Introduction

• You should include full salary and benefits for all Appalachian employees' participation on a sponsored project as direct costs or cost share commitments in the proposal budget.
• Salaries and wages are determined by the amount of time spent by each person on the project (time and effort).
• For faculty, calculate a dollar value for each person's time and effort using his/her current 9-month base salary (which does not include compensation for administrative duties, summer teaching, etc.). Sponsored Programs' budget templates will help you calculate this appropriately and accurately.
  • Example: If the project requires 25% effort of a faculty member during the academic year, you should include 25% of his/her current base salary in the budget.
• For further explanation of time and effort, view the videos at the end of this page presented by the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).
• Section 4.1.1 of Appalachian's Supplemental Pay Policy states,

  "For a full-time member of the faculty or EPA staff, the salary approved by the Chancellor, Board of Trustees, or Board of Governors is the base salary to be paid during the contract period. No additional compensation may be paid for University duties that are generally related to the position to which the individual is appointed during the Contract Period."

• To help you calculate the amount of supplemental compensation faculty are eligible to earn outside the contract period (i.e., the summer) or, in rare exceptions, during the academic year, you may use the Supplemental Pay Tracking Template (XLSX).
• Keep in mind sponsors must provide written approval of any supplemental compensation to be paid during the academic year before it occurs.
• Be sure to discuss academic year effort on sponsored projects with your chair and dean well in advance of preparing to submit your proposal. They will need to know if they should plan for a replacement instructor for classes you normally teach.
• Remember, any payments to Appalachian personnel will be processed through Payroll; therefore fringe benefits (FICA, unemployment, medical, and retirement) need to be calculated on all salaries for people employed at the University.

Hiring Postdoctoral Scholars

For guidance on salaries for postdocs you wish to include on your sponsored project, please contact Mrs. Talana Bell in Academic Affairs at 828-262-2070, or email her at belltj@appstate.edu.

Time and Effort Reporting

• All individuals working on sponsored projects must report their time and effort whether or not they are paid.
• For further explanation of time and effort reporting and certification, view the following videos:
  • Effort Certification
  • Effort Certification is Just 2 Things
• Also for further information, view the Reporting Your Time and Effort on Sponsored Projects section of this website.

Relevant Policies for Calculating Salaries and Time & Effort

• Conflicts of Interest and Commitment for Faculty and EPA Administrative Personnel
• Supplemental Pay Policy

Video Guides to Time & Effort Reporting Presenting by NCURA

Undergraduate Students

• Must be enrolled at Appalachian either part-time or full-time
• Are paid an hourly rate as a student temp
• Must at least be paid at current minimum wage**
• Salaries must include payroll deductions***

Graduate Students

Graduate students may be paid as a student temp or via a graduate assistantship.

** Payment for students varies from department to department; you should consult your chair or undergraduate and graduate program directors in your department for what is acceptable and usual payment for student temps and graduate assistantships.

*** RE: Payroll Deductions/Fringe Benefits: Depending on the level of enrollment (minimum of 6 credit hours) a student may not be exempt from FICA and disability tax. Additionally, student workers are subject to income tax reporting and taxation.  Lastly, student employees may now be eligible for health care benefits under the Affordable Care Act, depending on the total number hours worked in the UNC system; the fringe benefits rate listed here for students accounts for this possibility. 

Tuition 

Enter the tuition (including out-of-state rate when appropriate) under Other Direct Costs unless instructed otherwise in the sponsor's guidelines.

You may wish to include other professionals not currently employed at Appalachian, but whom you would like to hire as a temporary employee if your project is funded.

• Examples: technicians, physicians, veterinarians, systems experts, computer programmers, site/program coordinators or managers, design engineers
• Consult with Human Resource Services to verify the appropriate salary and fringe benefits for new positions that would be classified as SPA (Employees Subject to the State Personnel Act).
• Be sure to discuss with your chair and/or dean any space and/or equipment new personnel will need to do their work, if your project is funded. You should do this well in advance of your project being funded.

Fringe benefits for faculty, staff, and students working on your sponsored project are allowable as direct costs in proportion to the salaries charged to the grant.

Generally, sponsors will allow you to list a single, flat percentage for fringe benefits. Here are the current rates:

• 31.10% for 9-month faculty
• 44.97% for 12-month Staff and EPA Administrative (Employees Exempt from the State Personnel Act) personnel
• 9.15% for students
• 23.66% for non-student temps
• Note: Depending on the level of enrollment (minimum of 6 credit hours) a student may not be exempt from FICA & Disability tax. Additionally, student workers are subject to income tax reporting and taxation. 
• Inflate the fringe rates by 0.5% for each subsequent year for all personnel on multi-year projects.
• Always check this page for the current fringe benefits rates for Appalachian personnel, as they change over time (and not necessarily on a regular schedule).

Here is a breakdown of what is included in fringe benefits; use these percentages if a sponsor requires you to break out individual fringe benefits:

• Social Security: 7.65%
  • Apply the Social Security rate to all Appalachian personnel in your budget.
• Medical: 8.36% for faculty; 11.299% for staff (SPA and EPA Administrative); 15.012% for non-student temps
  • Apply the medical insurance rate to all persons in your budget who are at least 75% FTE (3/4 time employees).
  • Note: student and non-student temporary employees may now be eligible for health care benefits under the Affordable Care Act, depending on the total number hours worked in the UNC system
• Retirement: 14.09% (Optional Retirement Programs, TIAA-CREF, Prudential, etc., for Faculty); 25.02% (State retirement system for Staff)
  • Apply retirement to all persons in your budget who are at least 75% FTE (3/4 time employees).
  • Do not apply retirement to employees hired on a temporary basis.
  • If uncertain about the status of temporary employees, contact Human Resource Services (HRS).
• Reserve for Unfunded Benefits: 1.0%
  • Includes workers compensation, unemployment, and other terminal benefits. 
  • Apply the rate for the Reserve for Unfunded Benefits to all Appalachian personnel in your budget.