• Contract Folder: Award File, a Budget File with Wolf Report printouts, and a Cost Sharing File
• Pending Folder (unpaid vouchers)
• Paid Folder: File it using the object code or by the month of reconciliation. Just have a system in place that works for your department.
• For salaries, keeping a copy of the appointment papers is recommended.
• KABA: Time Collection Device: Temporary Employee: The ledger 5 projects used to require you to print out the timesheet and obtain original signatures for both the employee and the supervisor. It is a C&G requirement to have a certified effort on file since a temporary employee does not receive a TEARS report for effort certification.

• Pre-Awards and Awards are the same. A Pre-Award and an Award share the same SPARCS Proposal Number (14xx) 0000-0000 and C&G WRS Project ID 5-XXXXX. A Pre-Award allows the PI to begin work while the contract is being negotiated and finalized. Once we receive the official award, the project number’s status changes from pre- to awarded. For example, suppose a PI has a $50,000 proposal and requests a $5,000 pre-award to begin work while the contract is finalized. Once the official award is in place, the project is set to the award status with a budget of $50,000. That $5,000 pre-award is part of the $50,000.
  • Send your request by completing the required Pre-award form for a pre-award account to Patrick Hayes, phayes@ncsu.edu, with a copy to Laurinda Perez, llmarsh@ncsu.edu, who will then enter the action into the Research Enterprise Data (RED) system.
  • Documentation indicating the status of pending awards from the Sponsor and PI
  • An existing PINS proposal must be in place.
  • The COE-ORA will request this in RED and include the Contract Manager’s and the PI’s email addresses.
  • Please note that if the award fails to materialize, the department or unit will be responsible for all costs incurred on the pre-award account.

• Notice of Sponsored Project Award
• Check the “College” and “Department.”
• Check “Project Title.”
• Check “Amount of This Action” and “Total Funding to Date.”
• Check “Total Anticipated Funding” if applicable.
• Check “Current Budget Period” and “Total Anticipated Project Period.”
• Note whether it is New, Renewal, Supplement, or Continuation.
• Note the comments section of the award notice. Important information, such as incremental funding, modifications, NCE, and related details, will be listed here.
• Continuations will now list the Fiscal Manager and the funding source (Federal, State, or Industry).
• New Award Notice Flow: Sponsored Programs & Regulatory Compliance Services (SPARCS) > NC State’s Office of Post Award Financial Services (OPAFS), formerly (C&G) > College (COE-ORA)
• Even if a PI is notified that an agency will fund a proposal, the referenced flow above cannot occur until the agency sends an award to the SPARCS office.
• If there is an immediate need to appoint a graduate student or begin research, a “pre-award” is a viable option. (scroll down to item X.  Pre-Award Account)
• If other PIs are listed outside your department/unit, you must ensure they receive a copy of the award notice you receive from the College. (This is so they can then request a segment.)

• Internal to NC State can only be requested once the Prime project ID number has been established with a university-accepted award (pre-awards do not count).
• This will be prepared through the Chartfield Request System, launched in March 2012. It replaces the BA-148 form for requesting new projects via the Financials System, including project segment requests for ledger 5. For Contracts and Grants Projects, the Chartfield Request System may ONLY be used to request a new segment (ADD), inactivate existing segments (INACTIVATE), or change information/attributes on an existing segment (MODIFY).
• Will be requested by the unit seeking the segment
• Will need approval from the prime in writing when making the request

Whenever there is a situation where “NCSU funds NCSU,” such as in SiSoC, FREEDM, CBeRD, CICI, FMMC, etc., we should use PINS or RED for actions such as NCEs, additional funding, or both.

• If a PI submits a new proposal with one of our centers as the funding source (NCSU SiSoC, NCSU FREEDM, etc.), it will be processed the same way as any proposal. Once it reaches the College level, we will review and approve it. Once it has been imported into RED and assigned an SPS number, Pat Hayes/Laurinda Perez will log in to RED and make the award via an internal distribution. Please note that in most cases, any new proposals as we advance must have been approved by the center’s IAB. Of course, exceptions can always be made, but we will approach them on a case-by-case basis.
• If a PI submits a proposal for additional funding when one of our centers is the funding source, it will be processed like any other proposal. Please note in the comments the project’s SPS number and the funding source’s SPS. The project requesting additional funding is called the “Target,” and the funding source is called the “Source.” Pat Hayes/Laurinda Perez will review, approve, and make the internal award via RED.
• If a PI needs an NCE on a project funded by one of our centers, you will not need to do a PMR. Send Pat Hayes/Laurinda Perez an email stating the “Target” and “Source” projects, along with the proposed extension date and the justification. COE-ORA will complete the NCE request via RED.
• Any other post-award action on a project funded by one of our centers, such as a rebudget, must be processed via the PMR system.

