Guidance for Tuition Support For Doctoral or PhD Research Associates

Phase in Process Guide for Ph.D. GRA Tuition Remission for Contracts and Grants

Phase I (to allow developers to revise SNOA system)

AVPR will notify PI’s that have budgeted for Ph.D. GRA tuition support/remission and award(s) has been received, that if they want to start supporting their employed Ph.D. GRA for the Spring 2022 semester, to email the following information to the Graduate School, Mr. Fabian Villanueva at fvillanueva2@utep.edu and Laura Fernandez at lfernandez4@utep.edu

Ph.D. GRA Name

Ph.D. GRA ID

Sponsored Project ID, Budget line G6220

Going forward, RA’s need to notify all PI’s at award receipt of the same process.  AVPR to provide a copy of the notice to PI’s, to RA’s to avoid duplicate effort.

It is critical for all PI’s to understand that the cutoff date for email submission of tuition remission for the Spring Semester is 7 January 2022.  No exceptions.  If the deadline is missed, requests are returned to the initiator with guidance to resubmit in early August for the Fall Semester. 

The Graduate School staff listed above will initiate SNOA for tuition remission charging the G6220.  IT Developers are unable to set up “Ph.D. GRA tuition remission” as a pay type until the fall semester (actually earlier but too late for the Spring tuition remission) so they will use the regular tuition support pay type.

Phase II (under development) Budget/Process/Payout:

RA’s to budget tuition remission under participant support for standard research

At award, PI is advised that s/he must hire a Ph.D. Research Associate (Ph.D. GRA) to be eligible for the tuition remission.  PI must coordinate with Department Admin or College Business Center to submit SNOA.  The routing of the SNOA will be from department to PI to Graduate School to ORSP C&C Support Center for review of eligibility, availability of funds, and allowability.

For Phase I and II, should there be exceptional circumstances preventing the direct payment of the tuition remission through the process, as long as the Ph.D. GRA pre-pays his or her tuition and is otherwise eligible for tuition remission, a SNOA to reimburse the Ph.D. GRA may be submitted.  For all tuition remission requests, tuition payment will not exceed the cost of tuition for the semester.  Unspent tuition amounts in one semester cannot be carried over to the next semester

Overview

This guide sets forth the expectations on how ORSP will comply with University policy https://www.utep.edu/hoop/section-4/chapter-10-tuition-benefit-for-doctoral-research-associates.html.  In agreement with the Uniform Guidance (UG), 2 CFR 200.431(j) and 2 CFR 200.466, tuition is an allowable direct cost on grants provided such benefits are distributed on an equitable basis to all non-federal entity activities. The allowability to direct charge tuition remission to individual sponsored agreements may vary based on individual granting agency terms and conditions and/or type of sponsored awards.

Type of Sponsored Awards

1. A “training/research training grant” (T/RTG) as normally defined by funding agencies, which requires the budgeting of scholarships or stipends, tuition, and other costs to support a student with participant support funds. NOTE:  Students receiving participant support funds on a T/RTG are not eligible to be student employees.
2. A standard grants and contracts where there is a requirement for students to be employees because of an employer/employee relationship. These types of contracts and grants can be coded research, instruction, other (such as public service or outreach as defined by function code 100 and 300).
3.  

Process

1. Effective immediately, Research Administrators (RA) are required to include Tuition Remission on all standard contracts and grants, unless prohibited by funding source, providing there is a budget for salaries for 50% effort of a Ph.D. Graduate Research Associate related to the sponsored project.
2. Ph.D. GRA must be appointed no less than 2.5 months at 50% (or equal, i.e. 5 months @ 25%) to be eligible for a pro-rated tuition remission amount.
3. Tuition Remission (effective Fall 2022) are $2,000 per semester for eligible doctoral research students taking 9 semester credit hours (SCH), or $1,000 per semester for eligible students taking less than 9 SCH, provided they are enrolled in dissertation.
4. RA will budget tuition remission under participant support costs, not subject to F&A, awarded through a SNOA.
5. Upon funding of a proposal, PIs are required to coordinate eligibility of a Ph.D. GRA with department heads and the Graduate School. The Graduate School administration will submit the SNOA for the contracts and grants funded tuition remission for Ph.D. GRA (during Phase I).
6. The tuition benefit program will become fully effective beginning fall semester of 2022.
7. During the transition period (December 2021 through August 2022), if grant funds to support tuition for Ph.D. GRA’s are already available/funded by agencies, SNOA’s should be processed starting the support in the Spring Semester 2022.
8. Further, if a PI for an ongoing project wants to reallocate current budget (providing funds are available) to include tuition remission for Ph.D. GRA’s for Spring Semester 2022, that is also allowable, unless agency disallows.  
9. Advice Principle Investigator (PI) that if allowable and tuition is not budgeted, the PhD GRA will not be eligible for tuition remission through the Graduate School either.
10. If Tuition Remission has been budgeted and a PI is unable to support Ph.D. GRA with budgeted tuition remission, those funds cannot be moved/used for a different purpose.

For additional information on tuition remission not available through sponsored projects, please contact the Graduate School and review eligibilities and rules at https://www.utep.edu/graduate/funding/doctoral-tuition-benefits.html