Funded Grants

After a grant has been awarded, ORC and Finance & Accounting (F&A) will up the project number with associated budgets in Peoplesoft. If needed, a match department will be created without budgets. Funding for matches generally comes via budget transfer from the units making the match commitment. ORC will send an e-mail to the Principal Investigator (PI) with a copy of the award 650 form and match 650 form if applicable. Review the 650 forms to make sure the information is correct.

Spending Funds

The PI is fiscally responsible for grant and match expenditures
Grant administration is handled at the departmental level by the departmental staff
In the event of overspending the PI or the PI’s department is responsible for payment of expenses beyond the grant funding

Departmental Authorization List

Kristin Wetherbee in the CAH Research is set up as the initial RFO. The project DAL will be created mirroring the departmental operations DAL so grant funds can be spent without the PI taking Peoplesoft training. An RFO change form will also be processed to change the RFO to the departmental RFO.

Spending

Costs should be charged directly to the grant or match as they are incurred.
Grant and match funds are spent through ePAFs, Peoplesoft requisitions, and PCards (just like operations funds except that the project or match number is used instead of the department’s operations number).
Budgets must loaded into Peoplesoft before spending but grant revenue does not need to be received prior to spending.
Cost transfers may be used to transfer charges in an emergency. These transfers are reviewed by ORC, require justification, and are not guaranteed to be processed

Budget Transfers

Spending needs sometimes differ from the proposal budget. If changes are needed between categories (salary, OPS, expense, or equipment) then a budget transfer is needed. These are processed by ORC (contact CAH Research or Debra Rhodes in ORC) and may need approval from the funding agency.

Tracking

Grant and match activity can be tracked using Peoplesoft Financials or PARIS. Grant administration is handled at the departmental level by the departmental staff. The PI is responsible for reviewing and correcting grant and match expenditures.

In the event of overspending the PI or the PI’s department is responsible for payment of expenses beyond the grant funding. The Chair will make the final determination of payment for over-expenditures. Allowable charges can be transferred against the department’s operations, overhead or auxiliary departments. If the Chair does not approve the charges, the PI will need to reimburse the University of Central Florida for the unallowable expenses.

Cost Transfers

Cost transfers, if approved by ORC, may be used to transfer costs from a department to the project. Every attempt should be made to charge the grant directly when the expense is incurred. ORC reviews all cost transfers. If denied by ORC, it is the PI’s or PIs department’s responsibility to fund the unallowable expenses.

Transfers for Federal projects and transfers over 90 days are highly scrutinized and must have sufficient documentation and justification to be processed. Salary cost transfers must be made within sixty (60) days from the end of a semester and may require the PI to recertify their effort.

A Cost Transfer Journal Form and a UCF Cost Transfer Explanation Form are required for all cost transfers. The Cost Transfer Off-Line Journal is similar to an ID Transfer and found on F&A’s Web site. For all Cost Transfer Explanation Forms, enter the Off-Line Journal Number and answer questions 1 & 2. Questions 3 & 4 must be completed for all transfers over 90 days. The form must be signed by the PI or a designated official. ORC will deny cost transfers using the justification that the department did not know how to process the charges to the grant correctly.

E-mail the cost transfer form, explanation form and any backup to the CAH Research Office. You can send a hard copy of the Cost Transfer Explanation Form to the CAH Research Office at the CAH Dean’s Office, Plus +4: +1990. The CAH Research Office will forward the cost transfer, explanation form, and back-up to ORC for processing.

PARIS

Personal Access to the Office of Research Information Systems contains all the data regarding grants and matches and imports financial information from Peoplesoft. PIs and departmental administrative staff should have access to PARIS. Contact PARIS Support to have a login created or to get your password. Login information is the same as ARGIS and ECRT.

The Documents section contains all of the documents processed relating to the PIs grant including the proposal, PTF, award letter, modifications, and budget.

The Deliverables section lists the due dates for reports due to the funding agency and receipt date by ORC.

The Budget & Expenditures, Budget Details, Payroll, and Revenue sections have data imported from Peoplesoft based on the grant categories so that the PIs can track their balances.

Time & Effort/ECRT

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, requires universities to certify employee effort expended on sponsored contracts and grants.

By applying for a grant, a PI is making a commitment of effort to their research projects. This effort must be documented per Federal regulatory requirements. Time and effort must be reported even if the PI is not being paid from the grant or has not worked on the grant during the reporting period.

UCF employees that have an active grant, perform services on, or contribute effort toward a sponsored contract or grant through ORC or the Research Foundation must certify 100% of their full-time equivalency effort with the exception of employees paid on a Dual Compensation Form.

Faculty, adjuncts, A&P and USPS employees must certify their own effort
PIs must certify for their contracted GRAs and employees on Under 30 Days/One Time Payment Forms
Hourly OPS are certified by submitting copies of timecards. These can be faxed to the CAH Research Office at 407-823-5156

UCF has adopted the "after-the-fact" online activity reporting system called ECRT to document and certify the distribution of personnel effort expended on sponsored contracts and grants. ECRT time and effort certification is processed 3 times a year (in fall for the prior summer; in spring for the prior fall; and in summer for the prior spring).

For more information see:

ORC's Effort Reporting Policy
ORC Effort FAQ's
ECRT Login Screen (login is the same as ARGIS and PARIS)
CAH ECRT Procedure Guide

Deliverables

All awards require a final deliverable at a minimum. The due dates of deliverables are established by the funding agency. In-house awards only require a final report at the conclusion of the project.

The deliverable schedule can be found in PARIS. Login and enter your grant number in the search field. When the grant name appears, click on it, and then click on "Deliverables."

ORC requires copies of all deliverables. Send a hard copy or e-mail a copy of your deliverables to Debra Rhodes in ORC with the date of submission to the funding the agency.

Closeout Process

ORC must finalize grant close outs within 90 days. CAH would like to finalize awards within 60 days.

Projects are created with a closing date in Peoplesoft. This date can be found on the 650 that is e-mailed when the award is set up at UCF and is also in ARGIS, PARIS, and Peoplesoft
No cost extensions must be requested before the end date of the grant
Negative balances must be cleared up before financial closeout can proceed
Property must be transferred off of the grant and either returned to the funding agency or moved to a department before financial closeout can be finalized
All deliverables must be submitted to ORC within 60 days after the project ending date
Projects must be closed within 90 days after the project end date

NOTE: All grants are subject to audit by federal authorities, state auditors, UCF Audit, and the funding agency. If a grant has been found to be out of compliance and a fine assessed, ORC will no longer be responsible for these fines. The fiduciary responsible of the grant lies with the PI and the PIs home department. The department will be responsible for paying the fine. Fines cannot be paid from E&G funds.

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