The proposal budget is a crucial part of the funding process. Decisions made during the development of the budget have important implications for the proposed activity. The University has adopted a number of guidelines that will be helpful in the budgeting process.

This section provides information and guidance for preparing research proposal budgets including salaries and wages, fringe benefit rates, indirect cost rates, and matching funds/cost sharing.

Salaries and Wages

In general, faculty and faculty administrators (collectively, “faculty members”) engaged in funded research cannot receive compensation in excess of their contracted salary rates. In addition, the University will not seek salary reimbursement for any amount exceeding actual faculty salary payments. This principle also applies to summer salary: faculty members' (and administrators') compensation received during the summer through grant funded research may not exceed the monthly compensation they receive during the academic year. For purposes of this section, salary includes both teaching salary and stipends for administrative work.

Faculty and faculty administrators may receive additional compensation for (and sponsoring/funding agencies may be asked to reimburse) funded research and scholarly activity that will be carried out in addition to and at times that would not normally be part of the administrators' workload or work days (e.g., evenings, weekends, holidays or vacation days). The compensation for this activity will be fixed on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to approval by the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies.

For purposes of determining funding, there are three different categories of individuals: Faculty and Faculty Administrators, Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants, and Other Professionals. Salary and wage reimbursement for each is described in the following subsections.

Faculty Members’ Salary

There are three types of faculty and faculty administrators (called faculty members in this section) with different performance periods based on the performance times specified in their contracts:

1. Faculty members who are on nine-month contracts: These faculty members do not have any special administrative assignments. The academic year performance period for these faculty members is September 1st through May 31st. The summer performance period for these faculty members is June 1st through August 31st.
2. Faculty Administrators who are on nine-month contracts but have special administrative assignments: Their performance period is also September 1st through May 31st. The summer performance period for these faculty members is June 1st through August 31st.
3. Faculty Administrators who are on twelve-month contracts: The performance period for them is June 1st through May 31st.

The following steps should be used to compute funding agency reimbursement for release time for each faculty member who will provide grant funded services – for each performance period during the research or scholarly activity:

1. Determine whether the faculty member’s contract is 9 or 12 months
2. Calculate the faculty member’s monthly salary based on the faculty member’s contract period. Define this as the “monthly salary” amount, “S”
3. Determine the number of months in the performance period. Define this as “M”. For faculty administrators on a 12 month contract who will be providing services for the full year M=12. For faculty members on nine month contracts who will be providing services during the entire academic year M=9. For nine month contract faculty members who provide services during the fall semester only or during the spring semester only M=4.5. For faculty members on nine month contracts who provide services during the entire summer M=3
4. For each project time period, determine the proportion of the faculty member’s time that will be involved in the funded research or scholarship. Define this proportion as "P".
5. Compute the amount “A” of grant funded reimbursement for faculty member’s salary for each project time period by multiplying the monthly base salary “S” by the number of months in the project period ”M” by the proportion of the faculty member’s time “P”. Thus: A = S * M * P -- for each project time period.
6. The total salary release reimbursement for a particular faculty member during a research project or scholarly activity will be the sum of specific amounts for the faculty member for all the time periods included in the research project. 2

Requests for salary and administrative stipend reimbursement for multi-year research and scholarly activity will include an estimate for annual salary and administrative stipend increases using an annual increase percentage of 4.0% according to the RMU Faculty Contract.

The percentage of the faculty member’s total time that is devoted to research or scholarly activity during each project time period is used to establish both workload (usually course teaching) reductions and to define the amount of reimbursement that will be sought from sponsoring/funding agencies. The “Percent Effort in Project Period” (P) that falls into the academic year on a grant is referred to as the “Faculty Release Time Reimbursement (FRRT)”. The FRRT is used in determination of course reduction based on the following guidelines:

• At least 25.0% Effort in Academic Semester but less than 50% = One course reduction
• At least 50.0% Effort in Academic Semester but less than 75% = Two course reduction
• At least 75.0% Effort in Academic Semester but less than 100% = Three course reduction

Under normal circumstances, the total number of course reductions for nine-month contract faculty members, including grant funded course reductions and course reductions granted for other reasons, should not exceed three course reductions per academic semester.

