Welcome to the Eastern Kentucky University
Division of Sponsored Programs!

The purpose of the Division of Sponsored Programs is to provide support for faculty and staff in the pursuit of external funding while assuring compliance with applicable regulations. Sponsored Programs provides assistance in the following areas: identifying potential funding sources; developing proposal narratives and budgets; facilitating compliance with federal, state, sponsoring agency, and University regulations; completing electronic applications; submitting proposals to sponsoring agencies; negotiating contracts and other award agreements; accepting award documents; administering post-award non-accounting issues, including subcontracts, award modifications, no-cost extensions, and budget revisions; administering the Institutional Review Board for the protection of human research subjects; administering the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; and providing workshops on various pre-award topics.

WHAT'S NEW AT SPONSORED PROGRAMS?

FY 2010 Composite Fringe Benefit Rate Information - posted May 21, 2009 - The University’s fringe benefits composite rates have been updated.  Effective immediately, project directors are advised to use the new composite benefit rates in developing budgets for fiscal year 2010.  As an alternative to using composite fringe benefit rates, project directors may continue to use actual fringe benefit rates for existing employees with an estimated increase of 3 percentage points from the current actual rate charged for each individual’s fringe benefits.  Project directors may calculate actual fringe benefit rates for existing employees from labor distribution reports. 

Because the updated rates are composite rates, Sponsored Programs will not automatically require the revision of budgets that have already been approved for submission to an external agency.  However, project directors are strongly encouraged to consider the funding needs of their budgets at the time of award and monitor fringe benefit charges during the project period.  If benefits are charged at a higher rate than originally budgeted, budgets should be revised accordingly. 

The new composite rates are as follows and a detailed breakdown is available here: 

• Faculty - 36%
• Full-Time Staff - 39%
• Part-Time Staff – Benefits Eligible - 39%
• Part-Time Staff – Not Benefits Eligible - 11%
• *Graduate Students - 8.19%
• *Undergraduate Student Workers - 8.19%

*In most cases, fringe benefits will not be charged against the salaries of student employees who work less than 30 hours per week.  However, if the individual circumstances of the students are not known at the time of budget development, the rate of 8% should be budgeted in order to ensure that adequate funds are available.  In order to qualify for an exemption from FICA and Medicare benefits, student workers (including graduate assistants) must meet the following criteria:

1. Work less than 30 hours per week
2. Be enrolled at least half-time (6 undergraduate hours or 6 graduate hours)
3. Not be employed in a benefits-eligible position
4. File a Student W-4 Form

If you are certain that existing student workers meet this criteria and that your budget is not being charged for benefits associated with student employees, it is not necessary to budget for fringe benefits on student salaries.  These rates are not a change from the current practice, so if you are currently being charged benefits for your students, you will continue to be charged. 

Grant Proposal Development Course - posted April 14, 2009 - Now accepting registrations for Fall 2009!
Sponsored Programs is pleased to announce that we are now accepting registrations for the Fall 2009 Grant Proposal Development Course. The goal of this course is to provide a collaborative environment of continuous and structured support in which participating faculty and staff will learn about the process of developing competitive grant proposals for submission to external sponsoring agencies. This course is open to full-time EKU faculty and staff who wish to submit grant proposals for funding to support research, teaching, or service projects to be conducted as part of EKU’s mission. The target audience is EKU faculty who are interested in pursuing external funding to support their research. Participants will be expected to attend eight course meetings and make regular progress on a grant proposal throughout the semester. The goal is that each participant will finish the course with a completed grant proposal ready for submission. The course format is a combination of lectures, activities, and presentations from guest speakers. Additional one-on-one assistance is also available from Sponsored Programs staff throughout the course. In order to maximize benefits for all participants, we ask that all individuals who register make a serious commitment to participate.

The course will meet on the following Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:30 in the Coates 11 computer lab.

September 1: Introduction to Grants and Sponsored Programs

September 8: Locating and Evaluating Funding Opportunities

September 22: Developing a Competitive Grant Proposal, part 1

October 6: Developing a Competitive Grant Proposal, part 2

October 20: Creating a Grant Proposal Budget

November 3: Using Electronic Proposal Submission Systems and Completing Proposal Forms

November 17: Understanding the Grant Proposal Review Process

December 1: Reflecting on Success – Forum with successful proposal writers

Space is limited, so please register early! For more information or to register, please contact Tiffany Hamblin.

“If you are new to grant writing or need a refresher after being away from it for a while, this course will give you the skills, motivation, and confidence you need to write your next grant proposal.” - Fall 2008 Participant

“This course is very beneficial for the first-time and advanced grant writer. You learn a lot from the readings, lectures, and guest speakers, as well as your fellow students.” - Fall 2008 Participant

“My experience proved to be beneficial as I actually turned in a completed proposal on the last day of class!” - Spring 2009 Participant

“This course helped me to focus on writing a grant proposal and gave me the general and EKU-specific steps to allow me to successfully write and submit an external grant proposal.” - Spring 2009 Participant

Federal Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - posted March 19, 2009 - The ARRA includes billions of dollars to be distributed in the form of grants to local communities. Federal agencies are using different mechanisms for distributing the funds. Some are providing supplemental funding to current grantees, some are funding previously submitted proposals recommended for funding when funds were not available to issue new awards, and others are accepting proposals for new projects that have the ability to be implemented immediately. Agencies accepting new proposals have established quick turn-around times for the submission of proposals. For more information about how each agency is using the ARRA funds and to find current funding opportunities, please visit the Recovery website of applicable federal agencies:

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