FACT SHEET FOR GRANT APPLICANTS
2004-2005

SALARY CALCULATIONS

Faculty
Faculty seeking external grants are asked to predicate requests for salary support on their 9-month academic year contract. Each month of grant effort represents 1/9 of the salary base. The level of remunerated effort frequently varies from 5-100%, depending on the nature of the applicant's grant activities.

For example, a faculty member receiving an academic year salary of $45,000 might wish to ask the external sponsor for 2 months of full-time salary support in the summer.
time commitment salary base level of effort summer salary
2/9 x $45,000 x 100% = $ 10,000

In some instances, fund sources have a maximum rate for salary or provide a lump sum fellowship. Please follow the guidelines of the sponsors.

When seeking multi-year support, faculty are currently asked to project a 3% increase to the salary base as of September 1 for fiscal year 04/05, and beyond.

Faculty should discuss requests for academic year release time with their department chair and with either the Dean of Arts & Sciences or the Dean of Engineering before applying for grant-funded salary support that would reduce teaching loads or other departmental obligations. Normally, each course of release time is calculated as 1/6 of the annual salary. Faculty release time requires signature approval on the Union College Grant Proposal Form (GPF).

Administrative
Administrative, technical, and clerical salaries are generally predicated on a 12-month contract. Whenever the fund source will allow, the grant applicant should request 1/12 of the salary base for each month of grant effort. For example, one might request support for a technical position at a salary base of $24,000 over a ten-month period at 50% effort:

When seeking multi-year support, both administrative and clerical salaries should be projected at 3% annually.

Students
Typical hourly wages for students hired by the College start at the minimum wage, $5.15/ hour.

In budgeting for students participating in summer research projects, the standard rate for student assistants on Financial Aid Contracts is $5.15 per hour. Those students who qualify for summer research fellowships typically receive a $2500 stipend plus $60 per week for a room in college housing.

FRINGE BENEFITS

Faculty and Administrative Personnel
Based on the College's current agreement with federal agencies, the prevailing composite fringe benefit rate is 20% on all faculty, administrative, technical, and clerical salaries. (The 20% includes 11% for retirement and 9% for FICA and other costs.) This does not include medical benefits. In some cases it is necessary to include medical benefits, and these will be determined on an individual proposal basis.
In the previous example of the faculty member who requested two months of summer research salary, benefits would be calculated as follows:

If benefits on summer salary are waived by the faculty member as cost-sharing, please be aware that no summer contributions will be made to retirement funds.

Students
The prevailing fringe benefit rate for students is 10%. This represents the College's obligatory contribution to FICA.
In the hypothetical case of an undergraduate who works on a faculty project 40 hours per week for six weeks in the summer, the benefits would be:

Please contact Judy Manchester in the Finance Department with any questions about salary and wage calculations on new grant applications.

INDIRECT COSTS or OVERHEAD

Indirect costs reflect the true costs colleges and universities incur in providing facilities, equipment, utilities, maintenance, administrative time, and other resources necessary for a productive research environment.

Union's indirect cost rate is 58.5% for projects that take place primarily at the College. The responsible federal agency for Union's indirect cost rate is the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The current rate was negotiated February 13, 2004 for July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2007.

For projects that take place exclusively off-campus, the indirect cost rate is 20.5%.

Non-federal sponsors of research frequently have their own indirect cost rate or will not include overhead as an allowable cost. Please contact Judy Manchester in the Finance Department to discuss negotiation of overhead rates other than the federally approved rate.

At Union, indirect costs are applied only on direct salaries and wages exclusive of fringe benefits. (Union does not request indirect costs on such expenses as travel, supplies, and equipment). For example, in a grant budget that provides a summer salary for a faculty member at $10,000, part-time wages for a technician at $10,000 and a summer stipend for a student at $2,500, the indirect costs would be:

TRAVEL COSTS

For projects requiring travel, please calculate automobile mileage at 37.5 cents per mile. There are two ways to estimate meals and hotel costs. 1) Use Union's per diem of $100 per day for a maximum of 3 days (4 days if travel is extended over Saturday night to reduce airfare) to relieve yourself of receipt responsibility. 2) Calculate estimated actual expenses and collect receipts for all charges. Standard Government per diem rates for domestic travel are available at http://www.policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/perdiem/perd04d.html with links to foreign rates.

Where possible, please attempt to reserve air travel at economy class with 14-day or greater advance booking. (Federal agencies require that international air travel normally take place on US airlines). Price quotations can be secured from any of three authorized travel agents: Trevi Travel (ext. 1004 Susan Rosenthal), Woodside Dorp (ext. 1002), or Carlson Travel (ext. 1001).

COSTS FOR EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

For grant projects that require the purchase of new equipment, please obtain quotes from the vendors indicating any educational (or other) discounts applied, and any shipping, insurance, set-up or other related charges. In cases where equipment which can be supplied by more than one vendor, contact the Purchasing Director at ext. 6127 or 6107. Please identify the name of the equipment, special features, and possible vendors so that Purchasing can respond with appropriate cost estimates, including shipping, insurance, and related costs. All purchase orders for Federal grants require approval by Judy Manchester in the Finance Department prior to submission to purchasing.

