Maxwell Research Administrators Monthly Meetings

The following is an archive of notes documenting the proceedings of the Maxwell Research Administrator Network Monthly Meetings.  Unit administrative staff with proposal development (pre-award) and/or grants management (post-award) responsibilities address together the research-related policies, processes, and best practices for Maxwell. 

PLEASE NOTE:  Agendas and notes from meetings after July 10th, 2024 are now posted on the Maxwell RAN Teams channel.  Please email Vanessa Gatmaitan vqgatmai@syr.edu if you would like to join the Team!  

JULY 10, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (ORD), Lisa Henty (Dean’s Office), Julie Davis (Dean’s Office), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Janet Coria (Sociology), Tara Slater (PARCC), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Emily Graham (Lerner), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (History), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

• Put large upcoming projects on our radar so we know its coming

• CQMMI may be able to assist with recent awards

Updates

• Spring 2024 FCAR awards should be charged to the Dean's Office Research Subsidy - 11-22001-0003-XXXXXX-MYCODE

  • Always attach the faculty member’s MyCode – Be sure the MyCode description has both a first and last name

  • Please track all expenses for accurate posting to the GL

  • Reports may be requested at any time from: Vanessa Gatmaitan <vqgatmai@syr.edu>; Julianne Davis <jdavis01@syr.edu>; Lisa Marie Henty <lmhenty@syr.edu>

  • Final reports will be reviewed May 14, 2025, for submission to Office of Research for reimbursement

• PINS and letters for AY 24-25 grad assistantships are due to M Tammy Salisbury <mtsalisb@syr.edu> by Fri Jul 12th at noon 

• Grad student hiring (post meeting update)

  • During the AY, graduate students can only be hired for a second job for research activities (paid hourly up to 10hrs/week, job code 7900, account code 549976) IF they have assistantship(s) totaling 20hrs/week. This must be approved by their department chair, and the graduate school must be notified for tracking purposes.  If they only have a 10hr assistantship, they must be hired for another 10hr assistantship before accepting any hourly work.  Of course, international students cannot work more than 20hrs/week (including all assistantships and hourly work) while classes are in session.

  • Account code 503259 is typically the account code used for AY RAs, but the Office of Research has recently issued 503257 for RAs that are considered HERD eligible. This should not be necessary based on the above/attached HERD guidance.

  • When considering hiring graders, the graduate school provides this language: A student can be hired on an hourly basis for an hourly employment role (not with a title of an RA) if the duties require no specialty knowledge or experience, such as administrative tasks that require little training.  Such an hourly hire should not be called an RA or GA.

  • During the AY, graduate students may be hired for fall-only, spring-only, or full-year assistantships. Start and end dates are always static.  The attached booklet contains the rates for each program:

•  

  • Holly and Gabby are still working on some FAQs to provide a comprehensive list of all of these answers.

General Discussion Topics

• Please see updated HERD guidance doc sent 8/1 (post meeting update)

• HERD reporting changes for 2025

  • Higher Education Research and Development

  • Reporting expenditures related to research

  • No change for FY24

  • Process has been manual

  • Potential changes for FY25 - starting 7/1/24

    • Fund 13 requires no special coding - reporting done on back end - both for expenditures and faculty/staff

    • Non-personnel - New program codes - 0097/98/99 - Maxwell mostly basic

      • Can reach out to Vanessa - will bring in Colleen Burton

    • Not trying to find every research dollar - just trying to automate so we can run reports

    • Can JE when reconciling monthly

    • VG - what would be charged to 03 that is not HERD?

      • JM - reviews all expenditures and adds them up, asks all faculty what their research is

    • JH - How do we cover the expenses on 0097/98? Do funds have to be moved from 03?

      • Could the budget transfer happen at the end of the year? Or monthly?

    • JM - what about dept travel budget

    • VG - funds from 01 and 03 would be comingled in 097/98

    • VG - Can we use a "tail"?

      • LH - not given as an option, but can ask

    • LH - HERD RES chartfield? Only seen in JN screen

    • JH - Endowed funding for faculty?

      • If we have to switch back to endowment at the end of the year, have to provide documentation and enter as an expense

      • LH: If everything that comes out of that chartstring, could provide to OR for tracking

      • JH: Not the case

      • LH: may be unique to JH?

        • Appleby Mosher?

        • Lerner Center

      • JH - Could we just put it in the description?

      • VG - HERD Research field in Travel expense?

