Post-Award Procedures

Managing the Grant

Getting an Account

When a grant has been approved by a federal agency and an Award Letter has been issued, the Grant Accountant will:

  • Assign a College account number to the grant, and if applicable, a separate account for the PI's percentage of indirect costs.
  • The PI will be notified of these numbers by email.
  • The Sponsored Research Officer and Grant Accountant will conduct an opening award meeting 

If you have a private foundation grant that has been awarded to you, please contact the Sponsored Research Office.

Hiring New Staff

A request to fill a staff position for a term longer than eight weeks during the academic year must be submitted to the appropriate senior administrator before the hiring process can begin. For faculty, the appropriate senior officer is the Dean of Faculty.

When the Dean of Faculty has approved the position, the hiring process can begin. The PI should contact Human Resources for the proper forms. It is that office's responsibility to see that all College hiring and affirmative action policies are followed.

Payment of Salaries

Compensation for work with grant funding, either to the PI or to other staff, should normally be paid over the period the work is being performed. The College will not pay salaries to individuals before they begin work.

Salary payments are initiated by filling out a Personnel Action Form. This needs to be done for all people paid from a grant, including the PI. The form should be completed and forwarded to the office of the Dean of Faculty for signature. The vital information on the form is name, social security number, salary amount, payment schedule, position number, and grant account to be charged.

For a salary to be paid in the monthly payroll cycle the form needs to be in the Department of Human Resources no later than the first Friday of the month. New employees cannot be paid until all of their tax and I-9 documents are completed.

Effort Reporting

You will be asked to certify your effort on all sponsored projects twice annually: Pre-approvals are required by federal granting agencies in the event of the absence for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director or principal investigator. See Effort Policy.

Purchasing Office

Mount Holyoke College is a tax-exempt organization. Any items that are purchased through the Purchasing Office for the exempt purposes of the College, including with grant funding, will be exempt from Massachusetts sales taxes. The Purchasing Office will assist if you wish to get price quotes on equipment or supplies. Please refer to the Purchasing Office website

Purchasing Cards

The Purchasing Card Program is a tool that offers an alternative to the existing College purchasing processes. It provides an extremely efficient and effective method of purchasing and paying for small dollar items via a VISA credit card program. For additional information, please review details posted on the Purchasing Card website

Procurement

Please refer to the Purchasing Office's Federal Grants Purchasing Policy page. Please ask the Sponsored Research Officer or Grant Accountant if you are uncertain about the regulations and how they pertain to your grant.

Travel

Normally, the College's Travel and Entertainment Policy applies to the use of grant funds for travel. However, there are additional restrictions that may apply when using grant funds, especially federal funds, such as per diem limits, non-reimbursement for alcoholic beverages, and the Fly America Act (which requires you to use U.S. Carriers). Please consult with the Sponsored Research Office if unsure of which policy governs travel and entertainment when using grant funds.

Grant Reporting

Technical Reporting

The PI is responsible for assuring that all reporting required by a funding source is prepared and filed on time. Copies of Technical, Progress and Final Reports should be forwarded to the Grant Accountant at the time they are filed with the agency. Also, copies of title pages from any publication where the granting agency is recognized should be sent to the Grant Accountant. Granting agencies specify the information concerning the grant that must be included on such title pages.

Financial Reporting

In addition to completion reports, most sponsors require a final financial report. The final "Report of Expenditures" is prepared by the Grant Accountant and submitted in a timely manner. Often the report will go to the Principal Investigator to be included with the final Project Report.

Principal Investigator's Share of Indirect Costs

For any grant award that funds indirect costs, it is College policy to allow 25% of the indirect costs collected to be available to the PI for further research or scholarly work. These dollars are set up in a separate account and are allocated at the completion of each quarter.

Expenditures charged to the PI' s indirect cost account are at the discretion of the PI, and do not need to be approved prior to their being incurred. However, such funds must be used for expenses clearly related to research or scholarly work. If a PI is in doubt as to whether an item constitutes research-related expenses, please consult in advance with the Office of Sponsored Research or Dean of Faculty.

Grant Termination or Suspension

In the event a PI is notified that a grant has been terminated or suspended the agency will at that time provide the PI with procedures that need to be followed. The PI should not initiate any new charges against that grant.