This page provides the policies and procedures for successfully administering all aspects of the grant by both faculty and non-faculty staff members of Wagner College.
Award Notification
The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations will notify by phone the Principal Investigator/Project Director and Provost upon receipt of a grant award. Following this congratulatory call, the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations will prepare and distribute the Notice of Grant Award to:
Principal Investigator(s)/Project Director(s)
Faculty Grants Coordinator
Provost
Associate Provost for IT (if appropriate)
Dean of Graduate Studies (if Graduate Assistants are employed)
Department Chair of the recipient(s)
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Director of Development
Vice President of Finance and Administration
Associate Controller
Director of Human Resources (if employment issues apply)
Director of Financial Aid (if undergraduate students are employed)
The Notice of Grant Award provides all involved campus personnel with the specific requirements of the grant including:
Contact information for the PI/PD
Title of Grant
Sponsoring Funder
Time frame for project
Reporting deadlines and
Any specific directions required by the funder.
Establishing or Maintaining a Project Account
The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations will provide a copy of the budget to:
the Provost, the Faculty Grants Coordinator, Associate Controller and Director of Human Resources. Upon receipt of the budget, the Associate Controller will inform the PI/PD, Provost, and Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations of the account number — either by assigning a number for new accounts or by providing the account number for existing accounts.
The Grants Coordinator will schedule a Grants Account meeting with the PI/PD and Associate Controller. During this meeting the account number, account type, budget lines and funds distribution procedures will be discussed and approved. It is imperative that the PI/PD review the proposal budget to ensure that each budget line corresponds as closely as possible to the grant account being established. The Provost must approve any changes to the use of grant funds over $200.00 before submitting it to the Business Office for processing. The Associate Controller will provide information to the PI on college procedures for payment and require that apply to the grant.
If the grant includes personnel who will receive support or remuneration from the account, the Associate Controller will provide the PI/PD with Personnel Support forms. These forms will need to be completed and signed by the participating individual and the PI/PD prior to any reimbursement or payment from the grant. Copies of this form will be sent to the Director of Human Resources for payments involving faculty and staff, the Dean of Graduate Studies for payments involving Graduate Assistants and the Director of Financial Aid for payments involving undergraduate students. External participants involved in a grant will be asked to complete College personnel forms as appropriate.
The Associate Controller will provide the PI/PD and the Provost’s Office with a monthly budget, which reflects the activity of the account. It is important that the PI/PD reconcile the expenses reflected on the statement with her/his own records. Discrepancies should be brought to the attention of the Associate Controller immediately.
Drawing on the Account for Non-Personnel Related Expenditures
Access to all sponsored project accounts is restricted to the PI/PD or their designee. Any request for funding must include the account number, budget line, and PI/PD signature. Requests over $200.00 require the Provost’s or appropriate Vice President’s signature. The College provides a number of options for drawing on an account, and listed below are the preferred methods as required by the Wagner College Business Office.
Expense Account Report: Standard college procedures will apply. Expenditures incurred out of pocket are reimbursed through the use of the Expense Account Form. This form can be used for both cash or check outlays or the use of a personal credit/charge card. Receipts are required for each expenditure over $25.00. If the expenses total less than $200.00 you may receive a cash reimbursement from the Business Office. Allow at least 5-7 business days for processing.
Drawing on the Account for Personnel Expenditures
The PI/PD is responsible for ensuring that the required personnel documents are submitted to the Associate Controller prior to any requests for payment. For faculty and staff payment may be designated as either a stipend or salary enhancement:
Stipends. Payments from grants to faculty and staff to enhance an employee’s base salary will be in the form of a stipend. The College will deduct all required taxes and benefits including: F.I.C.A., Federal, NY State and NY City taxes and will not make contributions to health care coverage, life insurance and tax-deferred annuities.
Release-time from coursework and replacement costs for staff time will be determined through the budget approval process. For faculty, the Grants Coordinator will sign off on all appropriate staffing and personnel matters for the Provost. The appropriate Vice President will do the same for all non-faculty employees engaged in grant activity.
Student Workers. Graduate Students employed on grants must receive compensation that is at least equivalent to their current salary. To employ a graduate student, please contact the Dean of Graduate Studies to discuss the needs and duration of the project.
Undergraduate Students employed on grants must receive compensation that is at least equivalent to their current salary. To employ an undergraduate student, please contact the Director of Financial Aid to discuss the needs and duration of the project.
Consultants. If the project requires the services of a consultant or others, the College will require the completion of the Independent Contractor Agreement. The independent contractor will receive payment but will be responsible for reporting to the IRS this additional income. The College will not deduct taxes, social security or any other payments on behalf of the consultant. This form will be provided by the Human Resources Office.
Reporting Requirements
While each funder will request different information as part of the Grant reporting; all funders will expect a progress report on the use of their funds. In the funding agencies grant award letter to the College, the reporting obligations will be clearly stated and as the College’s Principal representative to the funder; the PI/PD has primary responsibility for ensuring the timely and comprehensive reporting on their grant.
There are typically two parts to a grant: a narrative, which describes the progress or results of the grant activity and a financial report, which reconciles the intended use of funds with the actual spending of the grant funds.
The Narrative Report. The PI/PD is responsible for preparing the narrative portion of the report. Funders will want to know at least three pieces of information:
What did you intend to do?
What did you actually do?
What would you do again or do differently on this grant?
The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations will monitor the filing of all reports and maintain copies by funder for institutional use. The Office maintains a master file for each funding agency and/or project. Your report will assist the College in maintaining complete files for funders and as reference for future proposals.
The Financial Report. The Associate Controller will prepare a financial report for either direct submission to a federal agency, if required or to accompany a Narrative Report to submit to a private foundation or corporation.
Preparation for the Financial Report should start about four (4) weeks prior to the deadline for submission. The PI/PD is responsible for scheduling an appointment with the Associate Controller to review and reconcile all financial activity related to the grant. Almost all of the check requests, expense reports, and requests for payment of personnel should be submitted at least six (6) weeks prior to the close of the grant. This will ensure that the Business Office has time to clear all requests involving the grant.
Grant reports are both the end of the process and a beginning of the next application. How well the PI/PD stewards the grant and reports on it will have an effect on future requests for support. In some cases failure to submit timely and comprehensive reports can result in a funder’s decision to not award future grants to the institution.
Thank you for developing a proposal, which shows academic promise and innovative practices. Your work reflects well on the College, but more importantly will contribute to the learning environment for all members of the community.