        • LH will look into this

      • JM - Has an email from Mary Pat describing what is HERD - will FWD to VG and LH

    • Faculty and Staff

      • During budget load - LH was asked who is what category - picked basic for all

      • Then used data on res leaves and admin leaves and anticipated courseloads - to calc % research time

      • Assigned a myCode or program code - opted for mycode so she could see full salary in one location

      • Then if there are changes - can just change the distribution percentage

      • VG: may use mycode for summer salary

        • LH - shouldn't be affected

        • VG to follow up with Colleen

      • JH: uses mycode for staff salary AY

• Are there any summer grad RAs being moved to FICA taxable accounts?

  • JH: All of her RAs on sponsored, reverted to a holding account on 7/1

    • LH will ask something on her end

    • JH: thinks it happens during certain weeks

• JH: can summer RAs continue during the year

  • Must be 10hr/20hr assistantship for full semester

    • VG to verify full semester or full year

  • Can have a second job paid hourly via account code 549976 - no letter

  • LC - grader? Must be TA?

    • VG to verify

JUNE 12, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (Office of Research), Lisa Henty (Dean’s Office), Julie Davis (Dean’s Office), Janet Coria (Sociology), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Peg Austin (CPR), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Emily Graham (Lerner), (Christians Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

• Put large upcoming projects on our radar so we know it's coming

• CQMMI may be able to assist with recent awards

Updates

• Grad RA (GRA) updates…

•  

  • Supervisor and GRA for summer hires should receive pay notice but this process is inconsistent.  Should also be visible in MySlice and HR reports for those with department access.

  • Summer RAs may be paid more than their prior year salary-based hourly rate, and this has no bearing on their following AY salary.  Increases during the AY become the new base for any hourly work.

  • In the AY, grad students can only have one 20hr/week assistantship, or two 10hr/week assistantships.  The only research work permissible above that is a second job up to 10hrs/week.  This would need to be approved by the student’s department and sent to gradschool@syr.edu for approval/tracking.  This can be processed as hourly work through smartHR.

  • International students cannot work more than 20hrs/week (in total for any/all types of work) while classes are in session (On-Campus Employment - Center for International Services – Syracuse University)

  • Full year assistantships start 8/16 and go through 5/15.  A fall-only appointment would be 8/16 – 12/31 and a spring-only appointment would be 1/1 – 5/15.

  • When using summer RA/TA PIN’s grad school believes HR will go through and terminate those appointments, much like they do for the AY RA/TA’s.

  • Does anyone have summer RAs hired with account 543259 that have been switched to 536278 GA - Summer-FICA Taxable?  I have learned that this can happen for undergraduates on account 549976 when they are not registered full time (they are switched to 549978 on the back end by payroll), and with the switch, 13/15/16 funds are then charged fringe.  I’m concerned this will affect those of you who calculated summer assistantships without fringe on these funds, based on the rates for 543259. 

• Info from Camile Donabella about students working while abroad

  • Stipend is a way to get around it because you don't take taxes out

•  

  • Due to tax, employment law, and data security issues, University decided a few years ago that employees must reside in the U.S. when performing job duties (incl faculty, staff and students). 

  • There is a group looking into making this a formal policy.

  • In the meantime, you can reach out to Camille if you have a student working abroad, and she can work with the GC's office for guidance on your particular situation (duration of time abroad, type of work, and country will be necessary).

  • JN - student had to stop working due to this

  • JM - has had them in the past - no issues if can VPN in timeclock

  • PA - No one knows where people are being housed unless they update their W2

General Discussion Topics

• Who has course buyouts for fall/spring?  Dean's Office is interested in capturing this for budgeting purposes

  • Send a note when you have them

  • Working on large plug figure for projections

  • Colin Elman may no longer be PI on his grants, so not sure if he will continue to get BO on his grants

  • JM - CE on admin leave for whole year, will update

  • Center/institutes don't have access to depts

  • Normally sent to Julie? 

  • LH – send to Julie and CC Lisa

•  

  • LH - would like to know by Sept/October if possible for fall, Mar/April for spring

  • JM - Griffith (1 course fall)

  • JH - waiting for them to come out of woodwork, Mike W (DOD pending)

  • DM - still working out fall vs spring for Emily and Jennifer - will know by end of Aug in order to set up for payroll

  • PA - who is doing payroll? 