For twelve-month contract faculty administrators, the total of course reductions granted should not exceed four courses per year. Special exceptions may be made if approved by the individual’s Department Head, Dean and the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies.

The “P” during summer months is used to determine direct faculty compensation for summer work for nine-month contract faculty. The “P” can be as much as 100% during the summer months so that the proportion of effort, P, can be as high as ‘1’. Accordingly, nine-month faculty and administrators can earn up to one-third of their salary during summer months.

The proportion of administrative (not course reduction) time that may be spent in participation in funded research or scholarly activity by twelve-month contract faculty administrators’ will be determined on a case by case basis with approval of the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies.

Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants

Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants are students enrolled in programs at Robert Morris University. For purposes of research and scholarly activity, funding the wages of Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants are calculated based on a nine-month "performance period."

The level of any student's effort for grants and other internal employment commitments (e.g. work study) should not exceed 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters. During the summer, students' grant research work and other University work commitments may be as much as 40 hours per week if they are not otherwise enrolled in classes -- up to 20 hours per week if they are so enrolled.

Amounts charged for Graduate Research Assistants who are working 20 hours per week are computed as follows:

• Fall or Spring Semester: (GTR * 9 credits) + $2,250
• Summer Semester: (GTR * 6 credits) + $1,500

Where GTR is the Graduate Tuition Rate per credit and the room and board amount is $2,250 representing $500 per month for 4.5 months during the fall and spring semesters and $1,500 for 3 months during the summer semester.

When a Graduate Research Assistant works less than 20 hours per week (on average) during a semester, the amounts charged shall be pro-rated based on the proportion of 20 hours that the Graduate Research Assistant works.

The amount for Undergraduate Research Assistants is to be computed based on the hourly rates paid to Undergraduate Research Assistants. The rates vary based on University classifications. During budget preparation, the principal investigator should contact the Career Center to determine applicable rates and should include these rates in the budget for Undergraduate Research Assistant salaries.

Other Professionals’ Compensation

Any professional included in the proposed research or scholarly activity who is not a full time faculty member or student, whether or not an employee of the university, will be included in the category of “other professional.” Examples include laboratory technicians, assessment experts, and clerical staff, part time faculty and faculty and students from other universities whose services will be provided under contract. Salary and wages for these individuals will vary with terms of their contract for services with the University.

In the case of other professionals who are University employees, the project budget should include a documented estimate of the employee’s compensation that will be attributable to time spent on the research or scholarly activity. Generally, any such research or scholarly activity should be considered to be part of the employee’s duties and should not result in additional compensation for the employee. The employee will be compensated if the research or scholarly activity requires the performance of services to be outside of the employee’s regular workload. Such cases must be approved, on a case by case basis, by the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies in consultation with the employee’s supervisor and other appropriate University administrators.

Fringe Benefits

All requests for external funding for research or other scholarly activity that seek reimbursement for salary shall also include a request for reimbursement for fringe benefit payments connected with those salary payments. For purposes of developing the project budget these fringe benefits will be computed as a percentage of the salary reimbursement described above using the following rates:

• Faculty or Faculty Administrator Academic Year Salary (nine-month contract): 30%
• Faculty or Administrator Summer Salary (nine-month contract): 8%
• Faculty Administrator (twelve-month contract): 30%
• UG/G Research Assistant (academic year): 8%
• UG/G Research Assistant (summer): 8%
• Part-Time Faculty: 8%
• Other professionals – full time University employees: 30%
• Other professionals – part time University employees: 8%
• Other professionals – not University employees per contract

FICA, 7.65% will be budgeted if the faculty compensation is involved instead of salary reimbursement.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are those costs associated with maintaining the infrastructure of the University that support research activities, public services, and instructional functions. Indirect costs are built into a research proposal budget to cover these costs. To the extent that sponsoring and funding agencies are willing to reimburse indirect costs, the project budget should include them.

The University has an indirect cost agreement that has been negotiated with the US Department of Health and Human Services. The rates listed below are valid through May 31, 2020, and will be negotiated again no later than November 30, 2019.

