Kansas State University - GRA Support

[fwillbrant]

Please describe the process you use to provide Graduate Research Assistant Support.  We are looking for the details associated with how waivers, scholarships, and other tuition support is actually applied to the students accounts and also at the funding associated with the various levels and methods of tuition support.

[Christine Blakney]

Texas Tech University - Honestly our program is very cumbersome in my opinion.  Students and Departments continue to fail to understand the basic tenets (need their hiring paperwork and being registered for classes before they will see any credits on their account) and we are more than two years out on the automation.  A brief description is below but we can elaborate if needed.  The OP can be found at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP62.40.pdf.

• Department submits hiring paperwork for a Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant position
• Student must be appointed .5 FTE (20 hrs/wk) prior to any state reporting deadlines
• Students on Leave Without Pay Status may be benefits eligible for insurance purposes but we do not allow them exemptions while in that status
• Once approvals are obtained, the student's information is added to our programming "view"
• Approvals required include Department, Graduate School and Compensation but if a later approver returns the paperwork back to submitter level, it could remove the student from the view
• A process is run a couple of times a day to read the view and apply benefits to the student's TSAACCT form (sorry I talk in forms, not tables)
• Because we have state requirements to verify SAP, Selective Service and Excessive Hours before applying these exemptions, we load with a delete indicator at first and then the verification process will remove the D if verification is passed
• TSRCBIL in apply cred mode is run at least once a day to apply any benefits loaded to TSAACCT
• If termination paperwork is processed prior to the state reporting date then benefits will be deleted
• After state reporting dates have passed, we collect the funding source of the student's salary and apply the cost of the exemption in the same proportions via a JV
• Grants or work student accounts that do not allow exemptions are identified and a departmental account is used for the expense
• Students paid on state (E&G) accounts are processed as an exemption and thus no expense is recorded
• We offer two basic levels of benefits (Master's and PhD) so the student's degree plan must also be identified.  Changes to this field happen more often than I would have expected so we do get lots of questions why credits changed and this is usually the culprit.
• We also offer a small scholarship to PhD students who have enrolled in at least 9 SCH to cover the state portion of their tuition which cannot be waived.  Currently that is being managed by the Scholarship office via a report so there can be timing delays and overaward issues.

Our biggest issue in SBS is that because we have no access to HR records, if a student does not have benefits on their account we have to tell them to go back to their dept. and check their paperwork status.  Often the dept tells the student it is an HR issue and send them over to them.  The "Tech Shuffle" can get very irritating to these students.

Let me know if you need more information.  I would love to see how other schools manage these benefits.

Thanks,

CB

[kathy.kam...@gmail.com]

On Monday, September 15, 2014 10:19:42 AM UTC-5, fwillbrant wrote:

> Please describe the process you use to provide Graduate Research Assistant Support.  We are looking for the details associated with how waivers, scholarships, and other tuition support is actually applied to the students accounts and also at the funding associated with the various levels and methods of tuition support.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma State University’ Graduate College has determined graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and graduate research assistants (GRAs) that are employed at least 0.25 FTE are, in exchange for services provided to research projects, eligible for a full waiver of the non-resident portion of tuition for all eligible hours taken, plus resident tuition remission for eligible graduate credit hours each Fall, Spring, and Summer term. The amount of resident tuition support depends on the employment level (FTE) of the GRA. The tuition remission generally does not include fees, books, housing, or other costs.

The tuition remission will be provided by the University under certain conditions.

1. the GRA is enrolled in an advanced degree program;

2. the GRA is participating in a research project sponsored, in whole or in part, by Oklahoma State University, federal, state agency, local agency, private organization, or other outside organization; and

3. the courses concerned are “eligible” courses.

While some GRA salary and stipends are funded by University/departmental budgets, most GRAs receive salary funding from outside sponsors such federal, state, and private organizations. If and when a GRA is assigned to a specific grant or contract, the research project’s College of record should prepare appropriate “employment action” forms.

