Facilities and Administrative Costs

It is the policy of this university to seek the appropriate, approved Facilities and Administrative Cost (F&A) recovery rate on all sponsored programs whether they are from private or public sources. Application of the standard F&A recovery rate can be waived in extenuating circumstances only (please refer to "Waiving of F&A" below).

• Facilities and Administrative Costs Grid (Effective July 1, 2023)
• Facilities and Administrative Cost Grid (Prior to July 1, 2023)
  
• General Ledger Exhibit Codes Assessed F&A (FP 4-4, Exhibit A-2)

All projects are subject to the University's Negotiated Rate Agreement unless there are instructions that specify differently. If you have instructions that specify the use of a rate other than the negotiated rate, please include those instructions when you route your proposal to Grants and Contracts.

• Negotiated Rate Agreement dated May 11, 2023
  
• Negotiated Rate Agreement dated March 8, 2016
• Negotiated Rate Agreement dated November 16, 2011
• Negotiated Rate Agreement dated November 15, 2007
• DS-2 Disclosure Statement

Rates that are to be applied to a Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) base are calculated as follows: Subtract any costs that should be excluded from the Total Direct Cost amount to obtain the base figure. Then multiply the base figure by the appropriate F&A rate to obtain the F&A recovery. Add the F&A recovery amount to the Total Direct Cost amount to obtain the Total Costs for the project. Costs excluded from the calculation of F&A recovery:

• equipment (Equipment is defined as tangible, non-expendable personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.)
• capital expenditures
• charges for patient care
• tuition remission
• rental costs
• scholarships
• fellowships
• Budget Categories Definitions for Federal Proposals (does not apply to NSF)

If you have instructions that specify the use of a rate other than the negotiated rate, please include those instructions when you route your proposal to Grants and Contracts. Equipment is defined as tangible, non-expendable personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. 

Arif Karim
DHHS, Director - Cost Allocation Services
90 7th Street
Suite 4-600
San Francisco, CA 94103-6705
Phone: (415) 437-7820
Fax: (415) 437-7823

The appropriate application of the on- and off-campus rates is determined by the location where a majority of the CU Denver work is to be conducted. If 50% or more of the CU Denver work is to take place at an on-campus facility, then the on-campus F&A rate should be used. If more than 50% of the CU Denver work is to be conducted at an off-campus​ facility, then the off-campus rate should be used.

If a government or non-profit sponsor has a published, consistently applied policy that establishes a specific F&A rate for the project(s), that rate will be honored by the University of Colorado Denver. Please include those instructions when you route your proposal to Grants and Contracts.

For non-profit, charitable associations, foundations and societies that do not have an established policy, the CU Denver project must initially be proposed at an F&A cost rate of no less than 10%.

Clinical Trials funded by private entities are typically conducted at a hospital site and are subject to the F&A rate of 28% of Total Direct Costs (TDC)