College Research Policies & Guidelines
Timelines for Submitting Proposals to External Agencies
Faculty Principal Investigators (PI) should complete an Intent to Submit a Proposal, located on the College Office of Research website, approximately four weeks prior to the deadline of the proposal. The Office of Research staff will review the foundation guidelines, provide relevant information for the investigators, and begin to build the proposal budget.
A fully drafted budget must be completed and approved by the relevant Department Head and Associate Dean for Research 14 days prior to the date of submission. The Office of Research staff will work with the faculty PI and respond to questions throughout the process.
All documents, including the final budget, and required sponsor files needed for the submission of the proposal must be submitted to the research office staff no less than 7 working days prior to the date of submission. This allows the office staff to get the required budget approvals using the Internal Approval Form and assist with the submission process. Small changes and edits thereafter will be permitted to the extent possible. The Internal Approval Form must be completed before submission. In accordance with Penn State policy, all proposals to be submitted during normal business hours (no later than 5 p.m.), even if the sponsor allows for submission after hours.
Proposal Milestone | To Grants Office |
---|---|
Intent to Submit a Proposal | 30 days |
Fully Drafted Budget | 14 days |
Required Sponsor Documents | 7 days |
Final Approved Budget | 7 days |
Internal Approval Form | Before Submission |
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs
The College of Education follows the F&A policy of Penn State as articulated in RA30.
Priorities for Funding from Sponsored Research Projects
The College Office of Research staff will work with the faculty PI to build a budget to align with the proposed activities of the sponsored research. The College encourages the PI to fund graduate student researchers as part of the research and educational mission of the university.
Course Releases and Summer Salary
Course Releases: The College’s Office for Educational Research requires that the PI get approval of the Department Head when a course release is requested. Course releases need to be negotiated as early as possible in the budget building process. Faculty researchers should work closely with their Department Heads when scheduling buyouts to ensure program coherence and quality. Written approval of a course release from the Department Head must be sent to the Grants and Contracts Manager.
The College expects faculty members to remain engaged with instruction and generally sets a maximum buyout limit at 3 courses per year. A one course release requires a charge of 15% of the academic year salary to the grant.
Summary Salary: Faculty time charged to a project needs to correspond to the time dedicated to the work on the project. In particular, it is not appropriate to load time in the summer when the work is occurring during the academic year. Before any summer effort is included in a funding request, the faculty member’s research effort should be charged at a minimum of 5% time commitment for the academic year. This may be part of the 15% of a faculty member’s time for a course buyout. Exceptions can be made for small grants with approval of the Department Head and Associate Dean for Research.
Personnel costs must follow the basic costing principles of reasonable, allocable, and allowable. All personnel costs charged to sponsored awards must comply with University policy RA 64, as well as with any specific sponsor requirements and federal and state laws and regulations.
For additional information on compensation, effort reporting and related issues, please visit out FAQ page.
Tuition Rates
Tuition rate for graduate assistants on externally funded projects is determined by the Office of Sponsored Programs and available here for review.
Cost Share Request for Sponsored Research
Some funding agencies may require a cost share for a sponsored project. A faculty PI may request a cost share when required by the funding agency by completing a Cost Share Request form available from the Office of Research.
Performance Reports – quarterly, semi-annual, or annual
Notify the Office of Research 14 days prior to the date of submission of a performance report. At the time of notification, send the sponsor’s instructions, reporting forms or sheets, and any additional information pertinent to the report to the Office of Research.
No Cost Extensions
The faculty PI must adhere to the University policy for no cost extensions. This includes submitting the request at least 120 days prior to the close out date.