| POLICIES
One of the main responsibilities of the faculty in the
College of Education is the generation and dissemination of knowledge.
In concert with the University goals, the College of Education strongly
encourages faculty members to seek the means, both inside and outside
of the University, to pursue their scholarship goals. Seeking external
funding is an integral component of the faculty’s responsibility
to the College and University. Such activities are highly valued because
grants provide the needed funds to accomplish goals or the solution of
research problems and, further, provide external and internal recognition
of quality scholarship among the faculty. Faculty members are strongly
encouraged to become familiar with the University’s and College’s
policies and procedures for grant-related activities. The College of Education
has a commitment to support grant-seeking activities and will make every
effort to provide time, equipment, space, materials, and other resources
to those who are preparing grant proposals.
The following general principles or policies within the
College of Education will guide the process of seeking and securing external
funding:
· The College of Education will provide support for
grant activities provided that the activities are consistent with the
mission of the College. The demands of the grant activities will be assessed
within the context of the instructional needs of the College and program
in determining whether the grant application should be prepared and submitted. · With the implementation of the Director of
Grant Development's position beginning in August, 2002, the College
of Education reaffirms its support of and encouragement for faculty
seeking external funding. The Director of Grant Development’s
specific duties and responsibilities are outlined in the handbook
section entitled “Duties of Administrative Officers, Faculty
and Staff.
· The College of Education encourages submission
of grants by a single individual or by multiple individuals.
· The College of Education faculty will have the
freedom to choose the type of external funding project (gift or contract)
that fits his or her educational and scholarship needs.
· The College of Education expects to recover the
maximum allowable indirect costs for any grant application, unless special
circumstances warrant otherwise.
· The College of Education cannot guarantee faculty
salaries during the summer, thus no buy out time may be possible during
this period of time. In other words, buyout must be calculated on the
basis of a faculty member’s nine-month salary.
· The College of Education will return a portion
of the indirect costs derived from the grant to the principal investigator(s).
The College will inform the faculty member(s) of the process for obtaining
and appropriate use of these monies.
· The College of Education will support faculty members
who seek multiple sources of external funding as long as the grant activities
and duties are reasonable and manageable within a given period of time
and other duties within the college are satisfied.
· The College of Education does not authorize the
applicant to make commitments for contributed or matching funds without
the recommendation of the Division Chair and approval of the Dean.
· The College of Education will support those who
receive grants by providing release time from teaching activities as long
as the grant budget includes sufficient salary and fringe benefits. This
will assure the college that applicant(s) have a dedicated amount of time
to successfully carry out the project activities.
· The College of Education will provide support for
replacement of qualified personnel when an applicant of a successful grant
buys out release time. · The faculty member(s) who receives a grant award
will be responsible for the appropriate supervision, execution,
generation of reports, amendments to the project and budget, dissemination
of project outcomes, and termination of the project.
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PROCEDURES Faculty
Buy-Out Time During Academic Year
Grant budgets should include sufficient salary and fringe
benefits for COE-supported faculty to provide release time from teaching
activities, typically referred to as “buy out” time. This
will assure that the principal investigator and other grant personnel
have a dedicated amount of time to devote solely to carrying out project
activities. To determine the time that needs to be devoted to a project,
the grant writer should carefully determine: (a) the outcomes of the project,
(b) the tasks needed to achieve those outcomes within the allotted time
frame, (c) the personnel needed to accomplish each task, (d) the percentage
of time required of COE-supported faculty, (e) any rules or guidelines
established by the granting agency.
Grant budgets must include 15% of a faculty members salary
and fringe benefits for each course to be “bought out” during
a fall or spring “long” semester. For example, if a faculty
member needs to be released from two courses per year to carry out project
activities, then 30% of his or her nine-month salary and fringe benefits
(that is, 15% for each course) would need to be generated
from grant funds. Reductions in teaching load of one course per semester
can be approved at the division level. Any reductions beyond that level
are viewed as exceptional and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Approval of the Dean is required for any reduction in teaching assignment
beyond one course reduction per semester of the academic year. In addition
to the principal investigator, similar decisions must be made if other
regular faculty members will need reductions in teaching load. (Any agreements
on the percentage needed for buy-out time that were made prior to implementation
of this policy will be honored.)
It is imperative that discussions of potential buy-out
time be discussed with program faculty early in the grant preparation
phase. The program faculty will send a memorandum to the
Division Chair explaining how receipt of the grant would impact
the program, especially in regard to teaching. The Division
Chair will consider this information in approving or disapproving
the buy-out time. Such discussions should begin as early as possible,
but no later than two weeks prior to the deadline for submission
of the application. This will allow sufficient time for the Division
Chair to talk with the principal investigator about possible adjunct
faculty members to teach courses in place of project personnel.