OMB Guidelines

According to OMB, scholarships and student aid costs are allowable only when the purpose of the sponsored agreement is to provide training to participant and the charge is approved by the sponsoring agency. However, tuition remission and other forms of compensation paid as, or in lieu of, wages to students performing necessary work on externally sponsored grant are allowable provided that:

1. the individual is conducting activities necessary to the performance of the sponsored agreement;
2. tuition remission and other support are provided in accordance with established institution policy and consistently applied in a like manner to students in return for similar activities conducted in non-sponsored as well as sponsored activities; and
3. during the academic period the student is enrolled in an advanced degree program at the institution or affiliated institution and the activities of the student in relation to the federally-sponsored research project are related to the degree program;
4. the tuition or other payments are reasonable compensation for the work performed and are conditioned explicitly upon the performance of necessary work; and
5. it is the institution’s practice to similarly compensate students in non-sponsored as well as sponsored activities.

Unless the sponsored program is expressly deemed a training grant for the participant, a scholarship or tuition remission for the general purposes of paying a student’s tuition is not allowed. However, if a student is active and performing necessary work on a project, some type of compensation is allowed to be given to the student in direct proportion to the amount and complexity of work performed by the student. This is allowed if the institution treats sponsored projects and non-sponsored research activities the same, an institutional policy is in place, and the compensation is reasonable. The compensation can be in the form of a stipend, tuition remission (scholarship), wages, or some combination thereof.

OSU Policy on Tuition Remission for GRAs

Each student at Oklahoma State University is charged tuition based upon the course level (graduate or undergraduate) as well as miscellaneous fees associated with attendance. The phrase “tuition” should be understood as being not inclusive of enrollment fees; the University does not pay the miscellaneous fees associated with the course of study. For consistency as defined under federal guidelines, an external sponsor will not be asked to support charges that the University would not ordinarily pay if the GRA was sponsored by an internal department. In some circumstances, where full disclosure is made to the sponsor and the sponsor specifically stipulates, additional tuition costs over and above the normal resident tuition remission and/or required enrollment fees may be charged to the sponsor (see below).

The Vice President of Research and Technology Transfer, through the Dean of the Graduate College, has requested all grant and contract proposals to prospective funding sources (regardless of federal, state, or private) include in their proposed budgets the customary level of resident tuition remission for graduate students working in support of the project. Consistent with the practice for internally-funded GTAs and GRAs, the Graduate College will continue to waive the non-resident portion of tuition for all eligible courses for such GRAs.

The request for tuition assistance made to the sponsoring agency is secondary to the University’s commitment to the GRA. Should the University discover that a sponsor will not allow the funding of resident tuition remission as a direct charge to a grant or contract, the University will not retract or refuse a qualified GRA’s resident tuition waiver. The Graduate College, through coordination with Financial Aid and the Office of the Bursar, will provide institutional funding to pay the student’s specified resident tuition amount, whether or not this is an allowed charge to the contract/grant on which the student is supported.

Grant Proposals and Recouping the Tuition Cost

The tuition remission rate is charged as a percentage of the GRA’s salary. For those accounts for which resident tuition is an allowable direct cost, the University multiplies the GRA’s monthly salary or stipend by the FY15 tuition remission rate (16.7%) to determine the amount of tuition to be charged to the external contract or grant. This calculation is be conducted during the payroll process, and the amount calculated will be charged to the sponsor’s account on a monthly basis. For accounts on which tuition is not an allowable charge, no tuition will be charged.

The rate is expected to fluctuate from year to year. Therefore each January, the University develops a “tuition remission rate” for the upcoming fiscal year. This rate will be determined from the ratio of the total prior year resident tuition waiver dollars offered to all GRAs to the total prior year salary/stipend dollars offered to GRAs. Principal investigators and college research officials should begin proposing this “tuition remission rate” for any grant or contract beginning or continuing in August of the next fiscal year.

The tuition remission neither is part of the “fringe benefit rate” nor is to be confused with fringe benefit costs.

