Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This sheet contains a microcosm of the possible questions and/or situations that may be encountered by researchers and administrators working on proposals.  Please contact our office if you have any further questions. 

Office of Grants and Research Services (OGRS)

Presidents Hall, Third Floor

Seton Hall University

(973)275-2974

grantsoffice@shu.edu

• OGRS (Pre-Award)

• Do all grant applications and proposals have to go through the approval process?

• What is the approval procedure for proposals?

• Who is the SHU official authorized to sign proposals for the University?

• What is the Official mailing address to be shown on proposals for Seton Hall University?

• Frequently Requested Information

• How does the University define a gift, and how do fellowships differ from grants?

• What is the Cognizant Audit Agency?

• What is cost sharing or matching?

• How should I proceed if an agency does not allow F&A costs charged in a proposal budget?

• How should I proceed if another organization (university or other) wants to include me
  (an SHU Faculty Member) as a Co-Principal Investigator on a grant?

• How should I proceed if I need to issue a subcontract from my grant award
  to another institution?

• How do I calculate F&A or Facilities and Administrative (Indirect) Costs?

• What are the current fringe benefits rates?

• What happens when a proposal is awarded?

OGRS (Pre-Award)

The Office of Grants and Research Services (pre-award functions) should be your first point of
contact before you submit a proposal. We can offer the Principal Investigator (PI) advisement
and information on internal procedures, guideline interpretation, agency compliance issues,
and budget preparation assistance.

The Office of Grants and Research Services is charged with the initiation of the award process. As
a result all new and continuing awards are initially processed in the Office of Grants and Research
Services and then forwarded for account creation or modification. All awards or award checks received
by researchers should be forwarded to the Office of Grants and Research Services.

We are located on the third floor of Presidents Hall and you can contact us at the telephone
numbers below for assistance:

Robert M. De Martino, Ph.D., Director
(973) 275-2975
demartro@shu.edu

Maribel Roman, Assistant Director
(973) 275-2977
romanmar@shu.edu

Sponsored Programs Administrator
(973) 275-2976

Natalia Castaner, Secretary
(973) 275-2974
castanna@shu.edu 

Mark Schlemmer, Graduate Assistant
schlemma@shu.edu
 

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Do all grant applications and proposals have to go through the approval process?

University policy requires that all grant applications and proposals must go through the usual
approval process before it is submitted to a potential sponsor or funding agency.  This is true
whether the application or proposal for a grant is submitted to a private funding sponsor, such
 as a foundation or corporation, a public sponsor, such as a Federal or State agency, or to any
other organization, such as a professional association or society.  This is also true whether the
application or proposal is a new project, a continuation, a renewal, or a supplement.  The only
exceptions are gifts and most fellowship applications.

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What is the approval procedure for proposals?

In order to process an external proposal through the University, you need to obtain the approval
signatures of the appropriate administrative offices e.g. – department chair and dean on the Approval
Form that accompanies the formal proposal through the internal review process. This sheet specifies
the level of institutional commitment to the proposed activity and provides evidence of departmental
and dean’s support. After departmental and collegiate approvals are obtained the application is
sent to OGRS for final review and sign-off.

If a proposal budget contains cost sharing or matching funds, you must complete the Cost Sharing page
of the Approval Form prior to obtaining your chair’s and dean’s signatures. When you are ready to submit
your proposal to the funding agency, you will need to do the following:

1. Obtain and complete the Approval Form from the Office of Grants & Research Services or from
   our web site.   You can download the Approval Form from our website in the Proposal Development Toolkit and Forms section, on the
   Forms webpage at:  http://academic.shu.edu/grants/proposal_development/forms.html

2. Obtain your Dean’s and Department Chairperson’s signature.

3. Submit the proposal and Approval Form to the Office of Grants & Research Services at
   least three days prior to the application deadline.

Note:  The same procedure applies to proposals submitted electronically. 
Electronic proposals must be reviewed and approved prior to submission to the funding agency.

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Who is the SHU official authorized to sign proposals for the University?

The Director of the Office of Grants & Research Services is authorized to sign proposals for the Provost
and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Director’s name and title should be entered on
all proposal cover sheets and proposal certification forms as the “Authorized Institutional Official:”

Robert M. De Martino, Ph.D.

Director, Office of Grants & Research Services

Seton Hall University

Presidents Hall

400 South Orange Avenue

South Orange, NJ 07079

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What is the Official mailing address to be shown on proposals for Seton Hall University?

Seton Hall University

Office of Grants & Research Services

Presidents Hall

400 South Orange Avenue

South Orange, NJ 07079

Tel. 973-275-2974

Fax. 973-275-2978

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Frequently Requested Information: Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University is a private non-profit educational institution.
The University is tax exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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How does the University define a gift, and how do fellowships differ from grants?

Gifts to the University of an unrestricted nature, or those restricted to general or generic program use,
which do not include any quid pro quo conditions, are not subject to the endorsement process. A gift
is defined as an asset conveyed to the University for which there is no consideration or obligation of
performance, and for which the donor has no means of enforcement beyond revocation of the gift in
the event that the University fails to honor the covenants under which the asset was bestowed.