The Indirect cost rates are applied to “Direct Total Salaries and Wages” including all fringe benefits. This sum includes the following budget items:

1. Faculty Direct Payments
2. Faculty Release Time Reimbursement
3. Other Professionals’ Salaries and Wages
4. Undergraduate/Graduate Students payments

The negotiated indirect cost rates are:

1. On-Campus rate: 35.7% of Total Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits
2. Off-Campus rate: 17% of Total Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits

The “On-Campus Rate” is used when all activities are performed in facilities owned by Robert Morris University. The “Off-Campus Rate” is used when all activities are performed in facilities and not owned by Robert Morris University and to which rent is directly allocated to the project(s). If more than 50% of a project is performed off-campus, the off-campus rate will apply to the entire project. The “Training Rate” is used for any grant proposal involving training of internal or external individuals, including workshops, seminars, and short courses.

Distribution of Faculty Release Time Reimbursement and Indirect Cost

Faculty Release Time Reimbursement shall be allocated 50% to the School’s operating budget in which the investigators are appointed and 50% will be allocated to Academic Affairs.

Indirect costs shall be allocated 40% to the Dean’s Fund of the School in which the investigators are appointed, 20% to Business Affairs and 40% to Academic Affairs.

Matching Funds/Cost Sharing/ Reporting Costs

Some funding or sponsoring agencies may require matching funds from the University or cost sharing at different levels in support of the proposed project. These may vary from in-kind matching to capital contributions. In some cases, matching funds may be restricted to external partnerships. Any commitments for matching funds or cost sharing on behalf of Robert Morris University must be approved by the Department Head, Dean, and the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies and prior to budget preparation and the proposal submission.

In-kind matching funds or cost sharing might include facilities, equipment, professional employee time, research assistant and faculty time. All cost sharing items must be shown on the research budget, including internal and external commitments.

In addition, some funding or sponsoring agencies may require reports or audits prepared by professionals external to the University. In such case, where possible, the project budget should reflect these costs. If the funding or sponsoring agency does not provide funding for the reports or audits, the commitment to provide the reports or audits must be discussed with the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies and Financial Operations prior to submission of the grant application.

² For example, consider a faculty member who has a nine month contract (N=9) for $54,000 per year (B=$54,000) who provides 50% effort to the funded research project during the academic year and 100% effort for three months in the following summer. The faculty member would receive workload reduction for two courses each semester to perform the research and would conduct the research full time during the summer. The monthly base salary (S) for the faculty member would be $6000 (S = $54,000/9). There would be two project time periods, the academic year where M=9 and the summer where M=3. The proportion of effort (P) during the academic year would be 0.5 and during the summer would be 1.0. The salary release reimbursement requested for the academic year (A) would be S*M*P = $6000*9*0.5 or $27,000 and the amount requested for the summer would be S*M*P = $6,000*3*1.0=$18,000. The total amount of grant funded reimbursement for this faculty member would be $27,000 + $18,000 = $45,000.

³ In the case of multiple investigators from different schools this amount shall be distributed in proportion to the work levels of the researchers as specified in the grant application.

⁴ In the case of multiple investigators from different schools this amount shall be distributed in proportion to the work levels of the researchers as specified in the grant application.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections, has established “Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)” relating to federal funding for research involving human subjects which "applies to all research involving human subjects conducted, supported or otherwise subject to regulation by any federal department or agency which takes appropriate administrative action to make the policy applicable to such research." State and private funding agencies may follow federal guidelines when considering human subject research or, they may have adopted their own guidelines. 45 C.F.R. § 46.

Accordingly, principal investigators who are preparing proposals for funding of research that involves human subjects must investigate whether the sponsor/funding agency will require compliance with policy regarding human subject research.

Exempt Research

A substantial amount of research is exempt from federal policy involving protection of human subjects. Exempt research includes normal educational practices, educational tests, studies using existing data, certain public demonstration projects and certain studies involving taste, for equality and consumer acceptance. 45 C.F.R. § 46.

The specific details of these exemptions can be found in the federal regulations. The regulations are available here.

Research Covered by Human Subject Protection

If the proposed research is covered by federal, state or private funding agency policy relating to the human subject protection, it is the responsibility of the principal investigator (with the assistance of the Research & Grants Administration) to meet the standards required by the funding agency. Most often this will require an Institutional Review Board approval of the proposed research prior to submission for funding.