For grant projects that require the purchase of computing equipment, please consult with Diane Keller in ITS (Information Technology Services) at ext. 6293 on matters of compatibility, service, and maintenance.

In computing costs for grant projects, do not overlook the cost of supplies or copying. These costs add up quickly, and should be included in the project budget.

FACILITY COSTS

Some grant activities occasionally require alteration of space, changes in HVAC systems, or modifications of other utility services. Prior to submission of proposal, please consult with Loren Rucinski in the Campus Planning Office at ext. 6076 for feasibility, cost estimates, and code regulations.

MATCHING OBLIGATIONS

Some grant programs have formal matching requirements. Please identify possible matching funds first in your department/office operating budget. If matching funds are not available within the department, please consult with Dwight Wolf, Associate Dean of Academic Services (ext. 6010).

Union does not allow the discounting or waiving of the overhead rate for cost-sharing or for matching funds. Please contact Judy Manchester in the Finance Department to discuss negotiation of overhead rates other than the federally approved rate.

Please contact the Director of Government Grants for interpretations of the sponsor's matching requirements and for approaches to in-kind contributions that may fulfill any matching requirements.

INSTITUTIONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS

When a grant application requests a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN or EIN), the appropriate code is 14-1338580.

The organization code for Union College is 00288-94000. The basic six digit FICE Code from the Code Book is 002889.
Union’s 9-digit DUNS # is 05-937-5584. (Required for all government grants)

NY State tax exempt number is 127915.

Union's Authorized Organizational Representative is Christina Sorum, VPAA (Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty). Her phone is 518-388-6102; her fax is 518-388-6800.

NSF FASTLANE see Sources of Information for Grant Seekers

Union is registered as a NSF FastLane institution. In order to submit proposals to NSF via FastLane, you must be added to the FastLane Users List and assigned a PIN # by the Grants Office (x6434). Acrobat Reader 5.0 (software which can be downloaded from the Web) is needed for viewing and printing NSF forms; all supplementary documents must be provided in Word or pdf versions, or scanned and converted to upload into Fastlane. Contact Jill Salvo as early as possible for assistance in this process.

NOTE: Submission to Fastlane requires an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) to officially approve and submit your proposal. This authorization requires multiple permissions (= time) to process, so please call the Grants Office as soon as you are considering an NSF application so that this process can be initiated.

GRANTS.GOV

All federal grant notices and applications have been centralized to one location at www.grants.gov. Although many government agencies (NSF, NIH, NEH, DOE, etc.) still maintain their previous on-line application format, grants.gov will eventually become the primary route for all federal government applications.

TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

Copies of the IRS Letter of Determination for the college's tax-exempt status (both 501 (c) (3) and 509 (a) (1)) are available from the Grants Office in Abbe Hall Carriage House.

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The College's most recent audited financial statement is dated June 30, 1999. KT check this date please! Request any necessary photocopies from either the Finance Department or the Grants Office.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS
The United States senators from New York State are Hilary Rodham Clinton (D) and Chuck Schumer (D). The United States representative for this district is Michael McNulty (D). The congressional district number is the 21st.

The DC address for Hilary Rodham Clinton is: Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton, United States Senate, 476 Russell Senate Building, Washington DC 20510. The DC address for Chuck Schumer is: Senator Chuck Schumer, 313 Hart Senate Building, Washington DC 20510. The DC address for Mike McNulty is: Congressman Michael R. McNulty, 2210 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515.

The New York State Senator for this district is Hugh Farley (R): the district is the 44th. The New York State Assembly member for this district is James Tedisco (R); the district is the 103rd.

LIST OF COLLEGE TRUSTEES

The list of college trustees is updated regularly. Copies may be obtained from the Grants Office in the Carriage House.

INSTITUTIONAL FACT SHEET

An Institutional Fact Sheet with some basic information about Union College is available from Pat Tappa in the Institutional Studies Office. Please contact either Tina Gleason (x6607) or Pat Tappa (x6097) directly to obtain a copy.

GRANT PROPOSAL FORM

Christina Sorum, Dean of the Faculty, is the authorized organizational representative for faculty grant proposals. She requires that the Union College Grant Proposal Form be completed and attached to any proposal presented for her signature.

The Grant Proposal Form provides spaces for sign-off by 1) the department chair, 2) the Dean or Arts & Sciences or the Dean of Engineering, 3) the Associate Dean of Academic Services (for matching funds), 4) Judy Manchester in the Finance Department, 5) facilities, and 6) the grants office.

Once the form has been signed by these people indicating their awareness and approval of the project, Christie will sign off on the original proposal. The line on the Grant Proposal Form for Christie's signature is ONLY for proposals being released to NSF via FastLane. Ordinarily Christie’s signature is not necessary because the completed Grant Proposal Form is presented to her along with the original proposal, and Christie signs the original proposal.

POST-AWARD ADMINISTRATION

After a grant has been received, the principal investigator should meet with Judy Manchester for a discussion of any sponsor-required budget modifications, the establishment of a grant account, the procedures for salary disbursement to project staff members supported by the sponsoring agency, and for any specific questions regarding the financial status of the grant account.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Last update: 09/08/2004 KT/JS