Facilities and Administrative Costs

Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A; also referred to as indirect costs or overhead) are those costs associated with the conduct of sponsored activities that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore are not readily identifiable with a specific project.

Examples of costs normally considered to be F&A costs include administrative/clerical salaries and benefits; facilities management and utilities; general-purpose equipment; office supplies; postage; memberships and dues; subscriptions/books/periodicals; local telephone charges; institutional services such as purchasing, accounting, etc.

F&A Rates

Augusta University has two separate federally-negotiated indirect cost rates, one for the Health Sciences Campus and the other for the Summerville Campus. For a copy of the most recently negotiated Federal Facilities and Administrative cost rate agreements, visit Tools for Researchers.

Health Sciences Campus

The federal rates shown below apply to a Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) base. MTDC is calculated by subtracting from total direct costs the charges of equipment ($5,000 threshold), patient care costs, tuition remission, rent, and each subcontract in excess of the first $25,000.

Federal Research Rate

Predetermined

FY17 | 52%
FY18 | 52%
FY19 | 52.5%
FY20 | 52.5%
FY21 | 54%

Federal Instruction Rate On-Campus

38%
all years

Federal Other Sponsored Activities Rate

31%
all years

Federal Off-Campus Rate All Activities

26%

Summerville Campus

The federal rates shown below apply to a Salaries and Wages Base

Research, Instruction, and other Sponsored Activities

48%

Off-Campus Rate

26%

The Off-Campus rate will be used as appropriate for activities where the preponderance of effort takes place at either the Health Sciences or Summerville campus.

Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA): 3% applied to a Salaries and Wages Base. Note that this rate is applicable to IPAs with the Department of Veteran Affairs for purchase of university employees' time to complete temporary assignments off-campus at VA locations.

Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials

35% applied to Total Direct Costs (Note: if the sponsor's rate is greater than 35%, that rate will be applied.)

“This rate is applicable to all study costs except IRB fees and the central AU clinical trial administrative fee.  IRB fees are required of industry-sponsored clinical trials with budgets above $10,000, whether or not the study initiates.”

Principles

  1. F&A costs are real costs of institutional support for sponsored program activity.
  2. Sponsored program budgets are expected to recover F&A costs at the maximum allowable rate.
  3. Budgets for sponsored projects (i.e., no human subjects are involved) are to include F&A costs at the appropriate institutional federally negotiated F&A rate.
  4. Some sponsors and some programs provide F&A rates that are below the federally negotiated rate.  Investigators/ departments will not be penalized for under-recovery if the sponsor's published policies include documentation that their F&A rate is lower than our federally-negotiated rate or that they do not provide funds for F&A costs. This is not considered to be a waiver of F&A costs.
  5. Full or partial waiver of F&A costs may be considered with strong justification. Waivers will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as instances in which the sponsor's budget limit will not support the direct costs of the project if full F&A costs are applied. 
  6. Requests for waivers of F&A costs are to be submitted through the appropriate chair and dean to Augusta University's Associate Vice President for Research Administration for approval/review with the Senior Associate Vice President for Research Administration using an F&A Waiver Form. Requests must be submitted prior to proposal submission/contract budget negotiation. Retroactive waivers will not be approved.  

Questions regarding these principles should be directed to the appropriate pre-award staff member in the Division of Sponsored Program Administration.