Responsibilities of the Principal Investigator/Project Director
Responsibilities of the Controller's Office
How Grants Are Set up in the Accounting System
Allowable Grant Expenditures
Monitoring Expenses and Managing the Grant
Budget Changes and OPAS Form
Reporting Requirements
No-Cost Extensions
The Principal Investigator or Project Director (PI/PD) is responsible for all aspects of conducting the project. The PI/PD must:
• submit all original award documentation for faculty-initiated grants to the Sponsored Research Office
• submit all original award documentation for grants supporting institutional projects to the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations
• submit any funds received to the Controller’s office (grants accountant)
• ensure that the project stays within the scope and objectives of the original proposal
• monitor expenses and limit expenditures to the total dollar amount awarded
• submit all required reports on time
• provide the Sponsored Research Office or Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations with copies of all narrative reports and grant-related correspondence
• comply with all terms and conditions of the grant
• request approval from the Controller’s office for any changes to approved budgets or other terms of the grant
• follow all College policies (financial and academic) as well as the policies of the sponsoring agency
• notify the Coordinator of Sponsored Research if the project involves a family relationship not disclosed to the sponsor at the time the grant is submitted
The grant accountant in the Controller’s Office is responsible for the overall financial administration of all grants to the College and follows standard accounting practices and strictly adheres to all College policies and federal regulations. Specific responsibilities include:
• setting up all grants in the accounting system
• preparing all financial reports
• requesting reimbursement from sponsoring agencies for grant-funded expenses
• authorizing changes to approved budgets or other grant terms (in accordance with sponsoring agency policy)
• certifying compliance with all grant-related federal regulations
The College must receive documentation of an award before the grant accountant sets up a grant in the accounting system. Normally this documentation consists of the original grant acceptance letter along with a copy of the approved grant proposal and budget. In most cases, the Sponsored Research Office or Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations provides this documentation to the grant accountant.
The grant accountant creates a unique Fund code for each grant, enters the approved budget into the College's accounting system, notifies the PI, department administrator, and the SRO or CFR, and tells them the Banner FOAP (account number) to use for all grant expenses. If the College has committed cost-sharing (“matching”) to the project, a second FOAP may be assigned for all match-related expenditures. PI/PDs can authorize other college employees to have access to their grants in the accounting system. Financial information in Banner is available through Banner Web (sign on and select Finance, then Grant/Budget Queries).
For questions about grant accounting, contact Larry Basset (x5756).
For questions about using Banner, contact the Helpdesk (x2200).
The PI/PD is the sole “budget administrator” for the grant and authorizes all expenditures posted to the grant. Only the PI/PD's signature is needed on vouchers or requisitions (except for reimbursements to the PI/PD, which must be signed by the PI/PD’s supervisor).
All expenses charged to a grant must be necessary to achieve the objectives of the approved grant, allocable to that particular project, and allowable under the terms of the grant. Such expenses include:
Equipment, Supplies, and Professional Services
Travel Costs
Faculty and Staff Salaries and Time & Effort Proceddures
Hiring Students
Hiring Employees
Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs (Facilities & Administration)
For questions about grant expenditures, contact Larry Basset (x5756)
Grant expenditures are processed just as any other College expenditures. Examples include travel reimbursement, purchase requisitions, and charges for College services (bookstore, reprographics, etc.). Routine office expenses (supplies, postage, telephone, photocopies, etc.) cannot be charged to grants unless they are specifically included in the awarded budget.
To purchase from external vendors, the PI/PD follows normal college procedures for ordering supplies and equipment. Contact the Grants Accountant before purchasing any equipment that is not in the original grant budget or that costs more than $5,000. Before purchasing equipment, check with the grant accountant to see if the sponsoring agency guidelines or college policy requires bid procedures. Department coordinators may be able to assist with these equipment orders.
For questions about ordering equipment, supplies, or services, contact the Purchasing Department (x5464).
All airline reservations must be made following college travel policies. Federally-funded travel must be booked with US carriers regardless of the cost (with some limited exceptions related to travel logistics). As of July 2008, the mileage reimbursement rate is $0.58/mile.
For meals and lodging during travel related to the grant, the PI/PD can either submit the receipts or use the Federal per diem limits. Federal per diem rates by city can be found through the Rates & Useful Facts page. No federal grant funds can be used for alcoholic beverages, and the PI/PD must verify that reimbursements for meals do not include payment for alcoholic beverages.
Travel reimbursements and advances can be requested by submitting a voucher to Larry Basset (x5756).
For questions about College travel policies, contact David Preble (x5369).
