Policies & Procedures Manual
Administration and Finance

All grant proposals (including preliminary proposals) to government agencies or private foundations and all proposed contractual arrangements with such agencies, foundations, or other entities must be routed through the Office of Academic Affairs. The proposals will be sent to the IU Southeast Office of Research and the Office of Research Administration (ORA) in Bloomington and must be accompanied by forms completed and signed by administrators on this campus. Two weeks should be allowed for this process to be completed. Assistance in the preparation of grant proposals or in working out the terms of contracts is available through the campus Grants Coordinator. Those contemplating development of proposals should also consult the IU Southeast Research Policy Manual, the ORA Research-Related Policies, and the IU Southeast Faculty Manual. Accounting Services maintains fiscal authority of all contracts and grants accounts and will assist with the fiscal administration of the project.

Policies and Procedures

1. Signature Authority
   1. Faculty and staff should never sign any documents on behalf of IU. Agreements must be reviewed/signed only by the appropriate parties with signature authority as designated by the Office of the Treasurer.
2. Compensation (course release, summer pay, cost share, hourly workers, etc.)
   1. Consult with Accounting Services prior to any hiring for grant work to ensure compliance with university policies.
      
      NOTE: There is special guidance for additional pay on grant accounts that is important to verify with the fiscal officer. Additional pay is not allowable for an employee that falls under the same org code as the grant account. For example, a School of Education faculty member cannot receive additional pay for a School of Education grant.
3. Direct expense posting
   1. Expenses must post directly to grant accounts and should not be charged to placeholder accounts and then moved later. To ensure expenses post correctly:
      1. Notify Accounting Services when you are informed you will be receiving an award.
      2. Set up a meeting with your fiscal officer to review the budget and planned activities.
      3. Remember the 90-day post back period, after which expenses cannot be moved to the grant.
4. Grant expense deadlines
   1. Expenses cannot post to a grant account after the grant’s expiration date. All expenses must be paid in full (not in encumbered status) upon the grant’s expiration. To ensure that expenses post to the grant by the deadline, plan to have all expenses made at least 30 days prior to the close of the grant.
5. Extensions
   1. Extensions must route through the Office of Research Administration (ORA) with notification to the fiscal officer.
6. Budget adjustments
   1. Faculty and staff must send budget adjustment requests to Accounting Services and ORA before they are sent to the agency.
7. Unallowable expenses
   1. Examples of direct costs that are typically unallowable or require prior approval can be found through the IU Office of Research.
8. Hospitality
   1. Hospitality requests for contract and grant accounts (4* & 5* accounts) will not be subject to review by the Budget Committee, as approval for hospitality expenses is granted directly by the agency.
      
      NOTE: To ensure compliance with the ORA policies, data must be collected related to ALL grant hospitality expenses. A Hospitality Data Form should be completed and attached to the financial document related to your hospitality expense. Additionally, a program/agenda for the event and a roster including the names of the students, staff, etc. who attended the event should be attached.
9. Grant reporting
   1. Budget reports and other grant documents are available through the Grants Management Toolkit.