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A-21 - The Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular that establishes cost principles for determining allowability of costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements (also known as sponsored research) with institutions of higher educational. Formally known as CFR Title 2, Volume 1, Grants and Agreements, Part 220.

A-110 - The Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular that establishes uniform regulations for each federal agency to follow to administer projects sponsored by the federal government. Formally known as CFR Title 2, Volume I, Part 215.

Acquisition Cost - Cost of a piece of equipment including calibration, installation, freight, trade-in value, and sales and excise tax.

Advance - An authorization to establish a budget number prior to the actual receipt of an award. The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) will verify that the award has been funded and then forward an eFA to GCA. Normally this is done only when the granting agency has notified the UW that the award letter will be issued late.

Allocable Cost - A cost is allocable to an activity if it is chargeable or assignable to that activity according to the relative benefits received or other equitable relationship (see also Unallowable Costs).

Allocate - Assignment of an item of cost, or a group of items of cost, to one or more cost objectives. This includes both direct assignment of cost and the reassignment of a share of costs from indirect cost pools.

Allowable Costs - Costs specified in OMB Circular A-21 that can be directly charged to Federal grants and contracts or included in facilities & administrative rates.

Amortization - See Depreciation or Use Allowance.

Auxiliary Enterprise - A large, university-wide unit that provides services primarily to external users. An example of an auxiliary enterprise is University Parking Services.

Award - See Grant and Contract glossary definition of award.

Benefiting Budget - Used for cost sharing. This represents a grant or contract budget that received, but did not fund, effort.

Billable Units - The number of units of activity that are expected to be sold in a given time period. Common units are number of hours, number of tests, or number of users.

Budget - There are three primary definitions of a budget at the University:

1. The schedule of anticipated expenditures required to perform a specified activity or project, as outlined in a proposal to a sponsor.
2. The amount of spending authority awarded by outside funding sources that the University has a legal claim to spend on a sponsored project.
3. The account in the University's accounting system where the revenues, expenditures, and transfers associated with a specific activity, function, or entity are recorded.

Budget Period - The intervals of time into which a multi-year period of assistance (project period) is divided for budgetary and funding purposes. Budget periods are usually 12 months long but may be shorter or longer, if appropriate.

CA - See definition of CA (College Administration) in the F&A Space Functional Use Definitions document.

Capital Lease - A lease that transfers substantially all the benefits and risks inherent in the ownership of property to the University. The criteria for a capital lease can be found at the State Administrative and Acoounting Manual website.

CAS - See Cost Accounting Standards.

Cash Sales - Sales to external users that pay with cash, check or credit card.

Central Stores - See University Stores.

Clinical Trial - See also Resources, Policies, Forms.

Cognizant Agency - The agency of the federal government with whom the University submits & negotiates Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates.

Conflict of Interest - A situation in which a University employee is in a position to influence the conduct of a project for personal gain due to the employee's responsibilities or arrangements with the sponsor.

Consultant - A person, usually not an employee of the University, whose participation in a project does not require a sub-award or subcontract and who is paid via a personal services agreement.

Contract - A legal document specifying work, scope, budget, and time of performance. The sponsor often places more restrictions upon expenditures allowed for a given scope of work than are found in grant terms and conditions which represent unilateral agreements. Contracts usually result in a tangible product and are considered restricted funds.

Cooperative Agreement - An award similar to a grant. The sponsor anticipates having substantial involvement in research activities once the award has been made.

Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) - Federally mandated accounting standards intended to ensure uniformity in budgeting, allocating, and costing university activities. They apply to grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements at the University of Washington full description:

CAS 501: Consistency in Estimating, Accumulating, and Reporting Costs
CAS 502: Consistency in Allocating Costs Incurred for the Same Purpose
CAS 505: Accounting for Unallowable Costs
CAS 506: Consistency in Using the Same Accounting Period for Purposes of Estimating, Accumulating, and Reporting Costs

The University's costing policy is contained in GIM 23.

Cost Categories - Current fund expenditures with similar characteristics or purposes are grouped into common cost categories or "pools." Each current fund budget is classified as containing either direct costs or F&A costs. MAA converts cost categories into cost pools defined by OMB Circular A-21 to calculate F&A rates.

