NIH Training Grants & xtrain
Topics Introduction NIH Training Grants and Fellowships NIH Institutional Career Development Awards xtrain What s New? Helpful Links
Introduction
Training and Career Timetable (by NIH)
NIH Training Grants
What are they? NIH defines training awards as Awards designed to support the research training of scientists for careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, as well as help professional schools to establish, expand, or improve programs of continuing professional education. Training awards consist of institutional training grants (T) and individual fellowships (F).
What are they? (cont.) NIH s primary research training program which provides awards to both individuals and institutions to provide research training in specified health-related areas is the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) which provides Institutional Research Training and Fellowship Mechanisms. Examples of these are T32 s, T35 s, F30 s, F31 s and F32 s.
What are they? (cont.) The NIH Grants Policy Statement states Kirschstein- NRSA institutional research training grants may be made for competitive segments of up to 5 years and are renewable. Awards within an approved competitive segment normally are made in 12-month increments, referred to as budget periods; support for additional noncompetitive years depends on satisfactory progress, submission of all required trainee-related documents, and availability of funds.
NRSA Support Limitations Maximum Kirschstein-NRSA support 5 years predoctoral AND 3 years postdoctoral Exceptions require a waiver by NIH. Acceptable justifications may include physicians/clinicians requiring additional time to complete training or interruptions (break in service). Request must be submitted in writing, signed by the institutional official. Should also be counter signed by the PI/PD and trainee for the institution s records, but those signatures are not required to be submitted.
NRSA Awards for Individuals With or Earning a Research Doctorate (by NIH)
NRSA Awards for Individuals With or Earning a Health-Professional Doctorate (by NIH)
Institutional Training Grants
Trainees For a trainee to be appointed to a training grant, an Appointment Form must be submitted each year. Beginning January 1, 2011, these forms must be submitted through xtrain. A Payback Agreement must be submitted for each postdoctoral trainee during their first 12 months of postdoctoral support. Submission of a paper form is still required.
Trainees Appointment Forms Period of Appointment May start any time during the budget period. Typically 12 month periods May not exceed 12 months without prior approval. Initial appointment period of less than 9 months requires prior approval.
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Full-time (generally defined as at least 40 hours per week) Prior approval is required for part-time and will be considered on case-by-case basis. It must be approved before the applicable budget period. Acceptable cases may include medical conditions, personal or family situations, etc. May not include use of other sources of funding or clinical practice. Request must be submitted in writing, signed by the institutional official. Should also be counter signed by the PI/PD and trainee for the institution s records, but those signatures are not required to be submitted.
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Relevant Experience Definition from NIH Grants Policy Statement Relevant experience may include: Research experience (including industrial) Teaching assistantship Internship Residency Clinical duties Other time spent in a health-related field beyond that of the qualifying doctoral degree.
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Relevant Experience (cont.) Maximum experience is the number of years from the date of PhD or MD graduation date to the start date of the period of appointment. If the determined stipend level is less than the number of years from graduation to appointment, NIH may ask for a justification of the level chosen. i.e. Foreign student spends two years preparing for U.S. Boards/Exams. Commonly this would not be considered relevant experience.
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Relevant Experience (cont.) Example: PhD Date of 5/15/2008 Start Date: 4/1/2009 0 full years of experience Stipend Level 0 Start Date: 5/1/2010 1 full year of experience Stipend Level 1 Start Date: 8/1/2010 2 full years of experiences Stipend Level 2 2 full years of
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Stipend Level At http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm, there is a link to the stipend levels for each NIH fiscal year. Each stipend level is applicable to awards made during the NIH fiscal year (October 1 st through September 30 th ). The level used is not based on the begin date of the appointment, but the budget period. For a period of appointment less than 12 months, stipends should be prorated.
Trainees Appointment Forms (cont.) Stipend Level (cont.) Example Trainee has 3 years relevant experience. Award budget dates: 5/1/2009 4/30/2010 Period of Appointment: 11/15/2009 11/14/2010 What questions do you need to ask yourself?
Trainees Sourcing & Effort Stipends NIH Grants Policy Statement defines stipends as a subsistence allowance to help defray living expenses during the research training experience. The stipend is not salary and is not provided as a condition of employment with either the Federal government or the grantee organization.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Stipends (cont.) Stipends must be paid at the established stipend level. Stipend levels change almost every year. No departure from the stipend level set by NIH is allowed. Stipends may be adjusted only at the time of appointment or reappointment; they may not be changed mid-year.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Fringe Benefits Stipends are not provided as a condition of employment with the Federal government or the grantee; therefore, it is inappropriate and unallowable to charge typical fringe benefits to a NRSA institutional training grant.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Fringe Benefits (cont.) Reimbursement for Health Insurance is allowed as part of Trainee-Related Expenses. At UTMB, we load the entire budget for Trainee-Related Expenses into M&O. Any remaining budget in this category at the time the FSR is prepared is used to offset the expense of the Health Insurance of the trainees (expenses found in account 508130).