Robert Morris University maintains a registered Institutional Review Board and has filed appropriate assurances with the Office for Human Research Protections. The Robert Morris Institutional Review Board meets periodically to consider proposed nonexempt research. The principal investigator should take the Institutional Review Board's meeting schedule and time frames for making decisions into account when planning a research funding submission that requires its approval.

The Robert Morris University Institutional Review Board policies, procedures and forms are located here.

Specifically, the Institutional Review Board requires submission of proposals for full board review at least two weeks prior to the Institutional Review Board's meeting at which the proposal will be considered.

Expedited Review

Certain “research” activities that present no more than minimal risk to human subjects, and involve only procedures listed in [federally approved] categories, may be reviewed by the IRB through the expedited review procedure authorized by 45 CFR 45 § 46.

These categories include:

• certain drug studies, some collection of blood samples,
• collection of biological specimens,
• some collections of data through noninvasive procedures (not involving general anesthesia or sedation) routinely employed in clinical practice (with exceptions),
• non- exempt research involving materials (data, documents, records, or specimens) that have been collected, or will be collected solely for non-research purposes (such as medical treatment or diagnosis),
• collection of data from voice, video, digital, or image recordings made for research purposes,
• research on individual or group characteristics or behavior or research employing survey, interview, oral history, focus group, program evaluation, human factors evaluation, or quality assurance methodologies
• continuing review of some research previously approved by the IRB

The Robert Morris University Institutional Review Board has an application for expedited review (labeled "Exempt Review Application") and has adopted procedures relating to expedited review.

Informed Consent

In general, participants in research studies subject to standards promulgated by the Office for Human Research Protections (parents for children under the age of 18) or otherwise subject to Institutional Review Board jurisdiction must provide informed consent for their participation.

Robert Morris University has promulgated guidelines for informed consent which may be found at here.

Investigators need to consider the expectations of the sponsor related to intellectual property. Some sponsors seek control over publications and documentations, or require ownership of all intellectual property resulting from the research. Therefore, the investigators must be aware of the expectations of the sponsoring agency prior to engaging in the proposal and/or the project.

The University's collective-bargaining agreement with the faculty contains provisions relating to intellectual property. See Article XVI - Copyrights and Patents.

Robert Morris University has an administrative policy relating to in-kind gifts from external sources. In-kind gifts are non-monetary gifts that are offered to the University by external agencies.

These gifts cannot be accepted by University personnel until the procedures contained in the policy are followed. These procedures are meant to protect the University from accepting in-kind gifts that have no value to the University or require special storage and/or maintenance cost.

When a potential donor contacts any member of RMU staff, wishing to make an in-kind gift to the University the staff member is required to:

• Review the gift to determine if there exists a University or department need for the item.
• Contact the Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations for an “In-Kind Gift Documentation” form.
• Complete the form and have it signed by the Department Head, the Dean and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
• Return the completed form to the Institutional Advancement Office.

The Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement will review the in-kind gift documentation and, if necessary, discuss the proposed gift with the appropriate individuals. The in-kind gift may or may not be accepted. The Department Head, the Dean and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will be notified of the University’s decision, and if accepted, a gift receipt will be provided to the donor. If accepted, a copy of the “In-Kind Gift Documentation” form will be provided to the Accounting and Financial Services Department and the gift will be recorded as an asset of the University.

The research and outreach centers at Robert Morris University are established to provide a bridge between the community and the University. The following centers represent various ways that Robert Morris University connects with the region.

• Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management
• Center of Economics Education
• Center for Documentary Production and Study
• Research and Outreach Center
• Research and Innovation in Simulation Education Center

The faculty and staff of the University may be involved in various activities through the Centers including contracted projects, teaching in training workshops and seminars, and continuing education courses (credit and noncredit). Such activities usually are short term (one week, several weeks or several months) and begin and end at any time of the calendar year, although they can extend for longer times.

It is also possible that faculty and staff of the University can be involved in contract research through their departments and schools. Such contract research may extend over a longer time than training and continuing education.

The draft terms of contracts for research, training and continuing education may be negotiated by the faculty member who will be the principal investigator for the project. However, all contracts must be approved by the faculty member’s Department Head and school Dean and may only be executed by the Research & Grants Administration and/or Financial Operations – in accordance with the University’s policies regarding contracts.

