Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get an Early Center set up?
Complete an Early Center Request form and submit it to the Office of Sponsored Programs.
My award is ending, but I’ve requested an extension from the sponsor. Can the award be extended prior to receiving the approved extension from the sponsor?
Yes, if an Internal Extension form (http://www.cmu.edu/osp/pre-award/research-related-documents.html) is completed and processed by the Office of Sponsored Programs.
How do I request an extension for our sponsored award?
For awards sponsored by Foundations, contact the Foundations Relations Office. For all other sponsored awards, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.
What constitutes an acceptable justification for a cost transfer onto or off of a sponsored award?
All justifications should answer the following questions:
- Why is the cost appropriate/inappropriate for the sponsored award?
- Why was the cost not charged correctly originally?
- If the transfer is >90 days beyond the incurred date, what extenuating circumstance prevented it from being corrected/transferred prior to now?
I need to buy a piece of equipment and my project is within the last 90 days. Will the purchase order for this equipment be approved?
Additional justification explaining how the project will benefit from the use of the equipment will be requested prior to the purchase order being approved.
I think that the wrong F&A rate is being applied to my award. What should I do to get this corrected?
Contact your SPA Rep. He/she will prepare an F&A analysis and change the burden schedule in Oracle if needed. He/she will also make a retroactive F&A adjustment if needed.
What are some typical expenditure types that are questioned for allowability during the closeout of an award?
SPA will question expenditure types that are administrative in nature and are typically unallowable for federal awards. These expenditure types include, but are not limited to the following:
- Administrative salaries
- Legal Fees
- Advertising
- Computing Supplies
- Alcohol
- Office Supplies
- Banking Fees
- Postage Expenses
- Books
- Refreshments
- Books & Periodicals
- Telephone and various other communication devices
- Entertainment
- Memberships & Dues
My sponsor has told me that they need to be invoiced ASAP. What do I do?
Contact Beth Callaway at extension 8-5838 or via email at callaway@andrew.cmu.edu.
My sponsor needs our banking information. What do I tell them?
Payments made via wire transfer:
Mellon Bank
500 Ross Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15262
Account Number: 197-9003
ABA Number: 043000261
Payments made via check:
Carnegie Mellon University
P.O. Box 371032M
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7032
Mellon Bank
500 Ross Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15262
Account Number: 197-9003
ABA Number: 043000261
Payments made via check:
Carnegie Mellon University
P.O. Box 371032M
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7032
How long do I have to review the closeout reconciliation for my award?
Five business days.
Can travel be taken on foreign air carriers and charged to federal awards if it is cost efficient to do so?
Please refer to Carnegie Mellon’s policy on travel.
How can I get the payment status of a subcontractor’s invoice?
Contact your SPA Rep.
What is the current NIH Salary Cap?
Please refer to the NIH website.
When my fixed priced award ended, why was my account not credited with the entire amount of the residual balance?
The direct portion of a residual balance is transferred to a department account and the F&A portion is transferred to a university account.
During the closeout process of my fixed priced award, I was asked to provide a justification for having a residual balance. Why did I need to provide this?
Part of the closeout process of fixed priced awards is to request a justification for any residual balance that is >= 25% of the award amount. This is requested to ensure that the submitted cost budget was an accurate reflection at the time of proposal submission and that an extenuating circumstance caused the significant residual balance.