Hiring adjunct faculty is the responsibility of the Division
Chair.
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Summer
Salary
Grant funds should be included to cover the salary
and fringe benefits for all of the time that project personnel needs
to devote to grant activities during the summer months (as allowable
by the granting agency).
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Salary
Savings
On September 12, 2001, then-Provost John Burns approved
the two-year pilot implementation of a Salary Savings plan for the College
of Education. As outlined below, this incentive plan is implemented in
the COE for 2002-2003 and 2003-2004.
Salary savings result when a COE-supported faculty member
buys out a portion of his or her teaching time for grant-related activities.
For example, if a faculty member makes $50,000 per year and buys out 30%
time to devote to grant activities, he or she will generate a salary savings
of $15,000. In such cases, the faculty member's unused salary remains
in the College and can be used for other instructional purposes. Funds
generated from salary savings are divided among the principal investigator(s),
Division, and College as follows:
· 30% to the principal investigator(s),
· 30% to the Division to hire replacement instructors,
· 20% to the Dean's office, and
· 20% to the College for program innovation.
In the example above, $4,500 of the $15,000 in salary savings
would be returned to the principal investigator. The portion that is designated
for the principal investigator(s) may be used in a number of ways, though
generally to support salaries related to instruction. Pursuant to the
Provost's approval, salary savings may be used to provide:
· all or part of one's summer salary;
· a summer stipend as additional compensation for extra work over
and above one's typical teaching duties; or
· salary for a teaching assistant to help with instructional activities.
If the grant budget uses a percentage of less than
15% per course for buy-out time, then the amount of salary savings
returned to the principal investigator will be negotiated on an individual
basis. The principal investigator should discuss this matter with
the Division Chair and Dean as part of the grant-preparation process. After a grant award is received, the Associate
Dean for Administration and Special Projects will send a memo to
the principal investigator(s) that indicates the amount of salary
savings generated for the current academic year. The principal investigator
must then submit a proposal to the Division Chair on how the money
is intended to be used. If approved by the Division Chair, the proposal
will be forwarded as a recommendation to the Associate Dean for
Administration and Special Projects. Upon final approval, the principal
investigator(s) will be notified in writing.
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Contributed
or Matching Funds
Some grants require that a certain percentage of the grant-related
expenses be contributed or matched by the organization that will receive
the grant. For example, if a grant competition requires a “50% match”
for a $100,000 grant, the organization would have to contribute $50,000
to the project. Possible sources of matching funds include faculty salaries,
HEAF funds for technology, local funds, and so forth. Because conditions
vary from grant to grant, the Principal Investigator should consult the
Request for Proposals (RFP) or contact someone at the granting agency
to determine what sources of funds are allowable as matching funds. The
Texas Tech University Office of Research Services will also be able to
provide some guidance in this area. A faculty member does not have the authority to
make a commitment for contributing funds to a grant project. Any
contributed or matching funds must be recommended by the Division
Chair and approved by the Dean or his or her designee. The amount
of the contributed funds and the account(s) from which the funds
will be taken must be specified and approved on the internal routing
sheet before a grant application is submitted. The Division Chair
and the Dean must determine the overall benefit of the project to
the College and the impact on teaching loads and course coverage,
as well as the benefit to the project personnel involved, in making
a decision on whether to approve contributed or matching funds.
Such discussions should begin as early as possible in the grant-preparation
phase, but no later than two weeks prior to the deadline for submission
of the application.
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Indirect
Costs
Indirect costs typically are included in grant budgets to
help the organization recoup the expenses of operating grant projects,
such as office space, utilities, grant administration services, and so
forth. These costs are called Administrative and Facilities Costs (or
F&A) at Texas Tech. The University has fixed indirect costs for on-campus
projects (46% of the total direct budget in 2002-03) and for off-campus
projects (25% of the total direct budget in 2002-03).
Mandatory reductions. Most granting organizations
place a limit on the amount of indirect costs that can be requested. For
example, the U.S. Department of Education allows only 8% indirect costs
on the modified total budget (that is, the total of all budget categories
except stipends or scholarships for students) for personnel preparation
grants. When such restrictions are placed on indirect costs by the granting
organization, Texas Tech considers this a mandatory reduction. While some
indirect costs are not recovered by the grant project, the University
typically will allow such grant proposals to be submitted even when there
are modified reductions. Such mandatory reductions should be noted on
the internal routing sheet under “Special Comments.”
