College of Sciences Guidelines Faculty Support Commitment Extensions and Reallocations (Startup, Retention, and Special Appointment Agreements)
This document provides general guidelines for faculty members wishing to extend or reallocate research funds provided as part of startup, retention, special support, or other appointment packages.
Background:
Faculty support packages are funded from multiple sources. Personnel costs are paid for by the College, equipment is split 50-50 with the EVPR (Executive Vice President for Research), and renovations are paid for by the EVPR.
- The allocation of funding for such packages, including the amount and source of funding per category per year, is recorded in GT-TRACS.
- The offer letter should include a date by which all funds must be expended.
- Some faculty members are not able to spend all the funds in their package by the expenditure deadline, and they request an extension.
In some circumstances, towards the end of the life of a startup or retention package, a faculty member might wish to redirect funds between categories (e.g., re-purpose equipment funds for personnel).
Guidelines:
The following reallocation guidelines pertain solely to the CoS-funded portion of the support package. Any re-direction or extension of EVPR funds must be approved by the EVPR’s Office (pursuant to negotiation between the College’s Associate Dean for Research and the EVPR).
The College of Sciences will approve well-justified extension requests, whenever possible, for up to two years past the stated expiration date per the offer letter. Such approval is subject to budgetary constraints and is at the discretion of the Dean.
The College of Sciences will approve well-justified requests to reallocate the CoS-funded portion of an equipment commitment to personnel, under the following conditions:
- The PI (Principal Investigator) states that their equipment needs are fulfilled.
- There are no outstanding commitments to provide equipment that will be shared with other faculty/units (per initial agreement).
Because the cost to the Institute is to be conserved, a commitment transferred from non-personnel to a personnel category will be reduced by the associated:
- Fringe rate
- Tuition remission (if the funds are used to support a graduate research assistant)
These guidelines may be modified in unusual circumstances, at the discretion of the Dean.
Process:
- All requests are submitted in writing to the College; see the “Low-impact” and “High-impact” sections below for specific parties to be copied.
- The College Finance Director or Associate Dean for Research (ADR), at their discretion, may request additional supporting documentation, or escalate the request for consultation with College Leadership (Dean and Associate Deans) and the EVPR if appropriate to reach resolution.
- Depending on the request's impact, the faculty member will receive a notification from the College Finance Director or Associate Dean for Research (ADR) confirming the decision.
- The College and school finance officers will work together to process the package edits as needed.
"Low-impact Requests” are re-budgeting or time extension requests that fall within the guidelines discussed above and do not involve commitments made to/from a different college or campus unit.
For these, the faculty member or school finance office shall request directly to the College Director of Finance, with a copy to the school finance officer.
“High-impact Requests” are re-budgeting or time extension requests that fall outside of the guidelines discussed above, or which involve commitments made to/from an external college or other campus unit, including the EVPR.
For these, the faculty member must send a written request to the College’s Associate Dean for Research (ADR), with a copy to the College Director of Finance, school chair, and school finance office.
The request shall include:
- A description of and brief justification for the request
- A spend-out plan
- For reallocations from equipment commitments, a statement that there are no outstanding equipment needs or commitments.
