How do I request a Graduate Research Assistant or Graduate Teaching Assistant? To request a GRA, complete a Graduate Student Funding Request Form. To request a GTA, contact the Graduate Program Director, Maury Nussbaum (nussbaum@vt.edu). 

Who can serve as a Principal Investigator? Please visit the OSP website for clarification on the role as PI and eligibility. 

ISE Pre Award Administrator? Chelsea Schmolitz currently serves as our pre-award administrator pending reassignment in the future. She can be reached at cwillard@vt.edu, 540-231-6349.

ISE Post Award Administrator? Some projects have other administrators appointed, but for most projects, the ISE post administrator is Amber Gilbert, gilberta@vt.edu, 540-231-2113. 

Who makes the proposal budget? When starting a proposal in Summit, a budget can be requested by providing spending categories and amounts in the Summit Proposal tool. The OSP Pre-award administrator will create an initial budget and post it in Summit for download and modification. The ISE Research Team (iseresearch@vt.edu) will provide speculative or trial budgets on request for pre-proposal discussions with sponsors or collaborators. A modified spec budget can be uploaded to Summit in the event a proposal is developed.

What is the department's position on Cost Share? The department holds the same position as the university; voluntary cost share is not allowed. We only approve cost share when it can be done with “soft” money (i.e. the PI applying additional academic year effort to the project above the funded effort). Since the PI is generally receiving salary from the department, a portion of that can be used to cover additional effort on the project. Remember, this still represents effort committed to the project; the PI must work on the project at a level at least equal to the cost share. Occasionally we can commit other resources like the value of lab spaces or equipment used as long as the resource wasn’t acquired with federal funds. Cost share commitments must be approved by the department prior to proposal submission. Budgets containing unapproved cost share will not be approved. Research Faculty salaries may not be used for cost share. Approval should be requested from the Research Accounting Manager who will work with department administrators as needed.

• Supplemental note on cost share: Summer Salary is generally discouraged as cost share. In the event this is preferred by the PI the cost share must be supported by non-ISE department funds. OSP will require summer salary be charged to a fund number managed by ISE instead of charging directly to PI funds. ISE will separately transfer resources to recover summer salary from PI funds equal to amount charged to ISE. 

How do I track my salary across sponsored projects? Working with the faculty member, the ISE Research Team will create an effort plan which allocates PI effort to open projects. When a new project is funded, the faculty member's budgeted effort will be added to the plan. Over time adjustments may be made to the effort based on project specifics such as additional or reduced budget amounts, GRA effort, changes in travel or other expense category plans. A revised plan is provided at the beginning of each semester for review by the faculty member. Adjustments in the plan can be made at any time.

Who helps with the many forms required for each submission? Our Pre Award Administrator is the primary contact for all proposal submissions and will assist in completing required forms. The ISE Research Team will help with unusual forms like sponsor specific budget forms and other extraordinary forms. The ISE Research Team will provide assistance with forms required for submissions that are not going through OSP such as gifts from foundations.

Where can I find information such as Virginia Tech's Federal EIN, UEI number, etc. ? Most of our registration numbers, responsible persons information, rate agreements and similar information can be obtained on the Institutional Data page or by searching the VT website for "Institutional Data."

I've been notified that my proposal will be funded. What happens next? The sponsor will typically notify the OSP Contracts department at ospcontracts@vt.edu. The contracts department will work with the sponsor to create an acceptable agreement contract to be executed by the AVP for Research & Innovation-Director of Sponsored Programs. Depending on the sponsor and the contracts department workload, it can take some time for the agreement to be finalized. Once the agreement has been signed, a Project Award Notice (PAN) will be issued with a fund number to be used for all expenses on the project. You can track the progress of the contract process by going to Summit and choosing Agreements from the menu bar. If it is necessary to make expenditures while a contract is being negotiated, we may be able to issue a Letter of Guarantee (LOG) allowing us to expend project funds before the contract is finally executed.

