F&A cost rate agreement information

Rates and descriptions:

Organized research: 53% MTDC (27% facilities + 26% administration)
All sponsored research and development, or R&D, activities — both basic and applied. Also included is training of individuals in research techniques (research training) that use the same facilities where other R&D activities are conducted.

Instruction: 47% MTDC (21% facilities + 26% administration)
All sponsored teaching and training activities offered as a K-State course. Also included in the instruction category are sponsored funds provided to support course development work, graduate student thesis and instructional work, and scholarships and fellowships.
Research training is not included in this category – see the organized research description above.

Ag activity: 45.5% MTDC (19% facilities + 26% administration)
All activities funded by USDA, either directly or as flow-through to K-State from a non-USDA entity, including activities that are conducted at K-State’s branch stations.

Other sponsored activity: 36% MTDC (10% facilities + 26% administration)
All other sponsored activities not included in the categories above. This includes but is not limited to Extension activities, public service, student services, and international services.

Off-campus activity: 26% MTDC (administration portion of the above rates)
Off-campus is defined in the signed rate agreement as all sponsored activities performed in facilities not owned by the institution and to which rent is directly allocated to the project(s). Grants or contracts will not be subject to more than one F&A cost rate. If more than 50% of a project is performed off-campus, the off-campus rate will apply to the entire project. In other words, if K-State doesn’t own the facility, then K-State is not incurring any Facilities costs for the space and cannot charge the federal government for those types of costs by applying the full F&A rate associated with the activity. The statement about rent being allocated directly to a project means that any rental charges that are paid by K-State for use of the facility can be allocated and charged directly to the sponsored activity as long as appropriate allocation methods are used and the cost meets all other criteria necessary to be considered an allowable direct cost. It does not mean that rental costs must be charged and allocated directly to the project for it to be considered an off-campus project.

Other definitions/notes

MTDC: Modified Total Direct Cost
Per 2 CFR 200.68 and K-State’s signed rate agreement, MTDC means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs. (Additional details are available on the OSP website regarding the exclusion items, including applicable K-State object codes.

Fringe benefits:
Estimated rates are used for budgeting, but only actual charges are used.
Per the rate agreement, fringe benefits are specifically identified to each employee and are charged individually as direct costs. In other words, K-State charges the actual benefits cost incurred for each pay period for each employee as opposed to using a federally approved rate that is applied to all salaries and wages in lieu of actuals.

Equipment: Useful life of more than one year, cost of $10,000+
Per the rate agreement, beginning 07/01/2025: Equipment means tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-Federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $10,000.