Just remember that the college should complete an action to fund, provide additional funding, initiate an NCE, or a combination of these via RED.

Awareness and Training Programs at NC State, Procedures and Practices, Non-Sponsored Research Export Control Systems at NC State, Federal Rules, Regulations and Laws, and Other Reference Materials and Current Events

• Look closely at your contracts for any exceptions regarding export controls.
• Foreign Nationals have recently been brought to the College’s attention.
• Contact the export controls office in SPARCS for more details.

Three often misunderstood facts about export controls:

• Export controls apply not only to sending materials, items, or information to other countries but to transferring such materials, items, and information to foreign nationals within the United States – this means to your foreign graduate students, postdocs, and colleagues. Export controls may also apply to foreign nationals’ visual inspection of controlled technology.
• The penalties for export control violations are both civil and criminal and may be imposed on you personally and on the institution under certain circumstances. These penalties include up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $1,000,000 per violation.
• Acceptance of any “side-deal” restrictions on what you publish due to your research is not only a violation of university policy. Still, it erodes and often destroys the fundamental research exclusion. You will be personally liable for such violations of the export control regulations.

• Print Project Reports P1: Financial Balances by Project using the Web Online Financial (WOLF) Reports and make sure all categories match the budget enclosed with the award notice (example).
• Pay close attention to salaries in Summer Salary (1116) REG 05.58.01: 4.5) Additional Compensation Paid through the University) and Release Time (1118) REG 05.58.01: 7.2.1.1) object codes.
• A Budget Modification PMR may be needed within the first 90 days after the project was awarded if the original budget is loaded incorrectly in WOLF due to misinterpretation of the approved budget’s budget categories or a keying error.
• All correction requests are subject to a final review of the agency-approved budget and approval by C&G.

• Our internal auditors are closely scrutinizing summer salaries due to a recent audit finding.
• The NC State’s Office of Post Award Financial Services (OPAFS), formerly (C&G): information related to summer salary from sponsored project funds for 9-month faculty
• OMB Circular A-21, “Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,” allows that charges for work performed by faculty members on sponsored agreements during the summer months will be determined for each faculty member at a rate not more than the base salary divided by the period to which the base salary relates. During the summer, a nine-month (academic year) EPA employee may work for NC State in teaching, research, extension, or some combination of these activities. An individual may earn up to 33.33% of their nine-month salary across these areas.
• If the SS is from National Science Foundation (NSF) funds, please ensure it is not greater than the two-ninths (2/9) rule (2 months) from all NSF-funded and NSF flow-through grants. This means that senior personnel (such as principal investigators) can receive compensation for up to two months of their regular salary from all NSF grants combined within a one-year period. 
  • The Two-Month Rule: The NSF limits the amount of salary compensation that can be requested for senior personnel (including principal investigators, or PIs) from NSF funds to two months of their regular salary within a one-year period. 
  • All NSF Grants: This two-month limit applies to the total compensation received from all NSF-funded grants, not just a single grant. 
  • Justification for Exceptions: If an investigator needs to exceed the two-month limit, they must fully justify the need in the proposal budget, and, if approved, the award will explicitly state this. 
  • Not an NIH Cap: Unlike the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has a fixed salary cap, NSF’s two-month rule limits the duration of salary support from NSF funds, not a specific dollar amount. 
  • Rebudgeting: While the two-month rule applies to the initial proposal, NSF generally allows rebudgeting within the award, so institutions can pay individuals more than the two-month limit if funds are available. 
  • Note: This responsibility lies with each department/unit within Engineering.
  • Pay close attention to the time frame for which you are paying SS. If it is for a full three months, ask yourself two questions: Is the faculty member going to take a day off during this three-month period? Is the faculty member teaching in addition to his/her research?
  • If the answer to either question is yes, you cannot charge for a full three months.
• Sponsored Awards often have varying policies regarding what is allowable for summer salary under a specific project. It is essential to remain familiar with the agency-specific salary guidelines, particularly the amount of summer salary allowed for any given period.
• Checking now will help when it’s time to prepare the summer salary.
• Summer Salary is prepared for Summer Earnings for Nine-Month EPA Employee: May 16-31, June 1-30, July 1-31, and August 1-15
• Once Shannon Williams, the college’s assistant dean of personnel and administration, receives the SS (additional pay) form, she will forward it to Pat Hayes/Laurinda Perez for review and approval of all five ledger accounts.
• You should provide SS only when it is part of the approved budget, or when we have prepared a Project Modification Request (PMR) requesting SS, and the agency has approved it.