Voluntary reductions. A voluntary reduction is one in which
the principal investigator requests a lower indirect cost rate than the
maximum rate allowable by the granting organization. Although voluntary
reductions typically are not permitted by the University, they may be
requested when extraordinary circumstances exist. To request a
voluntary reduction, the principal investigator must initially discuss
the need and rationale for such a reduction with the Division Chair and
the Dean. If they agree that special circumstances exist that
make a voluntary reduction appropriate, a request will be submitted to
the Office of Research Services (ORS) for approval. ORS will either support
or deny the request for a voluntary reduction. If the request is approved,
the principal investigator is then free to include the agreed upon amount
of indirect costs. If not approved, the College may elect to approve the
voluntary reduction, but will be penalized when the University returns
portions of the total indirect costs from grants to the College.
If a principal investigator is considering a request for
any voluntary reduction in the indirect cost rate, he or she should discuss
the situation as soon as possible in the grant-preparation phase with
the Division Chair and the Dean (or the Dean’s designee). Such discussions
should begin no later than two weeks prior to the deadline for submission
of the application.
Portion returned to the College. As indicated above, the
University returns a portion of the total amount of indirect costs for
all grant projects in the College each year. The purpose of these monies
is to stimulate further research and scholarship in the College. The College
of Education divides this money as follows:
· 50% is given to the principal investigator,
· 25% is given to the Division,
· 25% is kept at the College level.
The portion returned to the principal investigator must
be spent to support research activities, such as travel, research assistantship
salaries, copying charges, independent contractor fees, materials, and
software. There is more flexibility in using this money, in contrast to
the use of salary savings, which is quite restricted since it can only
be used to pay for summer salary or to support teaching assistants. The Associate Dean for Administration and Special Projects
will notify the principal investigator in writing of the amount
that he or she is receiving from indirect costs. This letter will
also specify the types of expenditures that can be made, the process
to follow in using the money, and the deadline for finalizing all
expenditures.
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Budget
Preparation Procedures
Principal investigators should consider the above procedures
in preparing a budget for a grant proposal. Given the complexities of
preparing budgets, principal investigators should contact the Office of
Grant Development for assistance early in the grant preparation process.
Multiple drafts of budgets are generally needed, so the Office of Grant
Development wishes to submit the initial draft for review as early as
possible. The budget should be approved by the Office of Research Services
prior to beginning the internal routing procedure (see later section).
Principal investigators should follow the specific guidelines
and complete budget forms as provided by the funding agency. As a general
guide, the budget should be based on the scope of work that is being proposed
in the grant. Grant reviewers look for a close match between the budget
and the stated goals, objectives, and activities of the project, and any
mismatches will not be judged favorably. Following are some general procedures
to follow in preparing a grant budget:
· Check with the funding agency or the Request for
Proposals (RFP) to determine whether there are any restrictions on what
can and cannot be included in the budget and whether matching or contributed
funds are required.
· Calculate the buy-out time for faculty salaries
on the faculty member’s current nine-month base pay plus the
amount stipulated annually by ORS for subsequent years in a multiyear
project. Third will allow for the possibility of a pay increase
for the following academic year, though including this amount in
no way provides assurance that such an increase will actually occur.
· Calculate fringe benefits on the actual rates
now in effect for current faculty members plus the rate stipulated
annually by ORS to allow for possible increases during subsequent
years in a multi-year project. For any project staff who are not
currently employed at Texas Tech, use the formulas provided by the
University. Check with the Office of Research Services to ascertain
current fringe benefits rates or calculation formulas.
· Provide separate budget figures in the budget narrative
for academic-year salaries and for summer salaries. This will facilitate
the calculation of salary savings (see prior section). · Include increases as stipulated by ORS each
year for subsequent years in a multi-year grant project for salaries
and fringe benefits and, where appropriate, other areas of the budget. · Check with the funding agency, the RFP, or the
Office of Research Services to determine the amount that can be
requested for Facilities and Administrative charges.
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Multiple
Grant Submissions by Same Principal Investigator
When submitting multiple proposals, the principal investigator
must discuss each one with program area faculty and how receipt of each
grant would impact the program, especially in regard to teaching. The
program will send a memorandum to the Division Chair explaining the potential
impact of receipt of the grants on program activities. The Division Chair
will gather information from the principal investigator on, and consider
the likelihood of, receiving multiple awards (that is, the probable “hit
rate” for receiving grant awards), the resulting impact on the professor’s
teaching schedule, the potential to hire adjunct faculty members to teach
courses, the program’s recommendation, and other factors in approving
or disapproving the submission of multiple proposals, such as funding
necessary to adequately cover the breadth and depth of a faculty member’s
responsibilities. Such discussions with the Division Chair should begin
as early as possible, but no later than two weeks prior to the deadline
for submission of each application. If the principal investigator receives multiple awards that
exceed the allowable buy-out time, then it will be incumbent on
him or her to discuss this matter with the Division Chair, Dean,
and personnel from the Office of Research Services before the University
will accept such grants. If any revisions are necessary that differ
from the original grant proposal, such negotiations will occur internally
among the principal investigator, Division Chair, and the Dean and
then will be conveyed to personnel in the Office of Research Services.
