is consistent with the mission of the University and in the best interests of the University, to grant exceptions to the full recovery of F&A costs on certain projects. Such exceptions may be granted by the vice president for research, subject to prior approval of the request by the department head and college dean.

Exceptions are automatically granted to those sponsors who by federal or state statutes or by Kansas Board of Regents agreement are restricted in the amount of F & A that they are able to reimburse.

Exceptions are also granted to certain foundations that have established rates that they apply as a matter of policy to all sponsored programs that they support nationwide without exception. It is also required that these support activities be commensurate with the academic mission of the University. In these cases, the University has made the determination that it will accept those projects without requiring a formal request of exception from the senior associate vice president for research.

For projects requiring an approved exception, requests must be made via email, accompanied with substantiating documentation, to the senior associate vice president for research via ord@k-state.edu TEN (10) DAYS prior to the submission deadline. If an exception is granted, confirmation of approval must be uploaded to the Cayuse SP Internal Processing Form so that the authorizing authority for each requesting department(s), college(s) or administrative office(s) to the vice president for research can review and approve. The approval must be uploaded to the Cayuse SP IPF according to the Lead Time Policy (see Section .240).

It is university and Kansas Board of Regents policy that every sponsored project of any magnitude is obligated to recover all appropriate F & A costs on the project. However, it is also recognized that there may be special situations that warrant special review. The most obvious situation is:

The sponsor is "philosophically" opposed to paying F&A costs but may be amenable to a "fixed price" agreement (see Sections .110 and .300) where costs are not itemized. In such cases, F & A costs are integral to the fixed price (and noted in an internal budget agreement). 

Whenever a faculty member engages in informal discussions with a potential sponsor, ESTIMATES OF TOTAL PROJECT COSTS MUST INCLUDE FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS calculated at the appropriate rate. Failure to do so is not a justification to receive a waiver of F&A costs; this may result in a reduction in the scope of the project or the availability of direct costs. FURTHER, PI/PDs SHOULD NOT ENCOURAGE SPONSORS TO ASK FOR A WAIVER OF F&A COSTS.

As a general rule, waivers of F&A costs will not be granted to corporate sponsors, since the taxpayers of the state then legally act as co-sponsors of the project and that becomes public information. Needless to say, this can result in charges of unfair competition with other firms and agencies in the state. It should be recognized that industrial organizations are fully cognizant of the concept of F&A costs and the magnitude of these costs, as corporate F&A rates typically range in the vicinity of 200% of direct costs.

.400 Contractual Issues

The following sections address potential contractual concerns that arise occasionally. These are: Insurance and Indemnification, Publications, and Intellectual Property (Inventions/Patents).

.410 Insurance and Indemnification

The State of Kansas is self-insured, which means that it does not purchase insurance through a private carrier. The state provides insurance coverage for K-State and its employees under this self-insurance plan. The state also provides representation and indemnification for K-State and its employees for negligent damage or loss to third parties, within the limits of the Kansas Tort Claims Act.

By statute, the state cannot purchase additional insurance coverage for its employees, nor can it purchase coverage for another party. When sponsors require insurance beyond the university's coverage, K-State takes exception to the requirement and the Office of Sponsored Programs Contract Negotiation team will negotiate alternative language or affix an asterisk by the authorizing signature and adding the following statement in an appropriate place:

"This contract is signed with the understanding that the State of Kansas' policy on insurance as shown in _______________ satisfies the insurance requirement."

In the above "blank," fill in the appropriate words, e.g., Attachment 1, Exhibit 1, etc. PAS will attach a document that outlines the limits provided by the State of Kansas.

.420 Publications

All university research and scholarly activity, including sponsored research, is governed by the tradition of free exchange of ideas and timely dissemination of results. Freedom to publish and disseminate results is a major criterion of the appropriateness of any research or sponsored project.

University policy precludes assigning to extramural sources the right to retain, or to make final decisions about, what should be published. However, the university permits a sponsor to request a short delay to comment on, or to review, publications for disclosure of proprietary data or for potential patentable inventions. Requests for delays in publication by a sponsor should normally be for no more than 90 days. Requests for delays are to be submitted in writing to the vice president for research for review and decision.

.430 Intellectual Property Rights (Inventions and Patents)

The university reserves the right to disclose and to disseminate knowledge and know-how gained through its research and sponsored program efforts. Therefore, the rights to patents arising from a sponsored project are normally retained by the university according to Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) policy. However, under certain circumstances, the sponsor may receive the option as a prospective licensee of university-owned patentable inventions of commercial value.

Both K-State's patent policy, and the KBOR policy from which it derives, are contained in Appendix R of the University Handbook and Chapter II, Section 9 of the KBOR Policy and Procedures Manual. Under these policies, the rights to all intellectual property resulting from work performed using university facilities and personnel are assigned by KBOR to the university. The University Patent Advisory Committee reviews all requests for patent applications, and makes a recommendation to the vice president for research on whether the university should seek patent protection, or release the intellectual property rights to the individual.

If the recommendation is to seek patent protection, the university utilizes the services of the KSU Research Foundation (KSURF) under an operating agreement between KSU and KSURF, and assigns the intellectual property rights to KSURF to process on the University's behalf. KSURF evaluates the commercial potential and value, prepares disclosures for filings with the U.S. and International Patent Offices, and conducts negotiations with potential licensees.

If intellectual property rights are assigned to the sponsor, either directly as part of the research agreement, or later through negotiations, the University will consider delaying or sequestering publications, including theses and dissertations, for up to 90 days to allow for the filing of a patent application. All requests for sequestration of theses or dissertations are to be directed to the Dean of the Graduate School. All requests to delay publications should be directed to the vice president for research.

The KBOR Policy on Patents specifies that the inventors receive a minimum of 25% of the royalties paid by the licensee. The KSURF Board established that a higher percentage of the royalties are to be paid to the inventor, with an additional allocation of the royalties to the inventors' department to support research. According to Regents Policy, and the federal Bayh-Dole Act, the remainder of the royalties received are to be used for further research at the University, although the University may agree to allow KSURF's retention of a portion of the royalties to underwrite patent and commercialization expenses.

If an invention or discovery is funded, even partially, by federal support, the university is required to notify the federal sponsor, generally within a time period of two (2) months of discovery. PI/PDs and their department heads and chairs are required to notify OSP of such disclosures.

.440 Data Access and Retention

The University incurs significant legal obligations regarding "data" created by its faculty, staff, and students in the performance of sponsored projects regardless of the funding source. The University must ensure that original technical data is maintained in a manner that facilitates timely access and secure retention. As a result, all original data (including laboratory notebooks) must be retained by the laboratory, department, program, or other appropriate University unit when faculty, staff, or students involved in a project terminate or interrupt their formal affiliation with the University.

.450 Questions

Questions relating to the these Policies and Procedures are to be directed to the Office of Sponsored Programs at research@k-state.edu.