Budget Resources
Personnel
Fringe Benefits
All proposal budgets should use the fringe benefit rates listed in the table below for each category of personnel. (Rates are listed on the "Lists and Rates" tab of the internal budget template.)
| Status | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 | FY27 | FY28 | FY29 | FY30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full time* | 36.96% | 37.72% | 38.52% | 39.35% | 40.21% | 41.01% | 41.82% |
| Part-time** Faculty summer |
16.46% | 16.46% | 16.46% | 16.46% | 16.46% | 16.46% | 16.46% |
| Student (graduate and undergraduate) | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
*Full benefits (9 months at 32 or more hours per week) **Part-time statutory benefits (less than 9 months or less than 32 hours per week)
Summer compensation – full-time faculty
According to Miami University policies governing academic personnel, summer earnings are limited to 33-1/3% of the faculty member's prior year's base salary (i.e., three months of base salary) for any combination of teaching, workshop, research, administrative, and special assignment duties.
Supplemental Pay Policy
According to Miami University policies governing supplemental pay, time devoted toward earning supplemental pay during a faculty or staff member’s regular period of full-time service to the University may not exceed an average of one day per week, including any other time committed to outside service for which compensation may be earned as defined in the policy “Ethics and External Services,” during the individual’s regular period of full-time service to the University.
Consulting rates on sponsored programs — faculty and staff
The daily rate on externally-funded projects may not exceed 1/195 (for a 9-month contract) or 1/260 (for a 12-month contract) of base salary.
Student hourly wages
Student hourly wages are listed on the "Lists and Rates" tab of the internal budget template and also on the Human Resources website. Please note the following:
- Wages listed are base starting pay, before any increases.
- Job classification descriptions are predetermined and specific.
- Students must be paid according to their job duties. Please refer to the Human Resources website to determine which pay classification is appropriate for the duties of the position you are filling.
Graduate student stipends
Graduate student stipends, which are generally based on 50% effort during the 9-month academic year, vary by classification of student and department. Rates are listed on the "lists and rates" tab of the internal budget template.
Grant-funded graduate tuition waivers
The internal budget template automatically calculates and pre-populates tuition for each graduate student at a rate of 4.3% of total direct costs, not to exceed the cost of tuition. Tuition is charged at this rate for all external grants unless a funding agency specifically prohibits charging tuition. The portion of graduate student tuition included in the grant budget is charged to the grant award index and the remainder of the tuition is remitted. For graduate assistants in market-driven tuition programs, the entire assistantship and the full market-driven tuition must be charged to the external grant. One Stop lists program-specific graduate comprehensive tuition for programs with market-driven tuition.
Travel
All grant-related travel must conform to the Strategic Procurement's Purchasing Policy and Accounts Payable's Travel Policy.
Vehicle use reimbursement rates
Personal automobile usage must use the federal government rate currently in effect. See the IRS Standard Mileage Rates for current rates.
Meal and incidental expense rates
Meal allowances and incidental expenses vary by locality of travel and are based on federal per diem rates. The continental United States standard per diem rate for meals and incidental expenses is $30 and applies to all locations not specifically identified as having a higher per diem rate. Meals are reimbursable only when the travel is in overnight travel status.
Facilities and Administrative (F & A) Costs
On-campus
As specified in the Miami University indirect cost rate agreement document (PDF 186K), the F & A rate for on-campus projects varies according to the type of activity (see chart below).
| Rate | Category |
|---|---|
| 44.5% | Organized research |
| 44.0% | Sponsored instruction |
| 39.0% | Other sponsored activities |
These rates are applied to the budget's modified total direct costs (MTDC) and apply to research, instructional, and other projects that:
- Are based on campus
- Use or retain for use University facilities, including field sites or stations administered by Miami University
- Do not qualify for the off-campus F & A rate
Off-campus
As specified in the Miami University indirect cost rate agreement document, the F & A rate for off-campus projects is 26% of the budget's modified total direct costs (MTDC). This rate generally applies to projects that pay for needed research or instructional facilities as direct project costs or use donated facilities. It is to be used for all activities performed in facilities not owned by the institution but does not typically apply to field studies or travel to meetings or conventions. This rate represents the 26% administration charge only.
Modified total direct costs (MTDC)
MTDC includes all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract). MTDC excludes equipment (any non-expendable item or system with a lifespan of more than one year and a value greater than $5,000), capital expenditures, charges for patient care, student tuition remission, rents/costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships, and that portion of each subgrant or subcontract in excess of $25,000.
Organized research
Organized research is research or scholarly activity funded by a grant or contract from Federal or non-Federal sponsors, and must be separately budgeted and accounted for. This includes projects that are using instructional activities to address a research question. Most grants and contracts fall into this category.
Sponsored instruction
Sponsored instruction is teaching and training activities, for the Miami University population, that are funded by a grant or contract from Federal or non-Federal sponsors. (Instruction that is targeted to non-Miami populations would be classified as Other Sponsored Activities.) Sponsored instruction includes agreements that support curriculum development, as well as teaching /training activities (other than research training), whether offered for credit toward a degree or certificate, on a non-credit basis, or through regular academic departments or by separate divisions, summer school, or external divisions. Grants and contracts that support instructional activities to address a research question are not considered sponsored instruction.
Other sponsored activities
Other sponsored activities are projects funded by sponsors that involve the performance of work other than organized research or sponsored instruction (as defined above), including support for travel, conferences or seminars, University public events, outreach and public service activities, library acquisitions, and enhancing institutional resources.
F & A Distribution
The facilities and administrative ( F& A) distribution policy determines the organizational units that will receive revenue from the distribution of indirect costs that are recovered on a grant or contract. The basis for determining the distribution of recovered indirect is the academic division and department home of the principal investigator(s) (PIs).
| Percent | Unit |
|---|---|
| 40% | E&G |
| 20% | Office of Research and Innovation |
| 20% | Division (various) |
| 15% | Department (various) |
| 5% | Principal Investigator(s) (various) |
When two or more PIs are from different departments or divisions, the division and department distributions are split based on the Allocation of Credit % listed in the Cayuse proposal record and approved by the PIs, department chairs, center directors (if appropriate), and academic deans.