• Please make sure you have addressed the following. If not, this will only delay your faculty member’s payment.
  • Tutorial: The Administrative Summer Salary tutorial must be completed for any administrators who will be entering/approving Summer Salary. The Faculty Summer Salary tutorial must be completed by any faculty member who will receive Summer Salary in May, June, July, or August.
  • Is the person for whom you request SS listed on the award notice or mentioned in the budget/budget justification? Note: You cannot pay SS for someone who is not working on the project, either in the original proposal or through a post-award action.
  • Are the request’s dates within the project’s budget period? Remember, “budget period” and “project period” are two different things.
  • Is the SS being requested available in the 1116 object code, either in the original proposal or via a post-award action?
  • Does the overall salary category have sufficient funds? Even if there are funds in the 1116 object code but the overall salary category is negative, the SS will not be approved — the same applies to the overall project.
  • If you have an ePAR pending approval for an SS action, please note it on the form.
  • If a continuation or supplemental proposal is pending in RED, note it on the form.

Summer salary refers to any earnings paid through NC State University for work performed by 9-month faculty between May 16 and August 15, including Maymester instruction.

Research Administration and Compliance

• Certification should not exceed one month per Summer Salary form.
  • If two months are paid in one payroll, two separate forms must be submitted. These must be completed by the 15th of the month following the payment.
• The summer salary should be paid for the actual period worked.
  • Just because a summer salary is in the budget does not mean it must be paid to a PI. The effort must match the payment.
• Only two months of summer salary (usually two months a year) can be paid from NSF and NSF flow-through funds.
• Summer salary should not be used to increase an employee’s FTE during the summer months.
• Graduate students are not eligible for summer salary.
  See https://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-05-58-01/ for calculation information.
• Twelve-month employees are not eligible for summer salary.
• There are only three months in the summer. It would be impossible to teach a full load in the summer and work 100% on a research project for three months.
  • If three full months of summer salary are paid, the PI should be able to explain why no time was used for: proposal work or submission, administrative activities, supervision of graduate students on other
    projects, vacation, or sick time.
• Summer salary is not paid only from the 5 projects in the ledger. It is often paid from multiple ledgers, and the same rules apply to all.
• Certification of pay earned during a pay period is different from a summer effort report.
  • Certification verifies that work was actually performed during the time period and that no unexpected days off or consultant time were taken that would warrant a change to the payroll amount.
  • TEARS Summer Effort Report: The percentages of time spent on actual projects for the entire period are correct. (This is based on direct pay)
• Faculty do not get paid consultant days during the summer.
  • This period is not under contract, and pay should be limited to actual time worked on the specific project.
• Earnings code 99 should NEVER be used for summer pay.
  • The correct earnings codes are 601 and 602 (603 is used for retroactive adjustments from July 1 through August 15; HR enters these earnings codes).
• Summer salary payments must be processed no later than October 31.
• Summer salary payments should not be used to “spend out” an award.
• Summer salary must be based on base salary.

• Prepare the Employee Release Time Form.
• Retro 90 Day “Out of Compliance Justification” Form: If you submit RT 120 days outside of the intended time frame, you must submit it along with the Out of Compliance Justification Form. If we do not receive it along with the RT form, we will NOT approve/process the RT. An example would be when RT is for August 16 – September 30, and we receive it in February to process.
• There are two release time periods:
  • Fall of the current academic year (08/16/xx–12/31/xx)
  • Spring of current academic year (01/01/xx–05/15/xx)
• Please send the completed Release Time Form directly to Brittane’ Jarrell at btsurgeo@ncsu.edu with a cc to Pat Hayes at phayes@ncsu.edu (by email or campus mailbox 7901), who will review, approve, and give it to Shannon Williams, assistant dean of personnel and administration in the College, to enter into the system.
• You should provide RT only when it is part of the approved budget, or when we have prepared a Project Modification Request (PMR) requesting RT and the agency has approved it. Note: While awaiting agency approval, COE-ORA will approve the RT if the department head signs acknowledging responsibility in the event the re-budget is denied.
• If you have a multi-year project for which all RT has been allocated upfront, you will want to prorate the allocated amount across fiscal years to account for the faculty member’s effort over the project’s life.
• Remember that RT affects a faculty member’s effort. If you adjust RT after it has been posted to the account, you will want to ensure the effort report is adjusted accordingly.
• ORA will not approve RT that is not in object code 1118.  If you need to re-budget to move money into this category, prepare the needed “budget modification” and reference the PMR number on the RT form.
• ORA will not approve RT when the project number referenced is in the negative indirect costs.

