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Sub-Awards

  • Given to colleges and universities, other institutions and organizations
  • Usually has a partnership role, even when it is a small one
  • Often has more autonomy in the completion of the work, within the parameters of the agreed-upon work plan, timeline, and budget

Once the determination has been made that a particular service provider is, in fact, a consultant, these steps should be followed to process payment for that person.

  1. Complete the ICR and W9 form and submit it, along with the consultant’s vitae, to OAGSR for approval and forwarding to OFBS, the HR department for final approval.
  2. After approval from OAGSR, the PI will complete the Consultant Contract and submit it to OAGSR for signature and transmittal to OFBS, then HR for final approvals, encumber the funds, and assign a PO number.
  3. After work has been completed, the consultant will need to submit an invoice to the PI. The PI completes and submits four items to OFBS: the Consultant Evaluation Form ; the original invoice with the Project grant number, the PO number (from the Consultant Contract), stamped “Approved for Payment” and signed by the PI; and a copy of the completed work when feasible.

Students

All positions need to be posted on the web for five (5) working days. Job postings will be edited and posted online by Career Services within approximately three working days.

An advance request must be sent to Career Services for student employees/research assistants who will be paid more than the standard student pay rate. Please e-mail justification to Amy LoPrinzi, loprinzi@tcnj.edu.

For step-by-step instructions for hiring student employees, click here to go to the Career Services web site.

Purchasing and Contracting

Purchasing products or services for grants follow regular College procurement procedures. Grants purchasing procedures are outlined on the Finance & Business Services web site. All goods and services are to be procured through the College’s Purchasing Department, regardless of funding source. The only exception is that every purchase must first be approved by the grant accountant. Depending upon the nature and cost of the item, the PI will follow one of these processes: NJ State contract, credit card, quick payment form method, agency purchase order form method.

Proceed to the Basic Purchasing Guidelines page of the Budget and Finance Web Site for all TCNJ procurement regulations.

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Purchasing Equipment

Many items, especially computer-related equipment and office supplies, are purchased through a previously negotiated contractual arrangement with certain vendors.

Some computer-related equipment can be purchased on state contract, but all computer-related equipment must be discussed with your departmental IT Support Specialist. All PC’s, Printers, PDA’s, etc., and anything that will be on the network needs to be discussed your departmental IT Support Specialist to determine support and compatibility.

Most office supplies can be ordered through the NJ State contract with OfficeMax. Simply go to the OfficeMax web site, request a login, then order online.

Requests for Waiver of Advertising

In the event that a Waiver of Advertising must be prepared, the PI must contact OAGSR as soon as the purchase is identified so that the waiver is submitted properly and on time.

Before the budget item needing waiver of advertising can be purchased, the Board of Trustees, at a regular quarterly meeting, must waive advertising on that item based upon justification for waiver provided by the PI. The justification for waiver should arrive in OAGSR at least one month prior to the scheduled Board meeting (see Board of Trustees web site for meeting dates). The justification should include the following:

  • PI Name
  • Grant Project Title
  • Description of Service/Item Being Purchased
  • Rationale for Waiver of Public Advertisement
  • Number of Vendors Contacted (at least three if possible), including name and amount of quote (if sole source, please identify)

Since only the Board of Trustees is empowered to award these contracts, it is important that as much information as possible be submitted to assist them with their deliberations and decisions.

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Travel Regulations

Processing forms for reimbursement of travel expenses related to a grant follows essentially the same procedures followed for non-grant travel. It is the policy of The College of New Jersey that within budgetary limitations all reasonable costs for approved travel and related activities incurred by an individual engaged in College business shall be the expense of the College. All persons traveling on official College business are expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business at his or her own expense.

Reimbursable travel expenses are limited to those expenses essential to transacting the official business of the College and only if incurred in accordance with TCNJ approved regulations. Travel regulations shall apply to all employees and others authorized to travel on behalf of The College of New Jersey regardless of the source of funding. TCNJ travel regulations will be in conformance with the New Jersey State Code of Ethics and other state and federal laws as applicable. Reimbursement rates will be guided by, but will not exceed the most current Federal Guidelines.

