Budget Resources and Templates

All budgets for grant proposals must be approved by ORSP to ensure that federal, state, and University budget guidelines are followed. PIs should reach out to the Pre-Award staff to schedule a meeting to discuss their proposal. The prospective PI should come to the initial ORSP proposal meeting with a “wish list” of budget items that are needed for a successful project. ORSP will review the wish list and develop a detailed budget that conforms to funding agency and University guidelines, which will then be reviewed with the prospective PI. Faculty can use the following budget template to get an idea of what funding they will need to ask for: Federal Grant Budget Template

All faculty, staff, and student salary requests must be made in accordance with the RFP budget guidelines and be consistent with University policies. If a PI plans to include course buyout time or summer pay in their proposal, it must be approved in writing by the Department Chair/Dean prior to the submission of the external grant proposal. Release time is calculated as a percentage of salary, with all appropriate fringe benefits applied.

Ten-month Faculty

During the 10-month academic year, faculty effort is distributed as follows:

• 12 credits of teaching in the fall semester
• 12 credits of teaching in the spring semester
• Service activities or administrative tasks in the fall semester
• Service activities or administrative tasks in the spring semester
• 2 summer months available to receive additional salary for teaching, conducting research, mentoring, etc.

Ten-month tenure and tenure-track faculty members must teach a minimum 2/2 load. Some faculty members may, with the permission of both their Dean and the Provost, petition for extra release time if they are highly research active.

No employee can have more than 100% effort, so all salaries are converted to a 12-month equivalency, and then a percentage, for monitoring and reporting. For instance, a 10-month faculty salary of $100,000 would be “equivalent” to $120,000 if they worked (and were paid) for 12-months.

Ten-month faculty members whose external sponsored salary support from grants and/or contracts allows them to charge a higher percentage of their IBS salary (more than two summer months), may direct this portion of funds to their faculty discretionary account, if the following conditions are met:

1. The faculty member is a full-time member of the tenured or tenure-track faculty.
2. Use of the external research funds for the faculty member’s salary reduces the dean’s funded salary commitment.
3. The faculty member has met all university policies and has met all funding agency requirements. This includes final reports on sponsored projects and effort forms.

12-month Faculty or Staff

Employees in this category do not have set teaching responsibilities as they hold administrative roles for 100% effort.

• If 12-month staff have some % of effort on a grant, that portion of their salary returns to the departmental salary account.
• If 12-month faculty have some % of effort on a grant, the equivalent salary amount is deposited into a research reinvestment account.

Lecturers

Employees in this category have a salary based on a 12-month contract and are required to teach 36 credits throughout the calendar year, but no service is required. If they are written into a grant, their only option is to buy-out of teaching to show effort on the sponsored award. They cannot receive research investment funds or additional salary.

All appropriate payroll taxes and fringe benefits must be included for all salary lines, except when unallowed or limited by the grant guidelines.

FY2024 Fringe Benefits Rates

35% - full-time employees and faculty

13% - Academic Specialists (year-round)

7.65% - Graduate Students (year-round)

7.65% - Undergraduate Students (summer only)

To access the most recent Fringe Benefits Rate Agreement, click here.

Kean University’s current federally negotiated indirect cost rate is 59% of total direct salaries, wages and fringe benefits, if accepted by the funding agency. Some funding agencies or programs cap indirect costs. Indirect costs, to the extent allowed by the sponsor, must be included in all proposals.

Granting agencies have regulations that restrict the use of federal funds. To give faculty some flexibility in research expenditures, Kean University provides each tenure track faculty member, research professor, and research staff member who leads an external sponsored award with a discretionary account into which their portion of the IDC will be deposited once a year.

Each fall, a calculation is done for all F&A charged to sponsored awards during the prior fiscal year. This number is based on expenditures, not budget. This return of IDC is done for all on- and off-campus external grants and contracts. Any award that includes cost sharing (other than in-kind contributions) will recover the amount of the cost share before F&A is distributed. ORSP and the budget office work collaboratively to ensure the correct amounts are transferred. Remaining balances will carry forward to the next fiscal year; these accounts cannot operate with a deficit balance. Purchases must be in accordance with all University procurement policies and procedures. All items purchased with discretionary funds are the property of the University.

Breakdown of the IDC return:

• 75% - ORSP
• 15% - College
• 5% - Department
• 5% - PI of the sponsored award

Examples of eligible expenditures are:

1. Travel to meetings of professional associations or for research activities
2. Summer salary
3. Subscriptions to professional periodicals
4. Memberships in professional organizations
5. Reference books
6. Journal submission fees
7. Specialized software, other than software routinely provided by the University
8. Business-related postal or shipping charges (FedEx, UPS)
9. Specialized databases and data collection costs
10. Business-related meals or hosted professional functions
11. Professional license or certification fees

Examples of items not allowable include:

1. Personal expenses of any kind
2. Home office costs such as furniture and equipment, maintenance expenses, and supplies
3. Cell phone, Internet and telephone line charges unless approved by the University administration
4. Charitable or political contributions
5. Memberships in social clubs or airline travel clubs
6. Wages paid to the faculty member during the academic year

To access the most recent Indirect Cost Agreement information, click here.

A budget justification is a narrative that explains the costs in a budget proposal and how they relate to the project.  The justification explains why the proposed costs are necessary to achieve the project's goals. It also helps the sponsor determine if the costs are reasonable and appropriate. Typical budget categories include personnel, equipment, travel, supplies, and indirect costs.  A budget justification template can be found here.

What is a Budget Justification?

Diving the Pie - Faculty Effort Allocation