• Fabricated equipment is defined as equipment built or assembled in its original form from individual parts by a PI and other sponsored project personnel, an internal shop, or an external shop. When a completed item of fabricated equipment has an aggregate cost of $5,000 or more, when its service life is longer than one year, and when that item will be recorded as capital equipment in the University’s capital asset management system, the individual component costs associated with the fabrication (regardless of the separate amounts) will not be assessed the Facilities & Administrative (F&A) rate. However, fabricated equipment costs do not include routine maintenance and repair costs associated with a piece of fabricated equipment. Furthermore, equipment fabricated as a deliverable to the sponsor, where title to the finished product will be transferred to the sponsor, should include F&A charges. An instance where components are simply connected in a system, such as when individual computers and servers are joined to create a network, does not constitute a fabrication.
• Fabricated equipment must be identified before acquiring parts. Please note the fabricated equipment deliverable in the statement of work.  In the budget justification, specific guidance concerning the fabricated equipment should include:
  • The specific relationship the activity will have with the performance of the overall project scope,
  • How the component costs will be accounted,
  • The anticipated functionality,
  • The value of the finished fabrication, and
  • The expected ownership vesting of the equipment.
• Materials and supplies necessary for the fabrication, as well as any internal or external shop service fees, should be budgeted and charged to a sponsored account. Although project personnel may participate in the fabrication, their salaries will not be exempt from the F&A rate assessment. Only labor costs implicit in internal or external shop rates will be F&A-exempt. Labor, travel, and other costs associated with an outside party’s fabrication services should be included in the external shop service fees.
• If a fabricated equipment item has an aggregate cost of less than $5,000, the individual costs for all acquisitions are subject to the relevant F&A rate. Suppose you initially anticipate that the total fabrication cost will exceed $5,000 and, as such, exempt the individual components from F&A, but the final product ultimately totals less than $5,000. In that case, all component costs will then be subject to F&A.
• Once your project is funded and you begin procuring fabricated equipment components, you will charge those individual costs to the equipment account code series (5000 series), but you will need to make a special notation on invoices before sending them to accounts payable. You must consult your college business office before incurring costs for fabricated equipment components to avoid administrative errors.
• Remember: If ownership of the final product is to transfer to the sponsor, the F&A rate applies to each fabrication component.

The Contract Manager is responsible for reviewing the project for fabrication before making a request to the Fiscal Manager in Contracts and Grants. The Fiscal Manager is responsible for confirming that fabrication exists and that the account is coded before forwarding it to Management for coding.

NCSU Asset Management Manual, revised May 2025

• Questions to answer when reviewing a project for the fabrication of equipment:
  • Was the fabricated equipment clearly stated in the proposal/award/budget? If not, what is being fabricated?
  • You will need to provide a detailed list of part descriptions and individual prices.
  • Is this a part of an existing piece of equipment? If so, will the parts significantly increase the value? Asset Management can assist with this matter.
  • How does it relate to the project?
  • Is agency approval needed?
  • Is a re-budget needed?
  • Is this an instance where a single piece of equipment is created through extensive construction or assemblage?
  • Is it a simple connection of components together in a system?
  • Can the items listed operate on a stand-alone basis?
  • Will the item have an aggregate cost of $5K or more?
  • Will the individual parts be reported in the financial system as “equipment” by using a 5XXXX account code?
  • Will the item be recorded as capital equipment in the University’s asset system (CAMS)?
• Final Review Process: Projects coded as fabricated equipment must have a CAMS/ASSET ID number on the close-out/reconciliation.
  • The CAMS/ASSET ID number should be confirmed.
  • If a CAMS/ASSET ID number is not listed, contact your PI/CAMS/ASSET ID person if necessary.
  • Was the fabrication completed or needed?
  • If not, all items under $5K will need to be moved to the supplies or another appropriate account code.