Cost Center - An organizational unit or activity that provides goods and services primarily to internal University operations. Cost centers charge less than $175,000 annually to federally sponsored programs AND less than $1,000,000 in total charges.

Cost Sharing - Financial contribution by the grantee (University) to fund a portion of a sponsored project. The cost share is the difference between the effort (or other costs) funded by the grant or contract and the additional amount of effort expended. See also GIM 21.

• Mandatory Cost Sharing - University contibutions to the sponsored project that are required as a condition of the award (normally, but not always, Federal) and which were agreed to between the University and the sponsor prior to the awarding of the grant or contract. This is printed on the FEC and includes the proposed amount agreed upon when the grant or contract was executed.  
• Committed - University contributions to the sponsored project not required as a condition of the award but included in the grant/contract proposal budget or budget justification with no corresponding funding requested or awarded. This budget number is printed on the FEC and includes the percent offered in the proposal.
• Aggregate Cost Sharing - University contributions required by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fulfill the requirement that the University provide one percent (1%) contribution (cost sharing) on the total of all unsolicited NSF funding. NSF is eliminating both program specific cost sharing and the 1% statutory cost sharing requirement on unsolicited proposals. These changes will be reflected in the terms and conditions of new awards or supplements issued after June 1, 2007. Awards issued before June 1st will continue to carry the 1% requirement or may have program specific cost sharing requirements that must be met.
• Salary Cap Cost Sharing - University contribution required by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for faculty with salaries in excess of the salary cap applicable to the particular federal fiscal year.
• K Award Cost Sharing - NIH Career Development Awards, or K Awards, are intended to provide support and protected time for new faculty to develop research skills. Because the effort requirements are high and salary recovery is limited, cost share may be necessary to complete the 75% effort requirement.
• Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing - Effort that was not required by the sponsor nor committed on the budget page or budget justification of the proposal (i.e. it is not mandatory or committed cost sharing). Include this type of effort with other non-grant activities on the FEC.

Cost share other than faculty effort (e.g. professional staff, supplies, travel, etc) should be reported directly to Grant and Contract Accounting.

Cost Transfer Invoice - A mechanism to move costs of services or supplies between budget entities at the University. A CTI is also used by non-proprietary fund budgets, such as departmental revenue or program income budgets, to record a sale. The Cost Transfer Invoice (CTI) Web page provides additional information. Also see internal sales document.

CUMG - Clinical salary from Childrens' University Medical Group 

DA - See definition of DA (Departmental Administration) in the F&A Space Functional Use Definitions document.

DCA - Division of Cost Allocation (DCA) is the division within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) responsible for negotiating the University's F&A rates.

Deficit - Occurs when expenditures are greater than revenue and beginning fund balance.

Departmental Research - Research, development, and scholarly activities that are not separately budgeted and accounted for. Departmental research is funded from budgets that are not restricted to a specific project. Departmental research does not:

1. require a proposal or other application to obtain funding,
2. have a defined scope of work associated with the project,
3. anticipate a deliverable result, or
4. require that periodic financial and progress reports be submitted to the sponsor.

Department Revenue Budget - A type of budget that provides services primarily to external users. A departmental revenue account is usually smaller than an auxiliary enterprise and more directly related to the core functions of instruction, research, and public service. An example of a departmental revenue account is the Radiology Revenue Account.

Depreciation - The method for recovering the cost of a capital asset (building, equipment, etc.). The annual depreciation amount is calculated by dividing the cost of the asset by the number of years of its useful life. OMB Circular A-21 specifies that for F&A cost calculations, assets are to be depreciated using the straight line method, and any federal funds used to purchase the asset must be deducted from the cost prior to the calculation. (See also GIM 22A.)

DHHS - Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS serves as the University's cognizant agent.

Direct Costs - Costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.

Disallowance or Disallowed Cost - A charge to a grant that the federal awarding agency determines to be unallowable, in accordance with the applicable federal cost principles or other terms and conditions contained in the award.

