Proposal Budget Rates

The rates listed below apply to all sponsored projects and programs. These rates should be used when preparing proposal budgets.

Faculty and Staff Salaries

Apply percent of effort to each individual’s Institutional Base Salary, defined as:

An individual’s Institutional Base Salary (IBS) includes all amounts PSU pays that employee for services required to fulfill their obligations to the institution. The IBS includes annual compensation paid by PSU for an employee’s appointment, whether that individual’s time is spent on research, teaching, or other activities. Base salary may not be increased as a result of replacing organizational salary funds with grant funds. IBS excludes any income that an individual is permitted to earn outside of duties at PSU and donated services.

Salary Cap: Some sponsors impose limitations on the amount of IBS that may be used as a basis for charging salary to their projects. Where such limitations apply, the requested salary support is determined by multiplying the proposed level of effort by the maximum IBS allowed.

Projected merits/promotions should be factored in for all titles.

Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs)

Use rates published on PSU’s Office of Graduate Studies website.

Fringe Benefit Rates (also Other Personnel Expenses, or "OPE”)

In the proposal budget, fringe benefit rates are applied as a set percent of salary according to the personnel type and appointment. Fringe benefits must be budgeted to the same funding source as the corresponding salary unless sponsor expressly prohibits benefit costs. Fringe Benefits for full-time faculty and staff are based on two components: a fixed dollar figure for medical and dental benefits and a variable percentage for such items as retirement contributions, FICA, and unemployment compensation.

For an existing employee, calculate a Fringe Benefit Rate by identifying the total fringe benefit costs for an individual as a portion of that individual’s salary using expenditure data from Cognos or Banner. To determine fringe benefit rates for a new employee, follow the Cognos or Banner steps with a similar existing position or refer to the online chart for OPE Budgeting Education and General Funds (2015–2016).

Facilities and Administration (F&A or Indirect Cost) Rates

Apply the appropriate rate from PSU's Colleges and Universities Rate Agreement unless the F&A costs are limited by written sponsor policy. Consult PSU Information for Proposals for current rate agreements and guidance.

Projects funded by the federal government or for-profit organizations must, at a minimum, include F&A costs calculated using PSU's F&A Rate Agreement unless an exception is approved and documented on an F&A Waiver Request Form. PSU has pre-approved an F&A waiver for projects funded by state and local governments and non-profit organizations at a reduced F&A rate of 26% Total Direct Costs.

Annual Escalation Factors

Unless expressly prohibited in writing by the sponsor, the following escalation factors should be budgeted for each year of the project, with fees and health insurance for graduate students included in addition to tuition costs:

• Salaries – 3%

• Travel & Materials and Other Supplies – 3% (inflation factor as applicable to the cost category)

• Tuition – 5%

Indicate the escalation rate applied to the budget for each cost category in the budget justification document submitted with the proposal.

A pdf Rate Sheet with this information (last updated 1/2016) is also available under PSU Information for Proposals.