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)
  

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
• 2016 DS-2 Disclosure Statement
• 2013 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)