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2021 Guidelines for Charging Faculty Salaries to Extramural Research Funding


Purpose
The UC Santa Cruz guidelines for charging salaries to extramural research funding will permit ladder-rank faculty to charge a component of their salary to extramural research funds awarded to them as Principal Investigator (PI), as allowed by the sponsor. This will generate salary savings from the state-funded provision (PI’s senate title FTE) thereby providing a mechanism for the division and department to support temporary commitments and for the PI to support funding needs through the creation of a discretionary fund. This fund will carry the same restrictions as other state (19900) funds.

Program Participation
Faculty participation is voluntary. An individual faculty member requests participation by submitting a request to the divisional dean, specifying the time period and percent time to be charged to extramural funds, the fund number to be charged along with approval from the fund administrator and the approval of the department chair. The dean has final authority to approve the request. Approval must be obtained prior to the pay period associated with the affected quarter (see Guideline #4 below).

Salary Savings
Salary savings generated through this program and distributed to the faculty member are to be used for temporary commitments in support of research activities of the PI. Salary savings are state funds and come under any associated restrictions. Any unexpended funds may be carried forward at the end of each fiscal year with no time limitations. Salary savings are distributed in the following manner:

Faculty Member 75%
Department 15%
Division 10%

Teaching, Research, and Service Requirements
Under the guidelines, there is no release from teaching, research, or service duties. This is not a course buyout program. Approved participation does not release the faculty member from any teaching or service obligations. The faculty member is expected to complete their full complement of course offerings and service commitments to the department, the campus, and their profession. Subsequent personnel reviews will not distinguish between funding source. Faculty on 100% sabbatical leave, may also charge a component of their salary to extramural research funds. While on sabbatical leave, the faculty member is expected to dedicate 100% of their time to approved research activities.

Guidelines

  1. Faculty can charge up to 30% of their quarterly salary to extramural source(s). Faculty may request participation for up to one academic year, in quarterly increments. There is no limit on the number of quarters of participation; however, renewal requests must be submitted annually.
  2. The percent effort on a contract or grant must be reported through the effort reporting process.
  3. The salary charge must be allowable by the sponsor agency and fall within the total percentage of the investigator’s effort on the project.
  4. No retroactive transactions will be approved or processed. Extramural funds will be charged consistent with academic quarter payroll dates: Fall Quarter: July-October; Winter Quarter: November-February; Spring Quarter: March-June. Deans may approve retroactive participation
    if the service period has not begun and only when administrative errors outside the faculty member’s control prevented a timely request for participation.
  5. Benefits costs associated with the percent effort charged to extramural funding will be charged to that funding source. Salary savings do not include the benefits portion that would have been paid by state funds.
  6. The CP/EVC may request an annual report from the Dean.

Revised 3/2021

Last modified: Jan 31, 2025