ORS will then engage in the official negotiations with the granting
agency.
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Application
Approval by and Credit for Project Participants In preparing a grant proposal, all individuals who are named
as key project personnel in the proposed project should have the
opportunity to provide input into the written application and to
approve its contents. While there is no official “sign-off”
procedure in this regard, the College will assume that such approvals
have been gained prior to circulating the internal routing sheet
(see next section). Also, to assure that all individual who contribute
to writing a grant proposal receive appropriate credit, the principal
investigator should note these contributions in a memorandum to
the Division Chair(s). Regardless of whether proposals are funded,
COE faculty are encouraged to mention their grant activities in
their annual reports.
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Internal
Routing Procedures The University requires that all grant applications be approved
by the Division, College, and Office of Research Services before
they can be submitted. A standard routing form is used by Texas
Tech University to provide basic information about the proposed
projects, any special circumstances under consideration, and the
source of funds for any contributed or matching costs. Forms are
available online via the ORS web site at www.ors.ttu.edu. The Office
of Grant Development will complete the internal routing form.
Since an approved budget is required before any signatures
can be requested, a budget should be discussed with the Division
Chair and Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research. The
Office of Grant Development will complete the budget and submit
it to the Office of Research Services as early as possible in the
grant writing process, Because submission deadlines vary according
to the type of grant, principal investigators should verify well
in advance whether the deadline refers to when the proposal needs
to be postmarked or delivered to the funding agency.
Once the approved budget, application narrative, and
internal routing sheet are finalized, the Office of Grant Development
will gain approval and a signature from the Division Chair and then
from the Dean (or his or her designee). The Office of Grant Development
will make one copy of the completed application for its records,
one for the principle investigator, one for the Associate Dean for
Research and will submit the original to the Office of Research
Services. If ORS is to make the copies to be sent out, the proposal
must be in that office by 12:00, two days before the grant goes
out.
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Assistantship
Waivers
Proposed budgets for grants that include salaries
for research assistants, teaching assistants, graduate assistants,
or graduate part-time instructors must include an additional amount
per semester to cover the cost of Graduate Assistantship waivers.
At present, the Graduate Student Tuition/Fee Assistance Program
is used to waive Institutional Tuition, Student Services Fee, Information
Technology Fee, Library Fee, University Center Fee, Recreation Center
Construction Fee, and Course Fees, among others. This program results
in a substantial savings for graduate students, but the additional
costs must be borne by the grant budget. As part of preparing the
budget, the principal investigator should contact the Office of
Research Services to ascertain the estimated amount that should
be included to cover the cost of the fee waivers.
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Disclosure
Statements
The State of Texas requires that the principal investigators
complete a disclosure statement for each completed grant application and
funded project. The purpose of such statements is to identify whether
the principal investigator or anyone in his or her immediate family will
benefit financially from a funded project. If no significant financial
interest exists, a negative disclosure statement is completed. If a significant
financial interest exists, then the principal investigator will complete
a positive disclosure statement. Copies of the disclosure statements are available in the
Office of Graduate Education and Research. These statements are
completed and signed first by the principal investigator. Then the
statements are forwarded to the Division Chair and Associate Dean
for Graduate Education and Research for final approvals. For positive
disclosures, an additional level of review is required. Executed
disclosure statements are kept on file in the Office of Graduate
Education and Research and are subject to review by auditors from
the University and from the State of Texas.
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Human
Subjects Approval
The University and many granting agencies require that grant
proposals involving research with human subjects gain approval from the
Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects prior to or as part of
the grant application process. Depending on the nature of the research
and the characteristics of the research participants, principal investigators
can file a claim for exemption from review, an expedited review, or a
full review. Forms and guidelines for each type of review are available
in the Office of Graduate Education and Research or online at www.ors.ttu.edu.
If unsure of whether a project is considered “research” or
which type of review to request, the principal investigator is encouraged
to discuss these matters with the Associate Dean for Graduate Education
and Research and/or a member of the Committee for the Protection of Human
Subjects.