Fellowships are awards made to individual applicants from sponsors like the Rockefeller Foundation,
the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Social Sciences Research Council. The applicant
therefore is an individual and not Seton Hall University. Fellowship applications do not normally go
through the approval process; however, in a few cases sponsors choose to award fellowship funds
to the University on behalf of a faculty member. In these cases, the University is the applicant and
the application must go through the approval process.

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What is the Cognizant Audit Agency?

Our cognizant agency is the federal agency with which we negotiate our F&A or indirect costs
and fringe benefit rate agreements.

US Department of Health & Human Services

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What is cost sharing or matching?

The Federal Government defines cost sharing as “that portion of the project or program costs not
borne by the Federal Government.”  In other words, cost sharing on a proposal is the amount of cash,
in-kind support (e.g. department paid salaries), or any other support the University promises to commit
to the proposed project.  Cost sharing may also include third party support on a budget (e.g. funding
from another external grant).

There are several agencies that require cost sharing commitments on grants and it is important to show
cost sharing in these instances.  It is important to be as accurate as possible on all cost sharing
commitments.  When a grant is awarded with a cost shared budget, the cost sharing becomes a condition
of the grant and the University is held accountable for the management and tracking of the cost sharing
portion of the project.  Therefore, we recommend including cost sharing in a proposal only when the
funding agency requires cost sharing.

Note*- If your budget includes cost sharing, you must complete and submit the cost sharing form
page 3 of the Approval Form to the Office of Grants & Research Services.  Please call extension 2974
with any questions concerning cost sharing.

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How should I proceed if an agency does not allow F&A costs charged in a proposal budget?

Seton Hall University has a federally negotiated F&A cost agreement with the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services.  Therefore, Federal agencies honor our F&A cost rate charges on grants and
proposals.  This is a common practice for most universities that receive Federal grant funding.  Most
New Jersey agencies do not pay F&A costs.  You should check with the agency to confirm its F&A policy. 

Often, certain private foundations or companies will not allow F&A costs on a proposal or award. 
In this case, the Principal Investigator will need to obtain either a copy of the guidelines noting
the exclusion of F&A costs or a statement from the funding agency.

When a sponsor will only allow a reduced F&A costs rate (e.g. 8%), that rate should be charged
against the TDC or Total Direct Costs.  The TDC will include all costs in the budget, with no exclusions. 
For example, if the direct costs are $100,000 and the sponsor allows 8% of F&A costs rate, the F&A costs
are $8,000 ($100,000 x 8%), and the total request cost (direct and F&A costs) is $108,000 ($100,000 + $8,000).

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How should I proceed if another organization (university or other) wants to include me
(an SHU Faculty Member) as a Co-Principal Investigator on a grant?

When researchers from Seton Hall University are featured as Co-Principal Investigators on another
institution’s proposal, the primary organization or institution submitting the proposal to the agency,
usually issues a subcontract to Seton Hall when the grant is awarded.  Therefore it is necessary to
have documentation on file in the Office of Grants & Research Services in the event of an award. 
In preparation for such an event, the Seton Hall researcher will need to submit a statement of work,
a budget and a signed Approval Form to the Office of Grants & Research Services.  This must be
accomplished before the final proposal documents are sent to the submitting institution.

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 How should I proceed if I need to issue a subcontract from my grant award to another institution?

When you are ready for Seton Hall University to issue a subcontract from your grant to another
agency you will need to use the following guidelines:

SUBCONTRACTS

When a subcontract is issued from a grant awarded to Seton Hall, the Principal Investigator
should initiate the subcontracting process by contacting the Office of Grants & Research Services. 
The following documentation is required before a subcontract can be issued to the subcontractee
(e.g. a university or agency):

1. A subcontractor letter of commitment (from the subcontractee or agency)

2. Subcontractor Statement of Work (from the subcontractee)

3. Subcontractor Budget (approved and signed by the subcontractee’s organization)

4. Subcontractor Period of Performance

5. Subcontractor Project Director and Address

Please contact the Office of Grants & Research Services at extension 2974 if you need
additional information.

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How do I calculate F&A or Facilities and Administrative (Indirect) Costs?

When creating a proposal budget, F&A costs are calculated as a percentage of
the salaries and wages included in the personnel costs on the budget. Effective
July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009, the indirect cost rate is 64.5% of all salaries
and wages for on campus projects and 25.5% of all salaries and wages for
off-campus projects.

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What are the current fringe benefits rates?

The FY 2008 rate will be effective July 1, 2007 and is applicable to all projects.

Fringe Benefit Rate Table

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What happens when a proposal is awarded?

All award documentation is recorded by the Office of Grants & Research Services and
forwarded for account creation and maintenance.  Most award documents will be forwarded
to the Grants Accounting Office. However, some researchers may personally receive the
documentation therefore it is important that all grant documentation (award letter, checks
or other correspondence) are submitted to the Office of Grants & Research Services for
review and processing.  When all documentation for an award is received, it will be shared
with the Grants Accounting Office, which will then set up a grant account for the
Principal Investigator.

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