OGC Updates - April 2024
Apr 18, 2024
CONTRACTS SERVICES
Event Season is Upon Us!
Event Sponsorship agreements for non-CME events:
- Send directly to [email protected] for processing.
Event Sponsorship agreements for CME events:
- If the external entity is providing sponsorship for the overall event, send your request to the CME office directly.
- If the external entity is providing funding in exchange for advertising at an event, having an exhibit space, or other specific pieces of the event, send directly to [email protected] for processing.
TRAINING & COMPLIANCE
New OUC Forms Website
The Office of University Controller is launching a redesigned Forms website in late April. This change will include a revised listing of all longstanding Finance forms and former PSC forms guided by Finance Procedural Statements. Both the consolidated listing as well as the individual form webpages will be updated to provide a better user experience.
For more details on the changes, please refer to the OUC News Article from April 5, 2024.
PRE AWARD
New Updated InfoEd Instructions
The new instructions for InfoEd have been updated and are available through this link on the InfoEd home page under the website links.
POST AWARD
Unilateral Closeout – What does this mean and what are the implications?
A Unilateral Closeout is an action the Federal Government can take to close an award without the receipt of all final reporting requirements. It indicates a failure of the awarded institution to meet the closeout requirements.
Failure to submit final closeout reports within 120 days can result in NIH (National Institutes of Health) unilaterally closing out an award.
Unilateral Closeouts are now reported in the Federal System for Award Management (SAM) as a “Material Failure to Comply with Closeout Requirements” under the institution. This report will call out the specific award the Unilateral Closeout relates to.
The implications of a Unilateral Closeout can jeopardize future funding for all grants at the University, and not only the grants of the delinquent PI (Principal Investigator). NIH representatives may refer to a flag in their SEARs reporting when they are working to issue new and continuing awards and are notifying PI’s when this status is impacting the receipt of their award.
Other remedies for non-compliance which may impact all awards across the institution, can include withholding of payments, disallowing expenses, termination of federal awards, suspension of an entity, and withholding further federal awards.
For more information on this topic, please see the following links.
NIH Newsletter -Extramural NEXUS
NIH Guidance Closeout Email Notifications
NIH Guidance Closeout Enforcement
Code of Federal Regulations
Closeout Reporting
Final Closeout Requirements and Unilateral Closeouts being reported in System for Award Management (SAM)
NIH (National Institutes of Health) moves forward with 2 CFR Part 200 guidance on Unilateral closeout with the release of NOT-OD-24-055. The notice calls out “If the closeout is not completed by the required timeframe, NIH can issue a unilateral closeout. The unilateral closeouts are reported to the federal System for Award Management (SAM). These reports can freeze all administrative actions for all federal awards for the University until the issue is resolved.”
Closeout requirements for NIH awards that are handled by PreAward and the Department include The Final Research Performance Progress Report (FRPPR) and the Final Invention Statement (FIS). Post Award handled the Final Financial Report (FFR) These items need to be submitted to the NIH within 120 days of the end of any NIH award. They can be submitted before the 120-day mark, and we encourage you to submit them as soon as possible after the project ends.
Final Federal Financial Report (F-RPPR)
Final RPPR instructions and guidelines can be found in section 5.2.1 of: rppr_instruction_guide.pdf
Once the Final RPPR is ready for submission, make sure to route to the Signing Official (Your PreAward Specialist for that Award). Do not use Formstack when it comes to routing NIH RPPRs.
Final Invention Statement (FIS)
Final Invention Statements are filled out when accessing the closeout link for your Award in eRA Commons. You must fill this out EVEN if there are NO inventions. Instructions and guidelines for FIS can be found online.
Final Federal Financial Report (F-FFR)
The final financial report is submitted in coordination and by your post award administrator via the Federal Payment Management System (PMS) The final report must reconcile to draws we have made against the award and your projects should not be in a deficit position.
New Versions of Closeout Reports Coming Soon
OGC (Office of Grants and Contracts) is reworking its GM closeout reports. If you hold a fiscal manager or PI (Principal Investigator) role on a sponsored project you receive GM 01-03 closeout reports both as a project is ending and after the end date, these come from email [email protected]. These reports come out monthly just after the close of a period.
New versions of the report will remain the same as far as the data. However, you will notice changes to the report titles so that they better describe the report. Over the first months of this change we will be sending the old and new versions as we ensure all reports are being burst correctly.
If you have any questions, you can contact Ginger Acierno or [email protected].
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Form Changes
With the support of your campus Controller and Grants & Contracts / Contracts & Grants offices, the Procurement Service Center is pleased to announce that effective May 1, 2024, the Source Selection & Price Reasonableness (SSPR) form will no longer be required for any purchases under $50,000. This streamlined process empowers CU to acquire necessary goods and services more efficiently. Read more here.
NCURA Webinar
OGC has purchased the NCURA Webinar below so if you’re interested in attending, please follow either of the instructions below.
- What: Same Same, But Different: Departmental Challenges and Successes
- Date: April 25, 12:00pm
To join, please follow either of the instructions below.
- Your colleagues at your institution can use the link below to register for the extra logins for this webinar. Please share this unique link only with your colleagues at your institution. Be sure to choose University of Colorado Denver.
https://onlinelearning.ncura.edu/p/240425SameSameXL
Please note that this link is only to be used by individuals at your institution. If this link is shared externally, the person will receive an automated confirmation, however their registration will be removed. These individuals will be contacted before the broadcast as we reconcile our registration lists each week to ensure that the institutions of additional login registrants have a matching main registrant. NCURA is pleased to offer these free registrations during this difficult financial time and appreciate your support in ensuring that these additional logins are only used by the registered institutions.
If the person registering for the extra login doesn’t already have an NCURA Profile, please have them go here first to create a profile. They can then log in using the extra login link above to register for the extra site.
When your colleagues register themselves, they will receive a confirmation email and should log in with their own NCURA username and password for the live webinar to receive their CEU credits. For technical assistance email [email protected].
- Join the OGC live presentation of the event via Zoom. First, please register. Once you register, the zoom link will be forwarded to you. OGC will only be presenting the live webinar. If you want to attend the “after the show” portion you should use option 1 above.
OGC Team Talks
Mark your calendar! The next OGC Team Talks session will be on May 2, 2024 at 10:30am. The Compliance Team will be highlighting key policies and procedures related to compliant Effort Reporting. Click HERE to register.
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