• Check award for any cost-sharing of Effort, Non-Salary Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC), Equipment & Tuition, Contracts and Grants, Subcontractors, Third Party/Other, or Multiple Accounts Under Prime.
• If a PI is not receiving direct pay or release time for his/her academic effort, a TEARS (The Employee Activity Reporting System) set-up is required. Reference: REG 10.05.15)
  • Note the HR Earning Codes that are/are not subject to TEARS.
• Be sure to track any additional cost-sharing on the project. Keep a cost-sharing spreadsheet to track commitments from the department, college, and university. Note: Third-party cost-sharing must be confirmed on the Industry’s letterhead and signed by the responsible party—see the Cost Sharing & TEARS Checklist.
• Under the Federal Demonstration Partnership Act, you can’t go more than three months without showing a level of effort on your research projects or having a reduction of effort greater than 25%. If you do, we must notify the sponsor and obtain their approval.
• Cost Sharing regarding the effort component only:
  • On occasion, a faculty member will receive an academic-year salary in some years but not in others. If he/she does not receive an academic-year salary, you should create a TEARS record.
  • If a TEARS period has closed and been archived, and you determine there should have been cost-sharing of effort, you will have to complete an After-the-Fact memo.
  • You should not use Salary Distribution to gather effort dollars for your closeout cost-sharing.
    • If you are setting up a new record in TEARS, you will do so, then manually calculate the effort by taking XX% of the annual salary and applying the appropriate fringes.
    • If you are setting up a continuation record in TEARS, modify the existing TEARS record. You will run the fiscal-year or monthly cost-sharing report for the previous period, then manually calculate the report for the new period.
  • After-the-Fact Memo: If a cost-sharing setup was not completed and the period is closed, you will need to issue an After-the-Fact Memo: Regular or Non-TEARS.
  • The 1% rule is the minimum required, but not the absolute rule. A PI can choose to put in more effort on a project, which is entirely acceptable.
  • Remember, the effort portion of the cost-sharing confirmation form and the TEARS system are used to capture a PI’s effort on a project for which he/she is not receiving an academic-year salary, or to capture any cost-sharing of effort that was disclosed to the agency/sponsor as a firm commitment.
• Setting up a cost-share record via the TEARS system is the way to avoid going over three months without showing effort.
• 1% came about because that is the minimum % the system allows.
• Note: Once the effort reports have been created:
  • Use the “Cost Sharing Yearly Report” to obtain the total for the fiscal year, NOT the “Cost Sharing Report,” which is used to get the monthly total.
  • The “Cost Sharing Yearly Report” dollar amounts are updated to reflect changes to the effort reports until we close the system for a given period; therefore, they have the most accurate totals.
  • If you run it by entering the SL-5 ID in the “To Acct Cd” field, the yearly report also shows the total amount for all employees, including Grads.
  • The “Cost Sharing Report” totals are point-in-time (i.e., as of the day the report was created after the applicable pay period) and do not update, so they are not as accurate.
    • When running the “Cost Sharing Report,” you must also run separate reports to obtain totals for monthly employees and Graduates.
    • Here is an example of the process for reporting the final cost-sharing amount for effort from TEARS: Effort (for NC State’s purposes) is the actual amount of time spent on a sponsored research activity, either as a direct charge to a project or as cost share via the TEARS system. TEARS: always be an accurate representation of your effort.
      • Project Period is 10/1/2002 to 9/30/08
      • You need to run the “Cost Sharing Yearly Report” for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
      • Also, you need to run the “Cost Sharing Report” for the fiscal year 2009, period 3. (If Grads were cost-shared, you need to run a separate “Cost Sharing Report” to obtain the total to include for them.)
      • Add the totals from all the reports; this is the total effort cost shared on the project.

The online PMR system streamlines prior-approval requests from the department/PI to the COE-ORA, then to C&G and Sponsored Programs. The online PMR system also provides accountability for all PMR management and processing.

