Questions and Answers to common questions on the inclusion of Administrative Salary in ARRA applications.

1. Will faculty be required to include this additional salary information in their budgets?

No faculty are not required to include this information in the budgets, but you are strongly encouraged to do so since the reporting activities will be required and this will allow departments/schools an opportunity to capture some of the cost within the project budget.

2. What salary are departments to use?

This decision is the departments to make. Similar to the method departments/school use when asking for a CAS exception, PIs will decide the person or role that they will use to conduct the reporting or data gathering in the research areas.

3. Where on the budget should the administrative salary info be included?

This should be included in the salary /wages section of the budget as would be the case for any administrative role.

4. If we are planning to direct charge administrative staff, should the department send over a CAS form along with the budget for approval?

Yes, A-21 does allow institutions to direct charge for administrative salary on research projects, and to support audit compliance, a CAS will be required.  The justification provided below is what should be used when sending the CAS over for approval.

5. What is the CAS Exception Language for ARRA Administrative Salary?

Due to the extraordinary administrative oversight and reporting activities associated with awards made under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this proposal includes (insert appropriate percentage of effort) salary support for the additional administrative services required by the Act should an award be issued. Regulatory support for this request is located at OMB Circular A-21 F.6. a. (2.), which states:  ‘Direct charging of salaries of administrative and clerical staff costs may be appropriate where administrative or clerical services required by the project are significantly greater than the routine level of such services provided by academic departments.