Discretionary Funds - Gifts under the control of Deans, Directors and Department Chairs that have been designated as non-public funds. Discretionary giftts are accounted for in budgets numbered 64-xxxx and are sujbect to University and State policies and procedures.

Effective Date - The beginning date of an award. Allowable project costs may not be charged to the project before this date unless specifically granted by the sponsoring agency.

Effort Percentage - The percent of time expended toward a particular budget based upon the total compensated FTE worked during the FEC cycle.

Effort Reporting - Documentation of effort expended on grants and contracts as required by A-21 on a Faculty Effort Certification report (FEC)..

Equipment - An article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the capitalization level ($5,000) established by the University for financial statement purposes.

Equipment Class - Defined by the state to categorize different types of equipment and their useful lives. The equipment classes and their useful lives are found at the State Administrative and Accounting Manual website.

Equipment Depreciation - A method to recover the cost of equipment costing more than the $5,000 capitalization threshold established by the University. Annual depreciation is calculated with the formula: (acquisition cost - residual value) / useful life. Also see Equipment Use Allowance.

Equipment Reserve Budget - A budget used to purchase equipment costing more than $5,000 and to record depreciation or use allowance of that equipment. An equipment reserve account is required to include equipment depreciation or use allowance in recharge rates.

Equipment Use Allowance - A method used to recover the cost of equipment costing more than $5,000. The annual use allowance is calculated with the formula: acquisition cost * 6.67%. The use allowance can be taken until the acquisition cost is recovered. Also see Equipment Depreciation.

Expiration Date (Termination Date) - The ending date of a project. No charges may be incurred on a project after this date, unless there is a budget extension (also called a no-cost extension) or supplement (also called a supplemental award) in progress.

External User - Also called outside user. Any customer not using a UW budget number for payment. Also see Internal User.

F&A - Facilities and Administrative.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs (also known as Indirect Costs) - Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. Examples include custodial service, payroll and security.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate - The F&A rate is a mechanism used to reimburse the University for the F&A or indirect costs incurred to support sponsored research & instruction. It is a percentage normally charged to the sponsored project's modified total direct costs. F&A rates at the University are negotiated with Health and Human Services, Division of Cost Allocation, San Francisco office.

Faculty Effort - The time faculty spend on University activities including research, instruction, administration, public service and clinical activitiy.

FASTRANS - A system by which recharge and cost centers can issue internal sales documents automatically into the financial accounting system (FAS). Contact MAA to receive an Excel template to facilitate the use of FASTRANS. Additional information is provided at the FASTRANS website.

Fellowships - At the University, graduate fellowships and traineeships are merit-based awards to pursue research. Each fellowship and traineeship will have its own set of guidelines and restrictions, usually set by the funding agency.

Fringe Benefits - Employee benefits paid by the employer (e.g. FICA, worker's compensation, health insurance, etc.).

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) - The percentage of full-time employment shown as a decimal. For example, a person appointed to work 20 hours per week, or at 50%, would be shown as 0.5 FTE.

Fund Balance - The fund balance is calculated by taking revenues less expenditures and adjusting for any revenues or costs that have occurred, but have not yet recorded on the budget (accruals).

GA - See definition of GA (General Administration) in the F&A Space Functional Use Definitions document.

GC1 - Form submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) along with the proposal which contains the budget, institutional signatures, basic proposal information, addresses and policy issues.

GC1 Addendum - Form which identifies and describes how cost sharing will be completed, including names of personnel performing cost share, dates during which the cost sharing will be performed and information on non-faculty effort cost sharing.

GCA - Office of Grant and Contract Accounting.

General Operating Fund Budget - A budget funded from the state general fund and student oeprating fees used to pay general operations of the University.

GIM - Acronym for Grants Information Memoranda. GIMs can be accessed online at the OSP website. They define the policies and procedures associated with grant and contract awards/budgets.

Grant - See Grant and Contract Accounting glossary definition of Grant.

Grant Period - The time period between "effective date" and "expiration date" during which expenses may be incurred against the grant or contract.

IDC - Indirect Costs. See Facilities and Administirative (F&A) Costs

Indirect Cost Rate - See Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Rate.