A completed human-subjects application is first signed by
the principal investigator. If the grant is being submitted by a student,
a faculty sponsor must review, approve, and sign the application. Then
the application is reviewed, approved, and signed by the Division Chair.
Finally, it is submitted to the Office of Research
Services, which in turn forwards it to the Committee. The process
of gaining approval may take several weeks, so principal investigators
are encouraged to complete this process early in the grant-preparation
phase. The Committee requires a minimum of 10 business days to complete
the review. Research activities involving human subjects may not
begin until all instructional approvals have been secured.
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Allocation
of Space for Grant-related Personnel and Activities
As part of the grant-writing process, the principal investigator
should delineate requirements for additional space (that is, other
than assigned faculty office space) to house grant-related personnel
and grant activities. These space requirements should be discussed
with the Division Chair and the Associate Dean for Administration
and Special Projects. Also, a concise summary of the space requirements
should be included in the Special Comments box on the ORS Internal
Routing sheet. In approving or disapproving the request for additional
space, the Associate Dean for Administration and Spherical Projects
will consider the overall space needs of the College and the potential
benefits of the proposed project. As part of the signature-approval
process for the proposal, the Associate Dean for Administration
and Special projects will approve the space requirements request
by placing his or her initial next to the summary in the Special
Comments box. If not approved, then the principal investigator must
explore other options for housing project personnel and grant activities
before the proposal will be forwarded to the Office of Research
Services. Discussions regarding space requirements should begin
as early as possible in the grant-preparation phase, but no later
than two weeks prior to the deadline for submission of the application.
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Proposals
and Requests to Private Foundations Grant proposals that are submitted to private foundations
(other than gifts to the College or University) must adhere to the
same procedures as for other proposals, as outlined in the above
policies. However, an additional, initial step must be addressed.
Prior to any contact with the foundation, a form must be submitted
to the University via the College of Education Development Office
that requests approval to approach the foundation or to submit a
proposal. There are no exceptions to this rule. This internal approval
process should begin as early as possible (three to six months is
advisable), but no later than three weeks prior to the deadline
for submission of the application. Forms are available from the
COE Development Office and must be submitted in their original,
triplicate format (i.e., a photocopy of the form is not permitted).
Once approved by officials in the College of Education, the form
will be forwarded to the Development Office. The Development Office
will act on the request and will notify the individual who made
the request either by phone, mail, or e-mail. If approval is granted,
then the faculty member may proceed with the grant-writing process,
following the above procedures. The purpose of funneling all potential
requests through the COE Development Office (since this involves
a coordinated effort with other development offices on campus) is
to avoid the simultaneous submission of multiple grants to the same
foundation; such multiple submissions may result in all funding
requests from the University being denied. Therefore, it is imperative
that the principal investigator follow the established approval
process before making any contact or submitting a proposal to a
private foundation.
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Grant
Account Inventory EXTERNAL GRANTS: All external grants are agreements made
between the granting agency and Texas Tech, not between the granting
agency and the PI. In the written agreement, it will stipulate who
will own the equipment and other materials purchased on the grant.
If it specifies that ownership be given to Texas Tech, the equipment
and materials remain behind at the institution if/when the PI leaves.
However, sometimes the agency will stipulate in the agreement that
the PI owns the materials and equipment. In that case, if the PI
or anyone else who has the equipment leaves, they may take the equipment
or materials with them. Failure to leave the equipment, etc., behind
when a person leaves results in the filing of an IRS form by Texas
Tech to count all books, etc., as taxable income in that year.
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Texas
Tech Accounts
Professional Development money: If books are purchased with
this money, they belong to the faculty member. This does not apply to
equipment, however, unless it is more than three years old. All other purchases: Any books, equipment, or other non-consumable
materials purchased with Texas Tech money for instruction, research,
etc. that are no more than three years old are property of Texas
Tech. Equipment with a Texas Tech identification tag belongs to
Texas Tech regardless of the age of the equipment. Therefore, if
a faculty member leaves, he or she is expected to leave behind all
books, equipment, or other non-consumable materials purchased by
Texas Tech for instruction, research, etc. They are, thus, not considered
the property of the faculty member. Faculty members should leave
these materials in their offices or give them to their Division
Chair. Failure to leave the books, etc., behind also results in
the filing of an IRS form by Texas Tech to count the books, etc.,
as taxable income. If a faculty member has questions about which
books were bought by the TTU account, the Dean’s Office has
this list for you and can provide it for you.
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Grant Supported
Distance Education Activities
If distance education options are included in proposed
grant projects, Principal Investigators should be sure to include
fees to support the technology in the budget. When preparing grant
proposals, the Director of Distance Learning should be consulted
for an estimate of these fees.
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