  • DT - EC on parental leave

  • JN - Chris Faricy - new director will have course relief

  • LC - two ASPI fellows who will need it - two fall, one spring

• Reminder - Summer Salary Rate of Pay

  • LH - different things were done the last 3 fiscal years, Deans and Duncan Brown will be weighing in.  For now, for research, this is fine

  • LH - FY25 salaries still under review in the provost’s office, waiting for template, hoping letters will go out June 26th/27th/28th

  • JM - last year, depts/chairs were emailed and told to pick up letters from DO to send them out

  •  

    • Will the DO be sending salary worksheets?

    • LH found sample and will review

  • Reach out to Caroline with questions

  • PA - just includes one increase, they get what is in the grant

  • KT – PIs often don't spend all of the money anyway

•  

  • Summer salary before July 1 should be at the faculty member's current semi-monthly rate of pay.  After July 1, use the next academic year's rate of pay.

  • This means that for Summer 2024, use the AY23-24 pay rate for May and June payments; use the AY24-25 pay rate for July and August payments.

  • This procedure applies regardless of funding source.

  • How is everyone budgeting given this procedure?

• How is everyone processing payments to third party vendors, such as translation services like UpWorks or Google Translate

  • Often sees the same for transcription

  • Students on payroll need a RAP

  • If it’s a company the university deals with - it needs to go through ePro

  • However this creates extra work for admins

  • If cannot give admin the information or link to pay, usually ask faculty to charge and get reimbursed

•  

  • UpWorks is a US company that hires freelancers to translate

  • There are payments for multiple/frequent transactions - per document or session, unclear if I can get an invoice

  • Is reimbursement after a number of transactions an option to reduce PI/admin burden?

  • Is it acceptable to save a dept JPMC to a faculty member's account?  How can faculty members get their own JPMC?

  • JM - asked disbursements and they said it can't go on JPMC

  • JC - one of their faculty used it and paid himself, disbursements approved as long as amounts were low

  • DT - one of her faculty gets articles translated – uses the honorarium form - all less than $500 - no issues with disbursements

  • KT - is this the same as cart services?

  • JW - received and invoice from a woman in India for indexing her book - submitting that on a paper req

  • PA - can set up a contract for services if less than $5k

  • JN - only chairs and directors should have JPMC - is that the same in other depts?

  • KT - some depts give every faculty member a JPMC

MAY 08, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Peg Austin (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

• Put large upcoming projects on our radar so we know it's coming

• CQMMI may be able to assist with recent awards

Updates

• Appleby-Mosher

  • tracking - did any FAST requests go through? No

• GA letters, stipends

  • Did tables for GAs, summer money, etc come from DO yet? No

  • GA letter meeting with Gabby and Peter - notes from those who attended?

    • New letters came out

•  

  •  

    • JH

    •  

      • all letters are semi monthly?  There are still hourly students - not working same hours

      • Paying students same rate but work is not necessarily an extension of their research - PhD level work

    • KT

    •  

      • Unless it's strictly admin - have to go through OnBase, have to have letters, have to create a pin

      • What do you do if they do some clerical, some research?  Part time?

    • JM - No guarantee they are doing the work

    •  

      • KT - not our responsibility, PI should be monitoring this

    • JN - emailed Gabby and seemed to think nothing has changed for hourly

    • JH - one award with 8 students - hours varying throughout the year

    • KT

    •  

      • just reached out about a student working on same project but taking two weeks off - had to do two letters and get them signed

• Also appointments can cross fiscal years with one letter

•  

  •  

    • AD - confirmed with Holly that if strictly admin can be paid hourly and a rate we set

    • CC - if it's hourly - we just have to pay at the rate?

    •  

      • KT - has to be a letter

    • What is admin?

      • If doing research, need a letter but can still pay hourly?

    •  

      • JH - MA level - learning skills

      • JW - Editing, transcription

    • JH - fringe rate for semi monthly will be different

    • DT - job code -

• 7904 - TA

• 7910 - RA

• New hourly rate $30/hr, effective this summer?

  • AY stipend/39(week)s/20(hours/week)=hourly rate

    • $ 23,432/39/20 = $ 30.04102564 (so $30.05)

    • KT -this is just the rate of pay, still need to be paid bi-monthly, also PAIA has a higher rate for AY23-24

    • JM - what about a masters student at TA rate?

      • KT - Yes, use the TA rate for the calculation

    • Only for PhD students - not MPA/MAIR/MSOP/etc?

      • JH, AD - Applies to these as well

    • Ideas for how we can achieve that?

      • Ask sponsor if they can use MS/undergrad/external hires?

      • Work less hours?

