The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio s1

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty with VA Joint Appointments

Appointment and Effort Commitments

1. Why isn’t my VA Salary included in my Institutional Base Salary (IBS)?

2. Is there a HSC approved Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that I can use?

3. A dual appointed investigator wishes to commit 20% of his/her HSC appointment to a HSC award. Is the 20% committed considered 20% of his/her HSC appointment or 20% of the overall effort of both appointments?

4. As outlined in the MOU, an investigator has 50% of his/her Health Science Center effort dedicated to research activities. Can he/she have HSC effort commitments greater than 50%?

5. Where will VA effort commitments for HSC awards be reported on the OSP Project Grant Activation Notice (PGA) and how can I view a listing of all VA effort commitments for HSC awards?

6. How are VA 8/8ths appointments handled?

Proposals

1. When requesting salary on a HSC proposal, do I include my VA salary?

2. When completing NIH PHS detail budgets, how should my HSC and VA effort commitment be detailed?

3. When completing SF424 in CAYUSE, how should my HSC and VA effort commitment be detailed?

4. When requesting salary on a HSC proposal, do I include my VA salary?

5. Should I include my VA-funded research in my Other Support pages?

6. Can I commit VA effort to non-NIH proposal submissions?

Effort Certification

1. When I certify my HSC effort certification in ECRT, do I certify commitments for HSC awards devoted to my VA appointment?

Salary Cap

1. If I have a joint appointment with the VA, how do I determine if I am over the NIH Salary Cap?

K-Awards

1. Can I apply for a NIH K-Award if I have a VA Joint Appointment?

2. How do I commit effort to a K-Award?

Appointment

1. Why isn’t my VA Salary included in my Institutional Base Salary (IBS)?

The NIH sets guidelines for the determination of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) in its Grants Policy Statement. Because VA salary (stated in 8ths) is paid through a separate federal paycheck, this compensation does not meet these guidelines.

2. Is there a HSC approved Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that I can use?

Investigators with paid VA appointments who apply or participate in UTHSCSA NIH awards must complete and submit, on at least an annual basis, a VA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) documenting the VA and UTHSCSA duties and effort. The Office of Sponsored Programs has developed a standard format for these MOU’s. A MOU must be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs at the time of application or progress report submission. If significant changes of effort occur during the interim period, then a revised MOU must be prepared at that time. This form is available by clicking on the following Excel document.

The 20% effort commitment reflects the HSC appointment only.

4. As outlined in the MOU, an investigator has 50% of his/her Health Science Center effort dedicated to research activities. Can he/she have HSC effort commitments greater than 50%?

No. The maximum level of effort is always the lesser of either the percentage of research dedicated on the MOU or the maximum levels of Effort Commitments as outlined in the Health Science Center Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) Policy 7.1.4. For example, if the MOU states that 100% of Health Science Center’s tenured faculty appointment is dedicated to research activities, the total committed effort to sponsored programs cannot exceed 95% as outlined in HOP 7.1.4.

5. Where will VA effort commitments for HSC awards be reported on the OSP Project Grant Activation Notice (PGA) and how can I view a listing of all VA effort commitments for HSC awards?

VA effort commitments for HSC awards will be recorded on the OSP Project Grant Activation (PGA) Notice in the Remarks and Comments Sections of the PGA. A full listing of all investigators that have VA effort associated with HSC awards can be found on the HSC Portal after logging in as follows: Main Menu > HSC Business Applications > Financials > Office of Sponsored Programs > VA Effort Commitments.

6. How are VA 8/8ths appointments handled?

Though 8/8ths appointments are discouraged, these faculty members can still apply for HSC awards if the individual is receiving compensation from the HSC. An 8/8ths faculty member’s HSC commitments should not exceed 20 hours per work. Any commitment to the HSC exceeding 20 hours per week requires special approval of the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Proposals

1. When requesting salary on a HSC proposal, do I include my VA salary?

VA salary is excluded from the HSC’s definition of Institutional Base Salary (IBS). The salary base used for proposals is your UTHSCSA Institutional Base Salary. Therefore, the salary base used to request salary support must always exclude VA salary.