This section provides information and guidelines in preparing contract research, training and continuing education agreements.

Salaries and Wages

Salaries and wages for contract research, training, continuing education and similar projects will be determined based on specific agreements relating to the scope of work resulting from negotiations with the contracting agency or client. This includes salaries and wages for faculty, faculty administrators, professional and technical staff, administrative staff, undergraduate and graduate students.

Faculty and Faculty Administrators

The following describes compensation for faculty and faculty administrators (collectively "faculty") involvement in these projects:

1. Compensation for projects with a duration less than a semester will be negotiated based on the total number of hours required for the project using the faculty member’s hourly rate provided by Financial Operations. Faculty members who participate in these projects may receive additional compensation based on the amount negotiated with the client or may receive course reduction funded by amounts negotiated with the client, in either case as approved by the faculty member’s Department Head, School Dean and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
2. Compensation for projects with a duration of a semester or more shall be prepared in compliance with the guidelines in sections 2 and 3 above. Faculty members who participate in these projects will have the option of choosing course reduction and/or compensation based on the amount negotiated with the client subject to approval of the faculty member’s Department Head, school Dean and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic affairs.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students

The wages for undergraduate and graduate students will determined based on negotiations with the funding agency.

Professional and Technical Staff

Any professional and technical staff member who is not a faculty member, faculty administrator or student in one of the above categories, will be included in this category. Examples include laboratory technicians, assessment experts, and administrative staff.

Wages for these individuals vary with the requirements. Salaries for these positions are usually budgeted for on an hourly basis subject to negotiations with the client.

Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits may or may not be included in the contract depending on the negotiations with the funding agency. If the funding agency is willing to pay fringe benefits, they should be computed according to the guidelines in Section 3.

Indirect Costs and Distribution of Funds

Indirect costs may or may not be included in the contract depending on the negotiations with the funding agency. If indirect costs are included, the indirect cost rates described in Section 3 should be used in determining the indirect cost for the project. The indirect cost will be allocated as described in Section 3.

Process for Research, Training and Continuing Education Contracts

The Research & Grants Administration will "facilitate" contract research, training and continuing education contracts using the guidelines provided in Sections 2 and 3 above.

The following describes the process for grant proposal development and submission:

1. The prospective principal investigator (PI) informs the Department Head, the Dean and the Research & Grants Administration of plans. The Research & Grants Administration offers guidance for proposal preparation including the project budget and guidance for any required Institutional Review Board (IRB) process.
2. The PI prepares and submits the following documentation to the Department Head and the Dean for review and approvals:
   1. Grant Proposal Process Form
   2. Request for Proposal
   3. Grant Proposal
   4. Grant Proposal Budget
3. The documentation is then forwarded to the Research & Grants Administration for review and approvals.
4. The Research & Grants Administration forwards documentation to Financial Operations for review of the proposed budget and to assess the University's ability to comply with funding agency requirements. At least three weeks is needed before the submission deadline for quality review and feedback. Expedited review will be accommodated for grants under $5,000.
5. If the “Grant Proposal” is not exempt from “Human Subject Review”, the sponsoring/funding agency requires the proposed research to be approved by the “Institutional Review Board” prior to start of the project.
6. The documentation must be approved and signed by the following individuals in the following order:
   1. Department Head
   2. Dean
   3. Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies
   4. Financial Operations
7. The RMU designee submits the proposal to the funding agency on behalf of the university.
8. A copy of the final documentation will be provided to the PI, the department head and the dean.
9. If the proposal is funded, the Research & Grants Administration will distribute a copy of the award notification letter to the principal investigator(s), the department heads, the deans, and Financial Operations.
10. The Research & Grants Administration convenes the initial project meeting with the PI and Financial Operations.
11. Financial Operations creates accounts, tracks grant expenditures, indirect costs and salary release reimbursement allocations, and reports quarterly to PI on budget expenditures.
12. The PI prepares draft of progress reports and final reports and forwards them to the RMU designee for submission to the sponsoring/funding agency.
13. Financial Operations prepares financial reports and forwards them to the Assistant Provost for Research & Graduate Studies, the department head and the dean.