      • KT - most projects have residual funds from Covid that can be shifted

    • $35/hr next year

  • Still need to know if we can still set up students as casual temp exempt?

General Discussion Topics

• FCAR

  • Where were they told to spend from?

    • JN - Dean's Office Research Subsidy

    • JW - This year was told to use her own

    • JM - two FCARs - email from July says to use DO account

  • Can they spend from their own accounts?

    • JN - can you create an account

      • VG to ask Julie/Lisa

    • Will they provide the GL detail required for reimbursement? Yes

MARCH 10, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (Dean's Office), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), , Debbie Toole (Geography), Emily Graham (Lerner), , Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

Intros

• Liz Lance, Director of Research Development for the Social Sciences, Office of Research

• ealance@syr.edu, 410A Maxwell Hall, 315.443.4919

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

• Put large upcoming projects on our radar so we know they’re coming

• CQMI may be able to assist with recent awards

• Intros to RAs for Liz

•  

  • Tara (PARCC)

  • Ashley (ECON)

  • Debbie (Geo) – Chie and Andre working on NSF submission

  • Karen (ASI) - P30 center grant resubmission

  • Lynnell (ASPI) – Johannes - CNY Humanities Corridor, NSF recently submitted

  • Jackie W (Anthro) – Armstrong - Air force, NSF; DeCourse - NEH

  • Jackie N (Campbell) - Shana - Carnegie

  • Christina (Hist) - University of Michigan, CNY Humanities Corridor

  • Jacquie M (Poli Sci) - Yael – Guggenheim; GA APSA - Dissertation Completion (Georgiev)

  • Yetunde (CEPA) – Golden – USDA

Review of CQMI – Christiane Page

• Associate Director CQMI, within Moynihan

• Housed in Maxwell

• Wants to help anyone at Maxwell/SU who wants to do collaborative research

  • Spec - Methods - Sub - Data Management Planning

• CQMI can offer DMP, incl pre & post award services

  • NSF is requiring DMP, NIH - DMSP

  • Have worked with other gov't agency, private funders

  • Especially interested on helping on the pre award side

    • Help figure out a DMP that meets the award

  • Will help with DMP throughout the life of the data - teaching, etc

• Free consultations – email qdr@syr.edu

• Qualitative data repository - https://qdr.syr.edu/

• Have worked with IRBs - anonymization, protection

• Do their own research - NSF and private funders

• DT - do you help grad students?

  • Need access to NVIBA, Adobe Cloud, MacCDQ, etc

  • Materials - tape recorders, etc

  • University software cannot be download on personal computers

  • CP -

    • have materials, please reach out

    • there are proprietary issues for software, can help with some licensing

    • CQMI is thinking of a system that is more student friendly

    • Looking into hands on tech to do qualitative research

Updates

• Appleby-Mosher

•  

  • JD working on DI access for all admins to AM program code

  • Track AM funds unless you have discussed with me a handoff

  • Zero out last year's funds in July

• ASI SPA

•  

  • Was due April 8th - no applicants

  • $2k plus fringe

• Dean’s Office SPA

•  

  • Due April 22, Decisions May 6

  • $2k

  • May apply while other applications pending but can only accept one

• Grad student union agreement

•  

  • New stipend rates - Shana would like us to begin using these for next year

  • Unclear whether or not fringe rates will change

  • VG to update on Answers

  • JM - Have received comm from DO - Table for GA, summer money, by each dept, how many assistantships

  • AD - Econ sends out letters - can they send new letters? Not per email from Peter/Gabby

  • VG - to FUP if updated letters can go out - to have new rates in writing

  • JW - in the past has received a stipend form from Julie to submit for May payment - was 4/21 last year - hasn't received yet?

  • KT - When does the union agreement go into effect - summer stipend?  Can we pay what was budgeted in grants for summer pay?

  • CP - Have been paying what grad school says, splitting by hr - will be looking for two academic year students and probably a couple more - can help if people can't fund their students

  • KT - new fringe rates prob released June 30

  • CC - Have been told (Carol) pot would be determined 2/9 grad student stipend *16 for summer funding - 16 of the grad student awards - $83,313 - this was for this year - what about increase?  Will pots increase?  Admin letters all went out as unofficial based on this

• New OSP template

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  • Reminder to pull from website prior to creating a new budget, to ensure you have the most recent copy

  • If I find a new one, please send to all of us

• OR Newsletter

  • Until May 19 - 3 page limit on biosketches

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  • NSF updates summary

  • Research computing series - as a reminder please engage with ICT