• Access MYPACK Portal: Financial Systems: Contracts and Grants: Project Modification Request
• Financial System PMR: 9.1 Financial System User Guide
• You must provide proper and adequate justification. To move items through the PMR System as quickly as possible, please upload justifications as a Word document and ensure they include enough detail to thoroughly explain the request.
• Read Questions to ask yourself when preparing a Project Modification Request (PMR).
• Access to the system is granted through the COE-ORA. Please get in touch with Patrick Hayes or Richard Duckworth for the following roles:
  • GADM: Grant Administrator (bookkeeper)
  • GBM: Grant Business Manager (review/approve GADM entry)
  • DH: Department Head
• Grant Approvers: OUC can view the current assignment in the MYPACK Portal under Financial Systems > Contracts and Grants > Grant Approvers.
• PIs are granted access based on when they receive a Ledger Five award. This is automatic through the Financials System at the onset of an award.
• If your PI or administrator is absent, a department can contact the College office to initiate the PMR on their behalf, bypassing the PI, Bookkeeper, and Department Head approval. This will only be done in extreme circumstances.

F&A Calculation When Re-Budgeting:

(+) Equipment/Tuition (Student Aid) = (-) overhead
(-) Equipment/Tuition (Student Aid) = (+) overhead

*Total Adjustment to Equipment/Tuition (Student Aid)
 Current Overhead Rate or Rate Used in Award (i.e. 51.5%=1.515; 9.5%=1.095)

*$ amount from above: subtract from Total Adjustment = Overhead

1112 Salary – Graduate Research Assistant
1116 Salary – Summer Faculty Support
1118 Salary – Release Time
1119 Salary – EPA Regular All Other – Post Doc
1219 Salary – SPA Regular Salary (Technician)
1410 Salary – Non-Student Regular Wage
1450 Salary – Student Regular Wage
1899 Fringe Benefits
1950 Honorariums
1990 Contracted Services
2999 Supplies
3110 In-State Travel
3120 Domestic Travel
3130 Foreign Travel
3999 Current Services
4999 Fixed Charges
5999 Equipment
6575 Graduate Tuition
6961 Undergraduate Tuition
6962 Stipends (no employment obligation)
6980 Subcontracts
8960 Facilities & Administrative Costs (Indirect)
9950 (8950 inactive) Budget Pool

• All NSF awards that involve PSC will have a segment established for these costs.
• This will allow the costs charged to be readily identified with ease as PSC.
• This will be done automatically by C&G at the onset of an NSF award.
• The College strongly recommends that each department create a segment for all other non-NSF projects that contain PSC.

Subsistence is an allowance for meal costs, including gratuities. To be eligible for allowances while in travel status, the employee must be acting in an official capacity as required by their work activities, and the travel destination must be at least 35 miles from the employee’s duty station or home, whichever is closer.

Check for an email from Contracts and Grants regarding “Meal Exemptions” (there are two types: per diem is exempt, and per diem is NOT exempt).

• New Form required to request meal exemptions:
  • This form must be signed by the Principal Investigator (PI)
  • The Contract Manager and the College (ORA).
• You can scan the form with the appropriate signatures and email it to Pat Hayes, with a copy to Laurinda Perez. They will print, review, sign, and email the form directly to Contracts and Grants (C&G), with a copy to you.
• The current per diem rates are available from the University Controller’s Office.

In-State Per Diem
In-State travel rates apply to travel within the State of North Carolina, and to employees who use hotel and meal facilities located in North Carolina immediately before and after out-of-state or out-of-country travel during the same travel period.

Out-of-State Per Diem
Out-of-state travel rates apply to travel within the United States, except for travel within North Carolina, and to employees who use hotel and meal facilities outside North Carolina but within the United States immediately before and after out-of-country travel during the same travel period.

Out-of-Country Per Diem
Out-of-Country travel rates apply to travel outside the United States and remain in effect until the employee returns to the country.

Federal Per Diem
Federal per diem rates may be available for out-of-country travel on a Contracts and Grants account if the Federal contract authorizes the per diem rate, and the Office of Contracts and Grants and the Controller’s Office approve the use of this rate prior to the travel occurring. The Controller’s Office approval is contingent on approval from the Office of State Budget and Management. If approved, the reimbursable rate is the prevailing Federal per diem rate at the time of travel.

Meal Allowances When in Travel Status but Not Traveling Overnight
Employees are eligible for the breakfast and evening meal allowances when approved in advance of the expense by the department head or designee, and the following applies:

1. For breakfast, depart the duty station prior to 6:00 A.M. and extend the workday by 2 hours.
2. Dinner – Return to duty station after 8:00 P.M. and extend the workday 3 hours.
3. Lunches are not reimbursable from state funds if travel does not involve an overnight stay.
4. Meal allowances from state, federal, or F&A funds are not allowed for travel related to internal conferences unless overnight travel criteria are met.