Review the grant proposal and award to make sure travel is approved by the sponsor. Complete the On-line Travel Request/Faculty Absence Form in order to incur any financial commitments by the College for official college business travel. After travel, complete the on-line travel expense report and submit appropriate receipts.

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Sub-Awards

When TCNJ is the prime recipient of a grant that has sub-recipients, a Sub-Award Agreement is sent to the sub-recipients by the OAGSR. Sub-Awards over the TCNJ dollar threshold may be subject to Board Approval for Waiver of Advertising before the Sub-Award Agreement can be completed. Contact OAGSR for determination.

The PI should provide the following contact information for both the PI and the administrative contact of the sub-award agency: name, title, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. In addition, the PI provides OAGSR the Statement of Work and Timeline, the sub-award budget, and any other special provisions for the entire grant period.

OAGSR will prepare the sub-award document in accordance with the terms and conditions of the prime award and send two originals to the sub-awardee for signature. Sub-Awardees are requested to return both signed originals to OAGSR to countersign, sending one countersigned original back to the sub-awardee OAGSR is responsible for all negotiations of the sub-award and for any changes to the sub-award document.

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Modifications to Sub-Awards

A sub-award may be modified at any time within the period of performance. Modifications can extend the period of performance, increase the amount, append additional tasks to the Scope of Work, or modify other terms and conditions as appropriate.

To initiate the modification process, the PI sends a written modification request to OAGSR (new year of funding, no-cost extension, additional tasks, etc). Relevant attachments such as a new Scope of Work or new budget must be forwarded to OAGSR along with the request to modify the sub-award OAGSR will prepare the sub-award modification document and obtain appropriate signatures.

Sub-Award Recipient Monitoring

The College is responsible for the programmatic and financial monitoring of its sponsored research award recipients. A sub-award recipient is defined as a third-party organization performing a part of TCNJ externally funded research projects.

PI’s have the primary responsibility for monitoring sub-award recipients to ensure compliance with federal regulations. This includes receipt and review of technical performance reports. Departmental administrators have the responsibility for assisting PI’s by reviewing sub-award recipient invoices and questioning expenditures if necessary. This includes the routine review comparing expenses to the approved sub-award recipient budget. The OFBS has the responsibility for ensuring that the College’s sub-award recipient monitoring policies are compliant with applicable federal regulations (See Appendix B – Federal Grant Sub-award Recipient Questionnaire).

Account Review/Reconciliation

The Principal Investigator is responsible for the monthly reconciliation of all accounts he/she is responsible for. The PI is responsible for the legitimacy and allowability of all charges. Reconciliation training is provided by the Office of Finance and Business Services.

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Modification of Award

Occasionally, modification of an award in terms of project scope or budget is necessary. Such modifications or amendments require prior approval from the funding agency, and each agency has specific requirements for obtaining approval. Consult the award documentation for details. Proposed changes in project scope or budget must be processed through OFBS.

Cost Transfers To Sponsored Projects

A cost transfer is an after-the-fact reallocation of the cost associated with a transaction from one account to another. A cost transfer is any transfer of expenditures to a sponsored project via a journal entry or a personnel action form. Although it is preferable to charge costs to the correct account when they are incurred, cost transfers are, on occasion, necessary. To be allowable, cost transfers must be timely, fully documented, conforming to the grant agreement and have appropriate authorizing signatures.

A cost transfer should be so complete or detailed that a person completely removed from the situation should be able to look at the request and know why this entry was made. An explanation which merely states that the transfer was made “to correct error” or “to transfer to correct project” is not acceptable.

Cost must be a proper and allowable charge to the project to which it is transferred. The cost transfer request must be supported by documentation that contains a full explanation and justification for the cost transfer. The transfer must be approved by the appropriate principal investigator.

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