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Longevity Longevity pay is distributed at UTMB at the same percentage as the base salary. Longevity is allowable. Many times we will request that longevity be moved off of a training grant. This happens when the sourcing is calculated to an exact amount off of the base pay, then the longevity is paid in addition to that amount.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Longevity (cont.) Example: A trainee s stipend level is $37,740 and they are hired with that base salary. At some point during that year that trainee may reach two years of state service and begin receiving $20 per month in longevity pay. At the end of the budget period, the longevity would have to be moved off, not because it is unallowable, but because it is over the stipend level of $37,740.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Stipend Supplementation Allowed from Non-Federal funds provided there is no additional obligation for the trainee and it is consistent with the institution s policies regarding stipend support regardless of the source. Federal funds may only be used when specifically authorized in the terms of the program. Under no circumstances may PHS (the operating division of DHHS under which NIH operates) funds be used.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Correcting Sourcing Most corrections to salary are done by DBR through HCM. Small corrections (less than 1% of the stipend) such as the removal of longevity may be processed on a Direct Retro
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Effort Trainees, per the definition provided by NIH, are not considered employees of the institution. Based on this definition, we are working to exclude them from ECRT. At this time, it is still a requirement that their effort is reported through ECRT.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) Effort (cont.) Stipend supplementation is not allowed to create any further obligation for the trainee; therefore, any supplementation should be considered cost sharing and should not require any effort.
Trainees Sourcing & Effort (cont.) One of the issues we have experienced on several of our awards is a trainee taking leave without pay. NIH has recently included the following guidance on this topic in their xtrain FAQ s. The authorized representative of the organization must seek approval from the agency for an unpaid leave of absence. The trainee should be terminated through xtrain at the beginning of the leave. The trainee should be reappointed upon their resumption of Kirschstein-NRSA support.
Trainees - Terminations NIH uses: Determine total NRSA support Determine whether payback is required Compile aggregate NRSA data on the support and payback process
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Required to be submitted on all trainees: Within 30 days of the end of the total period of support. With signature of PI/PD and Institutional Business Official
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Amount of Stipend The amount reported should match the appointment amount. The amount should also match the actual stipends paid at UTMB. This should be verified when you are completing the form. Although the xtrain FAQ s state that they allow for a $500 variance if there is a partial period, we have been unable to change the amount in the system to anything other than the exact stipend amount. We are currently allowing variances of $500 per trainee by including that information in the Comments when the form is submitted by the BO.
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Amount of Stipend (cont.) If a trainee terminates early, their stipend amount should be prorated based on the actual months and days worked. This cannot be rounded. The annual stipend amount is divided by 12 for the monthly rate, which is multiplied by the number of full months. The monthly amount divided by 30 days is the daily rate. The daily rate is then multiplied by the number of days in the partial month that the trainee was appointed.
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Amount of Stipend (cont.) Example Trainee is appointed for their first year from 8/1/2008 7/31/2009 at $36,996 (0 Years Experience). They are appointed for a second year from 8/1/2009 7/31/2010 at $39,360. The trainee s last day of support from the grant is 7/24/2010.
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Amount of Stipend (cont.) Example (cont.) Calculating the prorated second year $39,360 / 12 = $3,280 (monthly rate) $3,280 * 11 (full months worked) = $36,080 $3,280 (monthly rate) / 30 = $109.33 (daily rate) $109.33 * 24 (days in partial month) = $2,624 $36,080 + $2,624 = $38,704 (prorated second year)
Trainees Terminations (cont.) Amount of Stipend (cont.) Example (cont.)
Points to Remember Budget Load (NOA Categories to Peoplesoft Categories) Stipends Salary Trainee Related Expenses M&O Tuition and Fees Education & Training Travel Travel F&A F&A
Points to Remember Trainee Tuition & Fees Allowable if charges are applied consistently on all sources. For postdoctoral trainees, must be for specific courses in support of the approved training and requires NIH approval. Health Insurance is no longer awarded as part of this category.
Points to Remember (cont.) Trainee Tuition & Fees (cont.) Predoctoral Trainees 60% of request, up to $16,000 per year 60% of request, up to $21,000 per year if enrolled in a formal dual-degree program (MD/PhD) Postdoctoral Trainees 60% of request, up to $4,500 per year 60% of request, up to $16,000 per year if the program supports individuals in a formal degree-granting training
Points to Remember (cont.) Training Related Expenses Funds are provided for items such as: Staff salaries Consultant costs Equipment Research supplies Staff travel Health insurance (only if applied consistently at the institution)
Points to Remember (cont.) Trainee Travel Costs Funds to cover trainee travel which takes place during their appointment period Attendance at scientific meetings necessary to the training program Travel to a research training experience away from the institution may be permitted Requires prior approval Must be justified based on the type of training available, how it is different, and the relationship of the experience to the trainee s career stage and career goals
Points to Remember (cont.) F&A 8% MTDC
Points to Remember (cont.) Rebudgeting Stipends/Trainee Tuition & Fees These funds may not be used for any other purpose except in unusual circumstances with prior approval. Rebudgeting into these categories is allowed without prior approval.
Points to Remember (cont.) Rebudgeting (cont.) Training Related Expenses & Trainee Travel May be rebudgeted without prior approval.