Meal Allowances When Traveling Overnight
University employees, when in overnight travel status, are eligible to receive reimbursement for meals (including lunches) for full days of travel and partial days (less than 24 24-hour period) when the partial day is the day of departure or the day of return and the partial day involves an overnight stay. The following applies to be eligible for meals on partial travel days:

1. Breakfast – Depart duty station prior to 6:00 A.M. and extend the workday by 2 hours.
2. Lunch – Depart duty station prior to Noon (day of departure) or return to duty station after 2:00 P.M. (day of return).
3. Dinner – Depart duty station prior to 5:00 P.M. (day of departure) or return to duty station after 8:00 P.M. (day of return) and extend the workday by 3 hours.

When  Meals are Provided
The costs of meals included in other related travel activities (registration fees, conference costs, hotel registration, etc.) that are predetermined and not optional may not be duplicated in the reimbursement request.

Employees may be reimbursed for breakfast even if their lodging establishment, conference, or meeting offers a free continental breakfast.

University employees can claim reimbursement for meals, even when they are included in the flight schedule and offered by a commercial airline.

Excess Travel Meals
No excess reimbursement for travel meals is allowed to employees from state agencies or institutions unless

1. They are predetermined charges,
2. Excess meals are pre-approved for out-of-country travel, or
3. The Office of State Budget and Management has approved reimbursement for excess meals (for example, if the use of a Federal per diem is approved by the Office of Contract and Grants, the Office of State Budget and Management must approve the use of the federal per diem rate in advance). As required by NC General Statute 138-6 and the Office of State Budget and Management.

The department head or his/her designee may grant excess subsistence for meals for out-of-country travel. Approval must be documented and given as part of the prior authorization process. Itemized original receipts are required for all excess meal reimbursements.

Entertainment Meals
Entertainment meals for gift development, faculty/staff/student recruitment, or other approved purposes are considered non-travel meals. Entertainment meals differ from travel meals in purpose, scope, and amounts, and, for gift development and recruitment purposes, they are considered customary and usual business expenses. Suppose employees are traveling and incur costs for an entertainment meal at a business meeting for gift development, faculty/staff/student recruitment, or other approved purposes. In that case, they should request reimbursement for the entertainment meal in accordance with the “Internal Conferences and Meeting Expenses” guidelines, section 1, “Non-Travel Meals Authorization and Expense Form,” and section 4, “Business Meetings with University Guests and Other Individuals External to the University.” Entertainment meal expenses paid to an employee must be charged to account number 53991 and paid from exempt non-State appropriated trust funds that are available for such purposes. Employees may not request duplicate reimbursements for these meals.

Meal Tips
Meal tips incurred by the traveler are included in the established meal subsistence allowance rates.

Meal tips are not separately reimbursable unless excess travel meals have been approved.

Excessive tips will not be reimbursed. A reasonable tip is one a prudent person would give when traveling or conducting personal business and expending personal funds.

Navigation: Select Grants Tile > Select Grant Campus Reports from the left menu (access available with a SAR role “Research Administration”)

In Grant Campus Reports (formerly Report2Web), you can access beneficial reports such as:

• Active F “commodity award” Projects 6 months past project end date: list of all projects assigned to Fiscal Manager Code F where the effective status of the project is “Active”, and it is 6 months or more past the project end date.
• Active Fixed Price Projects Expiring Or Past Project End Date: – List of all projects assigned to Fiscal Manager Codes D, E, or Q where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and the Project End Date has already expired or will be expiring within the next 6 months. Projects will be labeled as “Expiring” or “Past Due…” The projects noted as “Past Due” will indicate the number of days past the Project End Date
• Active Proj 90 Days Past Bud Begin Date With No Expenditures: List of all projects where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and there have been no expenditures within the first 90 days of the Budget Begin Date.
• Active Projects Coded For Fabrication: List of all projects where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and the “Inventory Indicator” attribute is equal to one of the following codes: C: Fabricated Equipment Tagged, $500 Threshold for capitalization (only projects with PBD before 7/1/98), W: Fabricated Equipment – Inventory Required, $5,000 Threshold for capitalization, X: Fabricated Equipment – No Inventory Required, $5,000 Threshold for capitalization
• Active Projects Overspent For 3 Consecutive Months: – List of projects where the Total Expenditures exceed the Total Budget for three (3) consecutive months. Projects will be grouped by those expiring in the future and those already past their end dates.
• Active Projects With Approved Food Cost Exemption Status: List of projects where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and the “Food & Entertainment” attribute is equal to one of the following codes:
  • 1 Conference/Workshops hosted by NCSU or affiliates – Excess food allowed
  • 2 Food/Entertainment allowed. No Alcohol allowed
  • 3 Conferences/Workshops by NCSU or affiliates – Excess food NOT allowed
  • 4 Federal Per Diem allowed for Travel
  • 5 Food/Entertainment/Alcohol allowed.
• Active Projects with Budget End Dates Past 6 Months: List of projects 6 months past the Budget End Date, and the Effective Status of the project is still “Active”.
• Active Projects With F & A Upper Limit: List of projects where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and the amount in the “Overall Limit” attribute is greater than $0. An upper limit may exist for projects where the agency or technological restrictions have limited F&A.
• Active Projects with Pending Project Modification Requests: The C&G Fiscal Manager is responsible for updating the “Pending Ext” attribute based on their knowledge of PMR requests routed to C&G processing pending sponsor approval. List of projects where the Effective Status of the project is “Active” and the “Pending Ext” attribute is equal to one of the following:
  • S SPARCS Extension means a PMR routed to C&G that has been routed to SPARCS and is pending final approval.
  • T IR Extension means a PMR routed to C&G that has been routed to OTT and is pending final approval.
  • X C&G Extension means a PMR routed to C&G that is final pending approval.
• Cost Sharing Confirmation Memos Sent But Not Returned (Excludes Fixed Price and C&G Use Only Projects): – List of projects where a Cost Share Confirmation Memo was generated and has not been returned to C&G. This report is generated based on the Cost Share Indicator Attribute where the attribute is equal to “12 – Reqd-memo sent, not returned.”

• Please note the contract’s due date for annual progress reports and final technical reports.
• Please send reminders to PIs concerning these due dates.
• Failure to comply with annual/final technical reports affects future funding for the Department, College, and the entire University.
• Delinquent Status: The college research office, which has been notified by SPARCS and the sponsor, will notify you.
• Please email a copy of all technical reports submitted to Post-Award Officer Richard Duckworth. This will satisfy both the college and university files.

• Annual Project Reports (APRs) are required for all multi-year grants, including Standard and Continuing Grants and Cooperative Agreements. Unless otherwise specified in the grant award, annual project reports should be submitted electronically no later than 90 calendar days prior to the end of the current reporting budget period. For continuing grants, failure to submit timely reports may delay processing of funding increments. Failure to submit timely reports will delay the processing of additional funding and administrative actions, including, but not limited to, no-cost extensions. All Annual Project Reports for each reporting period must be completed before submission of a Final Project Report.
• Final Project Reports (FPRs) are required for all Standard Grant, Continuing Grant, Cooperative Agreement, and Individual Fellowship (Individual Institutions only and when applicable or cited in solicitations) award types. NSF awards require that the PI submit a Final Project Report to the cognizant NSF Program Officer within no later than 120 calendar days following the award’s end date. The final project report is a vital part of the award closeout process. By submitting the report, you are indicating that the scope of work for the project has been completed and you do not anticipate any further actions on the award, including a no-cost extension, supplemental funding, or transfer (PI Transfer). No actions are permitted on a project once the final project report has been approved. If you have questions regarding your award, contact your cognizant Program Officer or the Division of Grants and Agreements official listed on your award notice.
• Project Outcomes Reports (PORs) apply to all Standard Grants, Continuing Grants, and Cooperative Agreements. This report, prepared specifically for the public, summarizes the project’s nature and outcomes. Unless otherwise specified in the grant, project outcomes reports must be submitted electronically via Research.gov no later than 120 calendar days following the award’s end date.
• Interim Project Reports (IPRs) are not required but are used to update project progress at any time, including before the award period ends. An Interim Report can be submitted at any time and does not count as an Annual or Final Project Report. They are rarely required but provide an optional mechanism for providing additional information to the program officer. If required, these reports will be specified in the cooperative agreement or solicitation.
• For more information on the Project Reports System requirements, please refer to Chapter VII.D of the PAPPG.
• NSF Project Reporting Format