A no-cost extension extends the project period beyond the original project end date. As the phrase “no cost” suggests, there is no additional funding. It allows a Principal Investigator (PI) additional time to complete the scope of work of her/his project without additional funding. The fact that funds remain at the expiration of the grant is not, in itself, sufficient justification for an extension without additional funds. 

A no-cost extension may be requested by the PI when all three of the following conditions are met:

1. The end of the project period is approaching, AND
2. There is a programmatic need to continue the research, AND
3. There are sufficient funds remaining to cover the extended effort

Many federal agencies allow for Stanford to approve a one-time no cost extension for a period of up to 12 months beyond the original expiration date shown in the NoA if all the following criteria are met.

• No term of the award specifically prohibits the extension
• Funds are left in the project budget
• There is a programmatic need
• The project's originally approved scope will not change

Contracts typically require a formal request to the sponsors contracting officer and a subsequent modification to the contract. Review the terms and conditions for guidance.

To request a NCX consult the Sponsored PTA Manager - Dept User Guide

Stanford allows  faculty with an academic-year appointment (9 months) to have their salary paid out over 12 months.  However, the charge to a sponsor must reflect salary as it is earned, not as it is paid.  This becomes critical as salary allocations may change over the year as new awards are received, other awards terminate, or situations change.

In Labor Distribution in Oracle Financials the charge to the operating budget (or other unrestricted PTA) is reduced in order to charge the appropriate amount to the sponsor as the salary is earned.

Example:

A faculty member is on a 9-month, 100% FTE appointment for which she earns $90,000.  She has requested to be paid over 12 months.  She charges 20% of her salary to a grant, 50% to a gift fund, and the remaining 30% to the operating budget.  Her Labor Distribution Schedule in Oracle Financials (for the semi-monthly period) would show:

During 9-Month Academic Year

During 3-Month Summer Period

Use the Faculty Financial Inquiry Tool (FFIT). All faculty researchers are automatically granted access to this tool.

FFIT provides balances and drill-down transaction details for all your active accounts and funds – including those you manage on behalf of school or department programs. Current, projected, and forecasted balances are calculated using a combination of budget, revenue, expenditure, and commitment information as appropriate for each account.

View the  site

More Reporting Options

Reporting against the financial data in the Oracle Financial System is done primarily in the ReportMart3 web portal. Select an activity below to view related reports and descriptions.

Report Types and Uses by Activity

The PI's certification assures that all expenses charged to the account are allowable, allocable to the project, and reasonable. The certification of salary expenditures assures that salaries charged to the account are supported by a corresponding expenditure of effort during the time period being certified. The certification also assures that other expenditures are for items or services purchased and used during the project period as specified by the award. It is the PI's responsibility to seek a No-Cost Extension of the award if that is necessary in order to complete the project.

To be considered timely, the certification must be signed within two months of the end of the academic quarter being certified. Best practice is to certify on the Quarterly Expenditure Review and Certification Report, RM149.

PIs certify by printing and signing the Quarterly Expenditure Review and Certification report (run FIN_EXP_149_Qtrly_Exp_Cert in ReportMart3).

The PI's certification assures that:

The following certification statement appears on Expenditure Statements for every sponsored project and cost sharing account:

[custom:principal-investigator-quarterly]

Compare the F&A rate on your monthly expenditure report to the awarded rate. The awarded rate is either the negotiated rate found on the Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Cost Rates Table or a reduced rate.

If you are working with a negotiated rate, make sure the rate is correct for the project's activity (research, instruction, or other) and that the proper location is used (on campus, off campus, or a mixture of both).

If a reduced rate was awarded, make sure it is the same as that on the Notice of Award or the original proposal.

Do not attempt to calculate the rate. You need to compare and ensure it is correct. If it is not correct, contact OSR.

If you would like to see what expenditure types are subject to F&A costs, based on what rate is used (MTDC, TDC etc), please review the Burden Mapping Schedule.

Use expenditure allocation PTAs to accumulate specific expenditures, at the time the expenditure is incurred when you cannot determine which benefiting PTAs to allocate the expense to. Typical expenditures include materials, supplies, services or salaries.

Then distribute (or allocate) these expenditures monthly from the expenditure allocation PTA to the benefiting PTAs using an allocation methodology that logically relates to the type of expense incurred. Allocate costs to each PTA in reasonable proportion to the benefit received; and make certain charges to PTAs are allowable, allocable, and reasonable.

It is not necessary to open an expenditure allocation PTA for a one-time allocation of expense. One-time allocations of expense should be carefully justified, including a statement addressing the one-time nature of the allocation.

Use the Request for Expenditure Allocation PTA form to request an Allocation Expenditure PTA. This form must be used for requests for new PTAs and to request new projects and/or tasks on existing awards/projects. A guarantee award is required in order to open the expenditure allocation PTA.

Salary and non-salary expenditures are set up as separate expenditure allocation awards. Expenditures subject to different allocation methodologies should be segregated into separate project/task combinations.

Changes to information documented on the Request form made after the PTA has been set up (for example, a change in the purpose or use of the PTA, the individual responsible for clearing the account, the allocation methodology, etc.) should be transmitted to by e-mail to RFCS. Requests for changes to principal owner, award, project, and task manager as well as titles and other attributes may also be requested by e-mail.

Allocation is the process of assigning a cost, or a group of costs, to one or more cost objectives. Costs may be allocated only if they advance the work of the project in the same proportion as the cost. For example, technical supplies are allocable if they benefit a project. In addition, costs must be supported by evidence of direct benefit to the project.

Costs should not be charged based on availability of funds. The availability of funds to pay an expense, or its inclusion in a budget is not evidence of the allocability of that expense. For instance, when a Principal Investigator wishes to charge an expense to a project, the Research Administrator may assist the PI in determining whether it will be used on only one project or on many projects, and therefore charge accordingly. If the expense is used on more than one project, determine what proportion of the expense benefits each project and charge accordingly.

A cost is allocable to a sponsored agreement if:

1. It is incurred solely to advance the work under the sponsored agreement.

2. It benefits both the sponsored agreement and other work of the institution, in proportions that can be approximated through use of reasonable methods.

3. It is necessary to the overall operation of the institution and, in light of the principles provided in the OMB Circulars, is deemed to be assignable in part to sponsored projects.

Criterion (1) above indicates the best approach to justify a cost on a specific sponsored agreement. Certain types of costs incurred for the benefit of a specific research agreement may easily be uniquely identified. Examples include approved pieces of equipment, animal costs, or chemicals purchased solely for one project.

Other costs may clearly be allowable and reasonable but a question arises: how best to allocate among one or more sponsored agreements that benefit from that cost? The most typical example of a cost that must be allocated among sponsored projects is general laboratory supplies. Federal Regulations acknowledges that it is sometimes impossible to precisely identify or allocate such costs; governing regulations thus allow for the exercise of judgment: "A precise assessment of factors that contribute to costs is not always feasible, nor is it expected. Reliance, therefore, is placed on estimates in which a high degree of tolerance is appropriate."

Non-administrative supplies purchased in bulk for multiple ongoing projects may not be distributed in an arbitrary manner, e.g., charged entirely to one project one month, and then entirely to another project the second month (unless that is the way that supplies were actually used).