Indirect Costs - See Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs.

Institutional Overhead - Rate calculated by the Budget Office to reimburse the University for costs paid centrally such as rent, light and heat, etc. Institutional overhead is charged on all sales to external users. See Administrative Policy Statement D33.2 for additional information.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) - See the University of Washington Health Sciences Research Studies Seeking Volunteers Definitions of Commonly Used Research Terms web page defintion of Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Instruction - The teaching and training activities of an institution, including sponsored instruction and departmental research. At the University, instruction excludes research training.

Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA) - Allows the temporary assignment of employees between federal agencies and state, local, and Indian tribal governments, institutions of higher learning and other eligible organizations. (See Fact Sheet.)

Internal Sales Document - Used exclusively for recording the sales of services or products by recharge or cost centers and auxiliary enterprises to other University entities. The Internal Sales Document (ISD) Webpage provides additional information. Also see Cost Transfer Invoice (CTI).

Internal User - Also called inside user. Any custormer who pays with a UW budget number is considered an internal user. Also see External User.

Internal User Rate - The rate charged to internal users, it cannot exceed the cost of provided the goods or service.

Inventory Budget - Used by recharge or cost centers that have inventories of $25,000 or more at fiscal year end. The inventory account is a separate budget from the operating account that is used to record the annual change in inventory. An example of a center with an inventory account is a stores center. 

MAA - Office of Management Accounting and Analysis.

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) - The aggregated direct costs for a given University activity, such as organized research, excluding certain costs specified by A-21. Costs excluded from MTDC include equipment, capital expenditures, tuition remission, stipends, and that portion of a sub-contract in excess of $25,000.

MTDC - See Modified Total Direct Costs.

NIH - National Institutes of Health.

No Cost Extension - Extension of the project period, approved by the sponsor, without additional funding. Normally, unless specified otherwise in the request to the agency for the extension, the terms and conditions of the award apply to the no cost extension. This includes commitments of effort, both paid and cost shared.

Non-Reimbursable Costs - See Unallowable Costs.

NSF - National Science Foundation.

OASIS - The University's equipment inventory database. The data in OASIS (e.g. equipment cost, tag #, department #, and location on campus) are used in the F&A rate calculation. This data should also match the recharge or cost center depreciation or use allowance schedule. Additional information is provided at the OASIS website.

Off-Campus - See GIM 13 definition of Off-Campus Programs.

OIA - See definition of OIA (Other Institutional Activities) in the F&A Space Functional Use Definitions document.

OMB - Office of Management and Budget.

ONR - Office of Naval Research.

OPHS - Office of Public Health and Science.

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) - Expenses incurred for the administration, supervision, operation, maintenance, preservation, and protection of the institution's physical plant.

Operating Budget - The recharge center or cost center's main budget used to record the revenue and expenditures associated with providing the center's goods or services.

Operating Lease - Rental of an asset over a term of more than one year that does not also meet the definition of a capital lease.

Organized Research - All research and development activities of the institution that are separately budgeted and accounted for. This includes Sponsored Research, University Research, and Sponsored Research Training. Organized research projects require:

1. a proposal or other application to obtain funding,
2. have a defined scope of work associated with the project,
3. anticipate a "deliverable" result, and
4. require that periodic financial and progress reports be submitted to the sponsor.

OSET - Online Salary Expense Transfer. See Salary Transfers

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSP - Office of Sponsored Programs.  Previously called Grant and Contract Services (GCS).

Other Institutional Activities (OIA) - Includes all activities of the institution except: (1) instruction, departmental research, organized research, and other sponsored activities identified separately and (2) F&A indirect cost activities. Other institutional activities include operation of residence halls and other faculty and student housing, dining halls, hospitals and clinics, student unions, intercollegiate athletics, bookstores, theaters, museums, and other similar auxiliary enterprises.

Other Salary Source - Other sources of support from non-sponsored accounts, generally from state or local budgets. Budget numbers can include 01 to 07-xxxx, 74 and 75-xxxx.

Other Sponsored Activities - Sponsored programs and projects financed by federal and non-federal agencies and organizations which involve the performance of work other than instruction and organized research. Examples include health service projects, public service projects, clinical trials, and public service conferences.

