Office of Grants and Contracts

Peoplesoft Finance and Grants Management are now using the Fluid Interface

On February 21^st, 2021, Peoplesoft Finance and Grants Management user interface was changed to the fluid format.  Hopefully you were able to attend the Webinar hosted by the Office of University Controller.  If not, their website contains information about the look and how to personalize.

We know there is some interest in the Grants areas of the navigation, and we plan to host a future Team Talks to review what access and items you can see with your departmental roles.

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Outstanding Effort Reporting

The Office of Grants and Contracts has been reaching out to department administrators for your help in collecting outstanding effort reports for those who are paid from sponsored projects in funds 30 and 31.  We need your help to reach out to the employees who have not completed their effort reports.

Timely certification is a very important piece of the sponsored projects process.  If and when employees find issues with their salary effort, a cost transfer may be required via a PET to correct salary.  When these issues are not identified right away it can cause delay in closeout of projects, or cause a project already closed to be reopened and reported on.

We often see issues with late certifications when an employee has terminated.  As a best practice, please ensure all outstanding effort reports are completed as part of your separation process.

To see what employees we need ePERs for, you can use the ePER reports available in CU-DATA. See screenshot below.

The System Office will also be changing the schedule of the automated notifications going out to employees.  Employees will be notified when their ePER has been issued and again if it is still outstanding at 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days and every 10 days after that.  This is accelerated from the prior schedule which started at 75 days past issuance.

If you have questions or need ePER training please see the System ePER page, which also contains campus contacts.

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OGC Team Update

We want to take this opportunity to let you know that Ryan Holland, Director of PreAward and Contracting Services, will be leaving the University.  His last day will be Friday, April 2.  Ryan will be moving on to take a break from his professional career to focus on being a full-time Dad and spending time with family.  While we are very happy for him and his family, we will definitely miss Ryan within OGC and the University as a whole.  Ryan has been with OGC for nearly nine years.  Ryan has been an incredible leader for OGC and the campus and has been involved with many changes over those years.  We will miss him and wish him and his family well – Ryan will always be considered as part of the OGC and University of Colorado family. 

Please join the OGC team in wishing him well in his next adventure.  We are working on transition plans and will announce them as they are finalized. 

In this time of transition, all proposal development questions should be directed to xenia@ucdenver.edu and all contracting questions should be directed to ogc.contracts@ucdenver.edu.

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NIH Updates

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently updated its fiscal policies to implement the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021. The updated policies include:

• 2021 Salary Cap. Effective January 3, 2021, the salary cap for NIH and other Public Health Service agencies is $199,300.
• Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels. The stipend levels for 2021 Kirschstein-NRSA awards for undergraduate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral trainees have been revised.
• Legislative Mandates. The legislative mandates impose limitations or conditions on the use of NIH grant, cooperative agreement, and contract awards. Compliance with the legislative mandates is required for all NIH awards. For FY 2021, there are 12 legislative mandates. The legislative mandates for this fiscal year have been updated to include a probation on the dissemination of false or misleading information.
• Next Generation Researchers Initiative Policy. NIH will prioritize meritorious R01-equivalent applications from Early Stage Investigators (ESI) PD/PIs. By providing funding priority for ESIs, NIH intends to encourage funding applications that involve researchers earlier in their career

Please contact your OGC Post Award Administrator if you have any questions regarding the updated NIH policies.

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CRA Exam Study Sessions

The Financial Services Compliance & Training unit is partnering with RAIN to provide study sessions for the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) exam. The CRA exam is administered by the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) multiple times throughout the year. In 2021, the CRA exam will be offered in May and November.

The study sessions are designed to assist research administrators in preparing for the CRA exam and is not meant to be the sole source of preparation for the CRA exam, nor is it meant to be a guarantee that participants will pass the exam. The study sessions will guide participants through the comprehensive body of knowledge represented on the CRA exam, provide sample questions representative of exam questions, and provide insights from individuals who have previously passed the exam.

The study sessions will begin in August and conclude in October, right before the November testing window. The study sessions are free to all university employees that qualify to sit for the exam.

Topics for the study sessions include:

• Orientation to the CRA Exam
• Introduction to the CRA Body of Knowledge
• Review of 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance)
• National Public Policy Requirements
• Budget Development
• Contracting and the Federal Acquisition Regulation
• Human and Animal Subjects
• Regulatory Compliance
• Intellectual Property
• Financial Management
• Subawards
• Reporting and Closeout

If you are interested in participating in the CRA Study Sessions, please complete this interest form. Additional information will be provided in the coming weeks to individuals completing the interest form.

If you have any questions, please email Shane Jernigan.

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NCURA Training

Financial Services and RAIN are partnering to provide free access to an upcoming NCURA webinar entitled “Excel Tips for Pre- and Post-Award Administrators.”  The webinar will be held on May 6, 2021 at 12pm.  Registration information will be available at a later time.

NCURA’s description of the webinar is:  Do you use Excel to analyze and report data? If so, you’ve probably asked yourself, "Why does this take so long? Is there a better way?" If you use Excel for budget development, you have probably asked yourself, "How can I develop a budget more quickly/accurately?" In this intermediate-level session, you will learn how to use tables, formulas, pivot tables, and conditional formatting that will help you navigate your path to success. This is a 90-minute session and participants should bring their own laptop to the workshop. Excel templates will be provided on the day of the workshop for participants to use as they follow-along. Adequate time will be provided for participants to personalize the templates for use back home. 

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