What is a LOG and how do I get one? A Letter of Guarantee (LOG) is a document provided to OSP wherein the department assumes the responsibility for covering expenses incurred before a contract or increment is received on a project, in the event the sponsor disallows the cost because the contract or increment is never completed. In order to issue a LOG we need to be certain that the contract will be completed or increment received. This is determined by the state of negotiation between the sponsor and the OSP coupled with issues like the viability of the sponsor and the likelihood that the contract will ultimately be executed. If a LOG is issued while a contract is under negotiation, it is imperative that the start date for the project includes the date of the first charges on the project. To explore the possibility of a LOG for your project, please see the Research Accounting Manager. 

Personnel Activity Reports (PARs): All faculty (instruction, research, adjunct/wage), extension personnel, professional staff (pay band 4 and above) and graduate students having part of their effort funded by externally sponsored activity or university funded committed cost sharing must certify effort on each funding source each semester. Currently, the PARs are distributed over email but soon, as part of a pilot program, each PAR will be certified electronically.  

What is Summer Salary and how do I request it? As an AY Faculty member, there are two types of payments you can receive during the summer - deferred pay and summer salary. All AY Faculty receive "deferred" pay during the summer. Deferred pay is withheld from your check during the academic year and then paid to you during the summer so that you receive 24 level payments that total your AY salary. This is done so that you don't have to go several months without a paycheck each year. The term "Summer Salary" refers to additional money you can earn during the summer by doing work on funded research, teaching a class or by using some of your discretionary funds such as returned overhead. Summer salary is paid in addition to your deferred pay. The limit for summer salary is 1/3 your AY salary. Some summer salary is often included in the startup package as a way to pay for summer work done to prepare research proposals and search for additional funding. That is often used during the first summer as new faculty work to build their research portfolios. Towards the end of the Spring semester we will issue a call for summer effort plans. In those plans we will include startup funds and research projects intended to provide additional summer support. 

How much does it cost to support a summer GRA? The total depends on which GRA step level you would like to pay, current rates are displayed on the Graduate Research Assistantship page within the ISE internal guide. If you would like to proceed with a GRA, please submit a request through the ISE HUB, GRA Funding Request. 

How does OPT work?  The Optional Practical Training program (OPT) is sponsored by the university where the student completed their graduate work even if they go to work elsewhere.  If the student will be pursuing employment while on OPT, the position must be related to their major and recorded on their SEVIS record. How the position is structured does not matter, as they are still maintaining their F-1 status and the requirements for eligible employment are less stringent than those for something like an H-1B visa. If they intend to take a position that begins immediately after graduation, the student should allow for enough time to apply for OPT and be approved by their start date. Typically, OPT applications take 2-5 months to be processed and approved, and students are encouraged to apply as early as 90 days prior to their program end date. Students can learn more, and apply online here. Additional questions may be routed to international@vt.edu. 

When a paid OPT position is not available, students may choose to volunteer in an unpaid OPT position doing research for one of the ISE faculty. The title will be Volunteer OPT Researcher. Once the student and faculty supervisor agree on the duties and schedule, the faculty member will complete an OPT Volunteer Letter in DocuSign which is routed to the student for their signature. The department will retain a copy of the executed letter in the immigration folder. 

How does FRIP work? The department follows the Faculty Research Incentive Plan guidelines linked here for the one-time annual payment (not included in retirement base salary) which is subject to federal/state taxes and paid by Sept 30th of each year. Participation requires a minimum of 10% academic year salary be charged to sponsored research funding during the fiscal year (cumulative of all projects). FRIP is available to AY and CY faculty and payments in ISE are made by overhead.

How is the indirect rate between on/off campus determined for industry sponsors? As general guidance (to be verified with OSP when applicable), industry sponsored research would be at the full 65.5% for on campus projects and 31% for off campus projects unless the sponsor has a formal policy documenting a lower maximum rate paid for external sponsored projects (rates vary by year). In determining “On Campus” or “Off Campus”, the distinction between the two has normally been expressed as “who pays the facilities” where the work is to be completed. If VT owns/rents the facility where the work will be done and pays the utilities then that will be subject to On Campus rates. If the work is expected to be completed in both On Campus and Off Campus facilities then in the past it has been expressed that if greater than 50% of the work is Off Campus then the Off Campus rates would be used. Otherwise, On Campus would be used. The department does not have the authority to reduce the full project indirect to a given rate since other units are impacted. The department could potentially waive up to the full 75% portion ISE receives of the 40.29% college share.