FAQ

Because a sponsored proposal is a legal and financial commitment by UCA, not just an academic document. ORSP review ensures: 1) compliance with federal regulations, sponsor rules, and UCA policy; 2) correct calculation of effort, salary, fringe, IDCs, and cost sharing; 3) accurate institutional certifications and approvals, and 4) that UCA can accept, manage, and audit the award if funded Proposals submitted without ORSP review risk rejection, delayed awards, or post-award compliance findings that cannot be corrected later.

UCA’s budget spreadsheet is the internal review tool ORSP uses to verify that salary/effort, fringe, and indirect costs are calculated correctly and consistently with UCA’s negotiated rates and policies before routing/approval. It also helps ORSP confirm the budget aligns with what UCA can actually pay, track, and audit under UCA systems and federal cost principles.

Total direct cost (TDC) includes all allowable direct project costs (salaries, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, tuition, subawards, etc.). Modified total direct dost (MTDC) is the subset of direct costs used to calculate indirect costs (IDCs or F&A). MTDC excludes certain categories required by federal Uniform Guidance, including: equipment, capital expenditures, tuition remission, participant support costs, subaward amounts over $25,000. Indirect costs are applied to MTDC—not TDC.

Effort = the percentage of your total UCA-compensated work (100%) devoted to the project—not a 40-hour week. UCA defines 100% effort as your total university-compensated activities (teaching, research, service, admin, etc.). To calculate: estimate the percent of your total UCA work that the project will require (e.g., 10%, 25%), then apply that percent to the relevant salary period.

Fringe benefits are the employer-paid costs tied to payroll (benefits like retirement, insurance, FICA, etc.). Under Uniform Guidance, fringe is part of compensation costs and is treated separately from salary.

At UCA, yes—fringe must be budgeted/charged on salaries and wages using UCA’s published fringe rates (see “Frequently Used Information”), unless the sponsor has a documented cap/policy that limits it (in which case the difference may need to be covered as cost share).

Work backward: 1. Decide the salary dollars you want charged to the grant (based on effort % and the salary period). 2. Add fringe using the correct UCA rate for that employee/term. Total personnel line = Salary + Fringe. ORSP can help you translate a target dollar amount into an effort % that fits your appointment period and the sponsor’s rules.

IBS is the salary that corresponds to your 100% UCA effort for a given appointment period. For most 9-month faculty, “3-month summer IBS” typically means the summer salary base equivalent to three months, often calculated as (9-month salary ÷ 9) × 3 (i.e., one-third of the 9-month base), before applying effort %.

Uniform Guidance expects compensation charges to be reasonable and consistent with institutional policy. It is UCA’s policy to charge a 2% COLA raise on salaries every year after the first project period. If COLA raises are not issued, ORSP and Post-Award Grants and Contracts will work with the grantee and the awarding agency’s program officer to negotiate how the leftover funding will be expended.

It depends on the role and campus norms, but the big rules are: 1) pay must be reasonable for the work performed and consistent with UCA’s practices; 2) graduate assistants are often appointed at 20 hours/week with enrollment requirements (per Graduate School policy) and are paid through UCA payroll; 3) administrative graduate assistants must be paid an assistantship that is equivalent to $11/hour. 4) pay for teaching and research assistants should be discussed with chairs and deans. Undergraduate student workers are paid at least minimum wage. In Arkansas, that is $11/hour for non-tipped employees. For a specific budget, ORSP can help you select an appropriate pay rate consistent with the unit’s typical GA/student worker pay.

Follow UCA’s written travel practices which are inline with Uniform Guidance as follows: estimate by the components of transportation + lodging + meals/incidental/per diem + registration + local ground transit. Uniform Guidance allows travel to be charged on an actual cost, per diem, mileage, or a combination (applied consistently for the trip).

At UCA, these are separate budget categories/account codes: Individual Travel – Official Business (non-conference travel) and Individual Travel – Conferences (conference-related travel)

Budget a reasonable placeholder trip using a realistic estimate (e.g., one domestic conference): airfare, lodging nights, per diem/meals, registration, ground transit. In the justification, say “one national conference (TBD)” and describe what the travel accomplishes (presenting results, required training, project coordination). Uniform Guidance focuses on travel being necessary, reasonable, and consistently treated.

Professional services are consultant/professional fees paid to individuals/entities with specialized expertise who are not UCA employees (e.g., evaluator, statistician, artist/performer as contractor, lab service provider). They must be reasonable, justified, and properly classified (contractor v subawardee when applicable).

Generally, no—if the person is a UCA employee, payment is normally handled as salary/effort or approved extra service/overload, not as a “professional service” contractor payment. Extra service pay is tightly controlled: it must follow written institutional policy and, in many cases, be specifically budgeted/approved by the sponsor.

Indirect costs (F&A) are the university’s shared costs that support research and sponsored projects (e.g., facilities, utilities, administrative infrastructure) that can’t be assigned to one project with precision, so they’re recovered through a negotiated rate.

UCA’s IDC rates are negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (UCA’s cognizant agency) and documented in UCA’s federal rate agreement.

By university policy, grant applicants are required to apply the negotiated IDC rate when the sponsor allows it. If the sponsor has a published, consistently applied limitation (e.g., “IDC capped at 10%”), UCA will honor the sponsor’s limit—but ORSP needs that documentation during routing.

Usually, if it’s a UCA employee, compensation should be handled through payroll (salary/effort or approved extra service pay), not as a stipend. Stipends are generally treated as student/participant support and are restricted by sponsor and institutional rules. If you’re thinking “stipend” for an employee, talk to ORSP early so it’s classified correctly.

Scholarship: Typically a student aid/tuition-support mechanism supported by a funding opportunity such as the NSF Noyce Scholarship Program. Stipend: Money paid to a student/participant with no work obligation. Tuition remission: Project-paid tuition costs when allowable. Uniform Guidance allows certain tuition remission/support if consistent with institutional policy and treated appropriately.

Yes. While the university makes every effort to keep the cost of tuition down, hikes are inevitable. Applicants should include a 4% increase for every year of the project.

Cost sharing is required only when the sponsor explicitly makes it a condition of the award (usually in the program guidelines/NOFO). UCA defines mandatory cost share and requires documentation of the sponsor requirement before routing.

Functionally, yes—“match” is a common sponsor term for cost share (UCA treats them under the same policy umbrella).

A “match rate” is usually expressed as follow: •1:1 match = UCA contributes $1 for every $1 sponsor provides •25% match = UCA contributes 25% of total project costs (or sometimes 25% of sponsor share—always check the NOFO wording) ORSP will help you translate the sponsor’s language into a concrete required dollar amount and documentable sources.

UCA’s policy prioritizes: •Department/college resources first, then •Limited ORSP support (case-by-case), and •Allowable third-party contributions/intramural sources when permitted. Federal funds may not be used as cost share.

UCA policy does not allow voluntary committed cost sharing because it creates binding commitments that can reduce our indirect-cost rate agreement.