Principal Investigator (PI) - An academic staff member whose project is being sponsored and who is responsible for directing the research and for ensuring that all terms and conditions of a sponsored agreement are met.

Program Income - See Grant and Contract Accounting glossary definition of

Program Income Budget - A type of budget that generates revenue as a result of a research activitiy and is tied to a specific grant or contract. These types of activities require prior approval from the agency that sponsored the original research. An example of a program income activity is the Primate Center Program Income Account.

Proposal - A new proposal is a request for financial assistance for a project or activity that is not currently receiving sponsored support. Proposals normally contain all information necessary to describe project plans, staff capabilities, and budget requirments. (See Proposal types.)

RA - Research Assistant.

Reasonable Cost - A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired or applied, and the amount involved, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances.

Recharge Center - An organizational unit or activity that provides goods and services primarily to internal University operations. Recharge centers charge more than $175,000 annually to federally sponsored agreeements OR more than $1,000,000 in total charges.

Residual Value - The value of a capitalized asset at the end of its useful life.

Restricted Funds - Funds whose use is specified or restricted by grant, contract, gift instrument, policy, or regulation.

Sale - Recorded when goods or services are provided to others and the original nature of the costs have changed. With a sale, a rate is developed and billed as one unit. An example of a sale is when an instrument shop manufactures instruments used in research. The billed amount to users includes salaries, service contracts, supplies, and perhaps equipment depreciation which are the inputs into the final product or service. Also see, Transfer.

Salary Transfer - Process to initiate and document adjustments and corrections to salary expenditures. Salary transfers are used to bring payroll in line with accurate effort.

Sales Tax - State tax on sales to external users for sales of "tangible personal property" and some services.

SPA - See definition of SPA (Sponsored Projects Administration) in the F&A Space Functional Use Definitions document.

Sponsor - The individual, institution, or agency that provides funding for a project.

Sponsored Instruction and Training - Specific instructional or training activity established by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.

Sponsored Research - All research and development activities that are sponsored by federal and non-federal agencies and organizations. This includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training). (See Organized Research.)

Sponsored Research Training - Activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques where the training is in the same facility as other research and development activities. (See Organized Research.)

Surcharge - Additional amount charged to non-UW, non-federal users in excess of internal rate, not including sales tax or institutional overhead.

Surplus - Occurs when revenues are greater than expenditures in excess of the working capital amount. Ordinarily, surpluses in excess of the working capital amount should be incorporated into the next year's rate proposal.

Stipend - A payment made to an individual to provide for living expenses during the training period of a fellowship or other training project.

Transfer - A means to allocate costs to different budgets through pro-rating or apportionment of actual benefit received. A cost transfer is used when the nature of the activity/costs has not changed from one entity or another or when costs are transferred in the categories in which they are charged (e.g. salaries, supplies, etc.). An example of a cost transfer is copier expense charged to one budget and allocated to all benefiting budgets. Also see Sale.

Unallowable Costs - Costs defined in section J. of OMB Circular A-21 as "unallowable." These costs cannot be charged directly to federally sponsored projects or indirectly through F&A costs or rates.

University Research - All research and development activities that are separately budgeted and accounted for by the institution under an internal application of institutional funds. (See Organized Research.)

Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) - A tax to which the recharge or cost center may be subject. This occurs when external users are charged mroe than cost AND the activity is a trade or business, it is conduced regularly, and it is not substantially related to the University's exempt educational or scientific purposes.

Unrestricted Funds - Funds having no requirements or restrictions as to use. Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements typically are considered to be restricted funds.

Useful Life - The number of years an asset costing more than $5,000 is expected to remain in service. The useful life is employed in calculating annual depreciation. (State equipment classes and their useful lives are found at the State Administrative and Accounting Manual website.)

Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing - Effort over and above what was committed in the proposal. This effort is not separately documented.

UWP - Clinical salary from University of Washington Physicians.

Working Capital - An amount up to 60 days of expenditures to ensure the recharge center can fund operations during fluctions of revenue and expenditures.