Request for Additional Sponsor Support

Projects specifically written as training grants for graduate/undergraduate students (not including GRA’s) may include costs over and above tuition. These costs may include mandatory fees, books, housing, board, supplies, or other costs typically not authorized by performance type grants. Federal rules are specific and clear. If

1. a sponsor will pay cost of attendance over and above the normal amount for the employment level of the student, and

2. the University expressly requests the additional support and fully discloses the University’s normal policy of tuition support to the sponsor,

then the GRA’s support can include extra tuition and/or fees. This request, however, is more than a mere exception. It is traditionally an unallowable charge to federal/federal flow-through grants or contracts, and a full disclosure to the sponsor is expected. This disclosure includes providing budget lines for tuition and fees independently of one another in the proposal. The following is representative of narrative language offering full disclosure and should be provided in the proposal:

“Graduate Research Assistants at Oklahoma State University are generally provided a waiver of the non-resident portion of tuition and a remission for a specific number of hours of resident tuition, based on their FTE level of employment. In this project, Oklahoma State University is requesting the sponsor to provide support for required enrollment fees in addition to the cost of tuition and for xx hours of resident tuition in excess of the normally applicable amount.”

Should the sponsor refuse to pay the required enrollment fees, the researcher, through coordination with the college dean, may use discretionary funds to pay for the enrollment fees over and above the cost of tuition. However, state appropriations may not be used to cover a GRA’s cost of attendance.

The Payment of Costs Over and Above the Normal Tuition Remission Rate

Oklahoma State University uses a special request process to facilitate the payment of costs of attendance over and above the normal resident tuition remission and costs such as fees and miscellaneous costs.

If the sponsor agrees to pay any support over and above the normal amount of resident tuition support, the GRA’s College of Record must submit the request to the Grants and Contracts oofice for approval; this request should include the amount of tuition over and above the normal GRA tuition remission rate and/or other pertinent costs (e.g., fees, books, housing, board). If the sponsored agreement allows for payment of the requested costs of attendance, then

1. if the request is only for charges other than additional tuition, the form will be forwarded to the Bursar’s Office for processing;

2. if the request is for additional tuition only, GCFA should forward the request to the Graduate College, who will complete a campus vendor invoice (CVI) and enter the additional tuition amount (if any) to the student’s Bursar account;

3. if the request is for both additional tuition and other costs, GCFA should send a copy of the request to the Bursar/Graduate College for processing according to (1) and (2) above.

The Bursar’s Office applies approved credits to the student’s account, and Financial Aid is notified of the additional support

[krist...@gmail.com]

Iowa State University

Once a graduate student has accepted their admission and letter of intent, a sponsoring office will provide scholarships and/or employment to the student. Graduate teaching and research assistants are provided scholarships at prescribed levels dependent upon degree sought. Ph.D. students receive full tuition scholarships, Master’s students receive either one quarter or one half tuition scholarship. Each level may receive employment at a stated rate by degree sought. These scholarships and employment disbursements can be paid by agency funds or grant funds administered through the Sponsor Program Accounting Office. Here is the link for guidance: http://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/common/finance/assistantships.php

[Katrina Yoakum]

University of Kansas:

At the University of Kansas, GRA’s are allowed to pay in-state rates.  If a GRA is a non-resident student (out of state), the non-resident tuition portion is waived and the student is assessed resident rates.  GRA support is based on percent of appointment and appointment start and end dates of the term.

 

Currently some students apply for resident rates and others are automated.  All students supported by an SSC are automated.  Departments not associated with an SSC, must fill out a paper form.  This business process is being updated by the Registrar’s Office with the goal of automating the process for all GRA’s. 

 

GRA support is provided through direct financial aid as well as tuition sponsorships.  Direct financial aid is processed through the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office similar to other financial aid.  GRA tuition sponsorships are processed through the Bursar’s Office.  GRA tuition sponsorship is expected to be similar to GTA tuition support.  Grants are expected to include GRA support in project budgets.  For grants that do not allow GRA tuition support, KU maintains a central pool for qualified GRA positions.  Both financial aid and sponsorships are applied to the student account and applied toward charges on the account.  Refunds are produced as needed.

 

Resource Contact:

Katrina Yoakum, Comptroller, kyo...@ku.edu