2. When completing NIH PHS detail budgets, how should my HSC and VA effort commitment be detailed?

Present the information on the budget page as shown in the following example:

In addition, the following information must be included in the “Budget Justification”:

Dr. U.R. Right has an appointment with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the Veterans Administration (VA). This arrangement is defined in a formal UTHSCSA-VA Joint Appointment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The institutional base salary used in this application represents only the salary from UTHSCSA. Dr. U.R. Right’s HSC committed effort on this proposal is 1.2 calendar months (approximately 11% of a 87.5% appointment), of which salary has been requested. It is further clarified that Dr. U.R. Right receives salaries from both the UTHSCSA and VA and that there is no dual compensation from these two sources for the same work nor is there an actual or apparent conflict of interest regarding such work. In addition, Dr. U.R. Right’s VA effort commitment on this proposal is .6 calendar months (40%) of his VA appointment for which no salary is being requested.

3. When completing the SF424 in CAYUSE, how should my HSC and VA effort commitment be detailed?

In Section A of the SF424, only enter UTHSCSA effort commitments and salary requested. VA effort commitments should be detailed in the Budget Justification as follows:

Dr. U.R. Right has an appointment with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the Veterans Administration (VA). This arrangement is defined in a formal UTHSCSA-VA Joint Appointment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The institutional base salary used in this application represents only the salary from UTHSCSA. Dr. U.R. Right’s HSC committed effort on this proposal is XX calendar months, or XX% of an XX% appointment, of which salary has been requested. It is further clarified that Dr. U.R. Right receives salaries from both the UTHSCSA and VA and that there is no dual compensation from these two sources for the same work nor is there an actual or apparent conflict of interest regarding such work. In addition, Dr. U.R. Right’s VA effort commitment on this proposal is XX calendar months, or XX% of his VA appointment, for which no salary is being requested.

4. When requesting salary on a HSC proposal, do I include my VA salary?

No, only the investigator’s Health Science Center institutional base salary can be used to request salary.

5. Should I include my VA-funded research in my Other Support pages?

Sponsors that request Other Support pages expect to see all research listed, regardless of funding. Therefore, VA-funded research should be included.

6. Can I commit VA effort to non-NIH proposal submissions?

Yes, VA effort may be committed to both federal and non-federal HSC awards as long as a current MOU is in place for the investigator.

Effort Certification

1. When I certify my HSC effort certification in ECRT, do I certify commitments for HSC awards devoted to my VA appointment?

No, the Office of Sponsored Programs will track VA committed effort that is expended on HSC awards and will confirm such effort was devoted to the project on a semi-annual basis by written confirmation with the HSC investigator.

It should be noted that VA effort will not be included in the salary cost sharing data that is prepared and reported annually by the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Salary Cap

1. If I have a joint appointment with the VA, how do I determine if I am over the DHHS or other Salary Caps?

For purposes of determining whether an individual is over any Salary caps, the individual’s HSC Institutional Base Salary (IBS) should be compared against the current cap. The VA salary that is received is not included in the salary cap determination.

K-Awards

1. Can I apply for a NIH K-Award if I have a VA Joint Appointment?

Yes; however, you must have a full-time appointment with the Health Science Center. In addition, the minimum percentage of the K-Award commitment (typically 75%) must be covered by a paid appointment at the Health Science Center. The investigator’s VA appointment should be no more than 2/8ths upon receipt of the K-Award Notice of Award. It should be remembered that the purpose of the K award is to provide career development with institutional support.

2. How do I commit effort to a K-Award?

The effort commitment on K-Awards is generally stated as a percentage of “total professional effort”. The NIH has developed a clarification of “total professional effort” with respect to K-awards. This clarification can be found at:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-04-056.html

In short, as long as the recipient has a full-time UTHSCSA appointment and can dedicate the required percentage of HSC effort to the K-award activities, they meet the NIH requirements. VA research effort can never be used to meet the required minimum effort on the K-Award.

Originally Issued: September, 2012

Last Updated: January, 2015

Office of Sponsored Programs