Points to Remember (cont.) Financial Status Reports (FSR s) Due annually on training grants.
Points to Remember (cont.) Appointment Periods not Aligned with Budget Periods NIH states in their training grant FAQ s: Trainees can be appointed at any time during a budget period, for an entire 12-month period. In doing so, the entire 12-month stipend and tuition is charged to the current year. Thus, an appointment period can technically overlap into the next budget period. Since the entire 12-months stipend and tuition is charged at the time of the appointment, that amount not yet expended at the end of the budget should be reported as an unliquidated obligation on the FSR.
Points to Remember (cont.)
Points to Remember (cont.) Calculation for Column G BR02 Budget (Stipends +Carryforward BR01)-(Carryforward BR03+Restricted)
Points to Remember (cont.) Appointment Periods not Aligned with Budget Periods (cont.) After the FSR is processed, the budget in the amount of the unliquidated obligations should be transferred to the next Budget Reference.
Points to Remember (cont.) Carryforward Most training grants require prior approval for carryforward of the unobligated balance. The unobligated balance is the amount available that was not expensed or obligated (the remainder of the stipends and tuition for trainees whose appointment periods ended during the following budget year).
Points to Remember (cont.)
Points to Remember (cont.) Carryforward (cont.) After the completion of the FSR, the unobligated balance should be transferred to a restricted account by the Reporting group. In order to access these funds, a written request should be submitted to the Grants Management Specialist and the request will be approved via a revised Notice of Award.
Points to Remember (cont.) Cost to the department: Cost sharing of salary and fringe for the PI/PD. Any stipend supplementation or longevity paid above the allowable trainee stipend amounts. Fringe benefits other than health insurance (transferred to class 49963 monthly). Any health insurance that there is not enough budget remaining to cover. Any cost overruns.
Short-term Training Grants
General Since some NIH ICs do not support short-term research training positions under the T32 or support them on a limited basis only, applicants are urged to contact the appropriate NIH IC before requesting short-term research training positions as part of a T32 application. T35. Several NIH ICs provide short-term research using a separate training grant mechanism (T35). The program intent and student eligibility requirements are similar to those indicated for the T32. However, since this Kirschstein-NRSA funding mechanism is used by only a few NIH ICs; interested applicants are encouraged to contact specific ICs for details.
Trainees Short-term positions should be requested in the application. Shortterm research training positions should last at least 8, but no more than 12, weeks. Health-professional students and students in the quantitative sciences selected for appointment should be encouraged to obtain multiple periods of short-term, health-related research training during the years leading to their degrees. Such appointments may be consecutive or may be reserved for summers or other off-quarter periods. NOTE: This is the definition in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. When appointing a trainee in Commons, it requires that the appointment period be 2 months, not 8 weeks. It WILL NOT allow appointments for less than 2 months.
Trainees (cont.) To be eligible for short-term predoctoral research training positions, students must be enrolled and in good standing and must have completed at least one quarter or semester in a program leading to a clinical doctorate or doctorate degree in a quantitative science, such as physics, mathematics, or engineering, before participating in the program. Individuals already matriculated in a formal research degree program in the health sciences, holding a research doctorate or master s degree, or a combined professional and research doctorate normally are not eligible for short-term training positions. In schools of pharmacy, only candidates for the Pharm. D. degree are eligible for short-term positions.
xtrain Requirements xtrain submission of Appointment Forms and Termination notices are required for all Kirschstein-NRSA predoctoral and postdoctoral institutional training grants including T35 s.
Short-term Sourcing & Effort Short term trainees are not sourced through HCM. UTMB student trainees are paid stipends through Campus Solutions on 522030. Non-UTMB trainees are paid via non-po voucher on 525010. Because these stipends are not sourced through HCM, they are not included in the effort reporting system.
Points to Remember F&A is awarded at 8% MTDC. The same guidelines for rebudgeting and reporting are applicable. These handouts discuss T35 s, the NRSA short-term training awards. Other short-term training awards do not follow the same terms and conditions. Some R25 s are also directed towards short-term training. NIH requirements for xtrain on those awards are determined by NIH awarding Institute/Center.
xtrain
What is xtrain? New tab in era Commons Used to electronically submit appointment and termination forms Required beginning 1/1/11
Awards Affected Training grants Fellowships Research Education Awards depending on institute Institutional Career Development Awards depending on institute
Resources Available One-on-one training available Contact Beth Longbotham at extension 69425 or e-mail admoline@utmd.edu to schedule a class. Guides developed internally for PI s, ASST s, and Trainees. NIH references including a User Guide, Quick Reference Sheets, and the era Commons Help Desk.
Points to Remember Everyone with an AO status or an ASST for that grant can view the accepted forms submitted through xtrain on the Status tab in era Commons. Remember to check your actual salaries paid in HCM when processing termination notices. You cannot change the amount reported in xtrain, differences must be corrected in HCM.
Common Issues Select Connie Barton as the Business Official. If you are working on the termination notice for a fellowship and the Initiate TN link is not available, we have to contact the era Commons Help Desk. This can be done by the department or I can do it on your behalf. (This functionality was being corrected by NIH and should no longer be an issue.)