In this section

I. Policy Statement

To ensure University of Puget Sound’s (“university”) compliance with federal regulations and internal effort reporting in connection with work on external sponsored projects, the university must assure that any sponsored project funded salary rates are defined according to the relevant faculty member’s or staff member’s institutional base salary. Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is defined as an individual’s annual compensation paid by the university for a faculty’s appointment for teaching, service, and scholarship. IBS does not include administrative supplements, summer (for faculty not on 12-month contracts) salary, or overload salary. It may include temporary salary increases (being named as Distinguished Professor or holding a temporary endowed chair position, for example) during a sponsored project’s award period of performance.

During the academic year, work performed by faculty on a sponsored project must be charged at a rate that is directly proportional to both the level of effort expended and the individual’s institutional base salary. For periods outside of the academic year, specifically during the summer months, the compensation rate cannot exceed the faculty member’s base salary as it is defined during the applicable fiscal year(s), and all charges must be proportionate to the effort expended on the project.

For staff, IBS is defined as the budgeted salary amount for their given full time equivalent (FTE). During the fiscal year, work performed on the sponsored project must be charged at a rate that is directly proportional to both the level of effort expended and the staff member’s institutional base salary.

This policy provides guidance for determining appropriate salary/wage applicable to faculty and staff work on a sponsored project in various contexts.[1]

II. Coverage

This policy applies to faculty and staff who receive compensation from external sponsored projects administered by University of Puget Sound. This policy addresses the salaries and wages applicable to a sponsored project budget. Fringe benefits and indirect cost rate allocations are separate line-item expenses whose calculations are dependent on salary and wage costs.

III. Definitions

9-month to 11-month Faculty – Faculty appointed on an academic year basis who have a portion of uncommitted summer periods available for sponsored projects (e.g. 9-month has 3 summer months available, 10-month has 2 summer months available, etc.). These faculty are eligible for additional summer supplemental salary through sponsored projects or other university projects according to IBS calculations. They may request consideration for an academic year course release.

12-month Faculty – Faculty appointed on a 12-month, fiscal year basis. These faculty are not eligible for additional summer salary but may request consideration for an academic year course release.

Institutional Base Salary – Faculty - Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is defined as an individual’s annual compensation paid by the University for a faculty member’s appointment for teaching, service, and scholarship. IBS does not include administrative supplements, summer salary, or overload salary but may include such increases as Distinguished Professor or Endowed Chair positions.

Institutional Base Salary – Staff - Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is defined as an individual’s annual compensation paid by the University for a staff member’s budgeted FTE.

Part-Time Faculty assignments – Work performed on sponsored projects by faculty members having only part-time appointments .

Course release buy-out – a faculty member's released time for a portion of their salary paid by sponsored project funds so that the equivalent amount of effort (%) can be spent working on the funded project.

Principal Investigator (PI) – a grantee or researcher who manages, conducts, and reports on a sponsored project research grant, project, or program. The PI is usually assigned as budget manager for the grant award.

Sponsored Project – any form of extramural financial support associated with a government grant or cooperative agreement, or a private corporate or foundation-sourced grant made to the university.

IV. Guidelines

A. Pre-Award

Grant proposals must request adequate funds to cover salaries (based on university determined base salary rates) and benefits (based on university benefit policies) commensurate with the faculty/staff anticipated effort on the project. In the event of inadequate funding of salaries and/or benefits, the Provost must determine whether or not to proceed with the grant proposal. To proceed, the Provost must authorize any shortfall from another source.

For pre-award proposal development, when requesting salary support from a sponsor, or when providing effort on a sponsored project in the form of mandatory or voluntary committed cost sharing, the anticipated effort calculated in the form of months or percent effort must be based on the individual’s IBS. The portion of effort multiplied by the IBS will determine the appropriate dollars to request from the sponsor. Government and private sponsors cover personnel costs for the faculty and staff working on a funded project, not the cost of the personnel replacement(s) for their regular duties.

B. Academic Year Salary for Course Release Time

Academic year faculty salaries may be partially funded by external sponsors depending on the policies of the sponsor, the faculty member’s department and Provost’s approval, and the parameters outlined in this policy and in the associated procedural documentation. Any salary support during the academic year will “buy” a portion of their IBS through a course release or another arrangement as approved by the Dean of Faculty Affairs, Dean of Graduate Affairs, or Provost. Course release requests are limited to one release per academic year for a 9-month appointment unless approved otherwise by the Provost because of added value for the university overall.

C. Summer Sponsored Project Salary

For faculty members on 9-month academic appointments (including those who are paid over 12-months), sponsored project funds may usually pay for not more than three (3) months as summer supplemental salary. Summer salary cannot exceed limits set by the grant funding agency or foundation for the particular grant program (e.g., some granting agencies limit summer salary support or specify other conditions). Sponsor policies, federal regulations, university, or department policies, and the parameters of this policy will determine the number of months of summer supplemental salary that may be funded from each sponsored project.

D. Overload Salary

In rare cases, faculty members may be compensated for work that is outside of and in addition to their regular assignment. For example, an overload assignment might be serving as a one-time conference workshop leader, evaluating a program, etc. Salary for this type of “overload” assignment that contributes to a sponsored project is subject to the following restrictions:

  1. If overload was not identified in the proposal and approval is required the overload activity must be approved by the sponsor's grants or contracts officer, PRIOR to the effort taking place.
  2. The work must be outside the scope of their normal duties and unrelated to their university-contracted academic assignment.
  3. The work must be temporary and not on-going in nature.
  4. Work done on the grant does not interfere with normal duties.
  5. Such additional pay is not considered part of the IBS.
  6. Overload salary during any budget period typically is paid in one lump sum and is not related to percent of effort or duration of work.

Refer to the procedure associated with this policy tor requests for overload pay for faculty.

E. Staff Salary

Staff members may be compensated by a sponsored project when the administrative or programmatic management aspects of the scope of work require it and it is approved by the sponsor as part of the proposal and/or within the sponsor’s guidelines. Staff compensation may occur in one of three ways:

  1. For current full-time staff, a portion of their salary will be funded by the award, relieving their department’s budget while the staff member spends a proportional amount of effort on the sponsored project. Overtime pay may not be allowed for staff on sponsored funding without prior approval of the project sponsor. The PI for the grant must manage staff time on their project to keep overtime in check.
  2. For part-time staff, at the consent of the staff member, relevant supervisor(s), and Human Resources, the staff member’s full-time equivalent may increase.
  3. For new administrative or project management support included in a sponsored project, the PI may need to hire an employee to fulfill that role for the duration of the sponsored project (limited term or temporary). PIs will work with Human Resources during the proposal pre-award stage to ensure the position will be fairly compensated at the appropriate salary range based on a description of the staff member’s duties.

IV. Effective Date

This policy is effective for all new grant proposals as of 10/8/2024 and supersedes the Compensation for Services Provided Under Sponsored Agreements/Grants as of that date.

V. Related Statutes, Regulations, and Policies

Policy Owner: Office of Finance

Policy Contact: finance@pugetsound.edu

Date Adopted: October 8, 2024

Date Last Reviewed: October 8, 2024

Date Last Revised: October 8, 2024

 

[1] See the procedure associated with this policy for examples and sample calculations.