Before any salary for faculty (including summer salary) or for "exempt from overtime" staff can be paid from a grant, a Time & Effort (T&E) Report must be completed and submitted to the grant accountant. Faculty or salaried staff working on the grant-funded project indicate the amount (or percentage) of salary to be charged to a grant (consistent with the approved budget) and an estimate of time and effort to be expended on the grant during the upcoming summer or academic year. The grant accountant will request confirmation (or corrections) for the estimated time and effort for the previous summer or academic year.
Download the Time & Effort form at this page (under Grants).
Time & Effort Reports are required for all grants, whether or not salary is charged to the grant budget. These reports are also used to document time donated to grant projects, whether or not the specific grant requires such documentation.
For questions about Time & Effort Reports, contact Larry Bassett (x5756).
Student Employment Office procedures must be followed to pay student wages from grant funds. These procedures apply to:
- Middlebury college students
- Middlebury graduates working during the summer or semester following their May or February graduation
- non-Middlebury college students
- high school students
Student wages are set by Human Resources, not by the approved grant budget. In order to pay summer research students with a stipend (instead of hourly wages), you must complete a Summer Research Assistant Authorization (SRAA) Form and get it signed by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research.
NOTE: An SRAA form is also required if you have a student working for you during the summer who is not being paid wages. In that case the student is a "volunteer" and this form is used to document that relationship with the college.
Download the SRAA form in PDF format from this page (under Handbook and Forms). You can also get a copy by contacting Pat Manley (x5430) or Colleen Converse (x3026).
For more information, contact Dee Gilbert (x5377) or consult the Student Employment handbook.
Employees are anyone (other than students) hired to work on grants administered by the College as College employees. This category includes Middlebury College graduates who cannot be paid through the procedures used for undergraduates. Hiring and all other actions relating to their employment must be coordinated by the Human Resources Department (or the Dean of Faculty in the case of faculty) and handled in the same manner as for other employees. Salaries and wages are determined by Human Resources (or Dean of Faculty) based on the job description, not by the amount in the approved budget. For questions about hiring grant-funded employees, contact Human Resources (x 5465).
Students and hourly employees (who report time worked through Banner) do not have to complete Time & Effort Reports.
The grant accountant is responsible for recording as grant expenses the fringe benefit charges and the approved Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs (formerly known as indirect costs). Fringe benefits and F&A charges are based on the grant budget approved by the funding source. These charges are usually posted on a monthly basis.
For questions about fringe benefits and indirect costs, contact Larry Bassett (x5756)
The PI/PD is responsible for monitoring all expenses charged to the grant. The Controller's Office recommends that you review your grant budget at least once a month in Banner (sign on to Banner Web and select Finance, then Grant/Budget Queries). Mistakes can happen, but expenses posted to a grant in error can be moved easily if the error is caught within the College’s fiscal year. Be sure that all invoices, vouchers, and payroll charges that have been submitted are charged to the grant properly. Grant budget overruns are charged to the PI/PD’s department. Banner financial information is accessible through Banner Web or directly from Banner, and Hyperion grant budget reports are also available. When doing queries in Banner Web, go to Finance and select the Grant/Budget Queries option. The Banner Fund number for a grant is the same as the Banner Index number.
For help with Banner Web, contact the Helpdesk (x2200).
For help with Hyperion grant budget reports, contact Susan Simmons (x2049).
For questions about Banner financial information, contact Larry Bassett (x5756).
Contact the Sponsored Research Office, Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations, or grant accountant to determine the procedures required to spend funds on items that are not included in an awarded grant budget. When a grant allows the College to authorize such expenditures, the PI/PD must first request the budget changes from the Controller's office, using an OPAS form (Organizational Prior Approval System). The form must include the details of and justification for the change and be signed by the Cordinator of Sponsored Research (or Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations), then submitted to the Controller's office for approval.
The PI/PD must request approval from the Controller’s office for any changes to approved budgets or other grant terms. Requests must be submitted using the Organizational Prior Approval System (OPAS) form, signed by a staff member from the Sponsored Research Office or Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations.
The grant accountant prepares all financial reports required by the sponsoring agency. Do not provide any financial information to a sponsor without verification by the grant accountant.
The PI/PD is responsible for all narrative or technical reports. Many sponsoring agencies require annual progress reports; check the specific grant terms and conditions. Copies of all narrative reports and correspondence related to faculty-initiated grants should be forwarded to the Sponsored Research Office. Copies of all narrative reports and correspondence related to institutional grants should be forwarded to the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations
Most sponsoring agencies allow the grant termination date to be extended, if more time is needed to finish the project. Many federal grants allow the College to authorize these “no-cost extensions.” In all cases, such extensions must be requested well in advance of the approved termination date. Contact the Sponsored Research Office or the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations for the appropriate procedures.
Click here to download a quick-reference guide to resources and information for administering your grant.