CIRCULAR A-21 (Revised 5/10/04)

CIRCULAR A-21 (Revised 05/10/04)

CIRCULAR NO. A-21

Revised

TO THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS

SUBJECT: Cost Principles for Educational Institutions

1. Purpose. This Circular establishes principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions. The principles deal with the subject of cost determination, and make no attempt to identify the circumstances or dictate the extent of agency and institutional participation in the financing of a particular project. The principles are designed to provide that the Federal Government bear its fair share of total costs, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, except where restricted or prohibited by law. Agencies are not expected to place additional restrictions on individual items of cost. Provision for profit or other increment above cost is outside the scope of this Circular.

2. Supersession. The Circular supersedes Federal Management Circular 73-8, dated December 19, 1973. FMC 73-8 is revised and reissued under its original designation of OMB Circular No. A-21.

3. Applicability.

a. All Federal agencies that sponsor research and development, training, and other work at educational institutions shall apply the provisions of this Circular in determining the costs incurred for such work. The principles shall also be used as a guide in the pricing of fixed price or lump sum agreements.

b. In addition, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers associated with educational institutions shall be required to comply with the Cost Accounting Standards, rules and regulations issued by the Cost Accounting Standards Board, and set forth in 48 CFR part 99; provided that they are subject thereto under defense related contracts.

4. Responsibilities. The successful application of cost accounting principles requires development of mutual understanding between representatives of educational institutions and of the Federal Government as to their scope, implementation, and interpretation.

5. Attachment. The principles and related policy guides are set forth in the Attachment, "Principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions."

6. Effective date. The provisions of this Circular shall be effective October 1, 1979, except for subsequent amendments incorporated herein for which the effective dates were specified in these revisions (47 FR 33658, 51 FR 20908, 51 FR 43487, 56 FR 50224, 58 FR 39996, 61 FR 20880, 63 FR 29786, 63 FR 57332, 65 FR 48566 and 69 FR 25970). Institutions as of the start of their first fiscal year beginning after that date shall implement the provisions. Earlier implementation, or a delay in implementation of individual provisions, is permitted by mutual agreement between an institution and the cognizant Federal agency.

7. Inquiries. Further information concerning this Circular may be obtained by contacting the Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503, telephone (202) 395-3993.

Attachment

PRINCIPLES FOR DETERMINING COSTS APPLICABLE TO GRANTS,

CONTRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS WITH

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. Purpose and scope

1. Objectives

2. Policy guides

3. Application

4. Inquiries

B. Definition of terms

1. Major functions of an institution

2. Sponsored agreement

3. Allocation

4. Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs

C. Basic considerations

1. Composition of total costs

2. Factors affecting allowability of costs

3. Reasonable costs

4. Allocable costs

5. Applicable credits

6. Costs incurred by State and local governments

7. Limitations on allowance of costs

8. Collection of unallowable costs

9. Adjustment of previously negotiated F&A cost rates containing unallowable costs

10. Consistency in estimating, accumulating and reporting costs

11. Consistency in allocating costs incurred for the same purpose

12. Accounting for unallowable costs

13. Cost accounting period

14. Disclosure statement

D. Direct costs

1. General

2. Application to sponsored agreements

E. F&A costs

1. General

2. Criteria for distribution

F. Identification and assignment of F&A costs

1. Definition of Facilities and Administration.

2. Depreciation and use allowances

3. Interest

4. Operation and maintenance expenses

5. General administration and general expenses

6. Departmental administration expenses

7. Sponsored projects administration

8. Library expenses

9. Student administration and services

10. Offset for F&A expenses otherwise provided for by the Federal Government

G. Determination and application of F&A cost rate or rates

1. F&A cost pools

2. The distribution basis

3. Negotiated lump sum for F&A costs

4. Predetermined rates for F&A costs

5. Negotiated fixed rates and carry-forward provisions

6. Provisional and final rates for F&A costs

7. Fixed rates for the life of the sponsored agreement

8. Limitation on reimbursement of administrative costs

9. Alternative method for administrative costs

10. Individual rate components

11. Negotiation and approval of F&A rate

12. Standard format for submission

H. Simplified method for small institutions

1. General

2. Simplified procedure

I. Reserved

J. General provisions for selected items of cost

1. Advertising and public relations costs

2. Advisory councils

3. Alcoholic beverages

4. Alumni/ae activities

5. Audit and related services

6. Bad debts

7. Bonding costs

8. Commencement and convocation costs

9. Communication costs

10. Compensation for personal services

11. Contingency provisions

12. Deans of faculty and graduate schools

13. Defense and prosecution of criminal and civil proceedings, claims, appeals and patent infringement

14. Depreciation and use allowances

15. Donations and contributions

16. Employee morale, health, and welfare costs

17. Entertainment costs

18. Equipment and other capital expenditures

19. Fines and penalties

20. Fund raising and investment costs

21. Gains and losses on depreciable assets

22. Goods or services for personal use

23. Housing and personal living expenses

24. Idle facilities and idle capacity

25. Insurance and indemnification

26. Interest

27. Labor relations costs

28. Lobbying

29. Losses on other sponsored agreements or contracts

30. Maintenance and repair costs

31. Material and supplies costs

32. Meetings and conferences

33. Memberships, subscriptions and professional activity costs

34. Patent costs

35. Plant and homeland security costs

36. Pre-agreement costs

37. Professional service costs

38. Proposal costs

39. Publication and printing costs

40. Rearrangement and alteration costs

41. Reconversion costs

42. Recruiting costs

43. Rental costs of buildings and equipment

44. Royalties and other costs for use of patents

45. Scholarships and student aid costs

46. Selling and marketing

47. Specialized service facilities

48. Student activity costs

49. Taxes

50. Termination costs applicable to sponsored agreements

51. Training costs

52. Transportation costs

53. Travel costs

54. Trustees

K. Certification of charges

Exhibit A - List of Colleges and Universities Subject to Section J.12.h of Circular A-21

Exhibit B - Listing of Institutions that are eligible for the utility cost adjustment

Exhibit C - Examples of "major project" where direct charging of administrative or clerical staff salaries may be appropriate

Appendix A - CASB's Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)

Appendix B - CASB's Disclosure Statement (DS-2)

Appendix C - Documentation Requirements for Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate Proposals

PRINCIPLES FOR DETERMINING COSTS APPLICABLE TO GRANTS,

CONTRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS WITH

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

A. Purpose and scope.

1. Objectives. This Attachment provides principles for determining the costs applicable to research and development, training, and other sponsored work performed by colleges and universities under grants, contracts, and other agreements with the Federal Government. These agreements are referred to as sponsored agreements.

2. Policy guides. The successful application of these cost accounting principles requires development of mutual understanding between representatives of universities and of the Federal Government as to their scope, implementation, and interpretation. It is recognized that --

a. The arrangements for Federal agency and institutional participation in the financing of a research, training, or other project are properly subject to negotiation between the agency and the institution concerned, in accordance with such governmentwide criteria or legal requirements as may be applicable.

b. Each institution, possessing its own unique combination of staff, facilities, and experience, should be encouraged to conduct research and educational activities in a manner consonant with its own academic philosophies and institutional objectives.

c. The dual role of students engaged in research and the resulting benefits to sponsored agreements are fundamental to the research effort and shall be recognized in the application of these principles.

d. Each institution, in the fulfillment of its obligations, should employ sound management practices.

e. The application of these cost accounting principles should require no significant changes in the generally accepted accounting practices of colleges and universities. However, the accounting practices of individual colleges and universities must support the accumulation of costs as required by the principles, and must provide for adequate documentation to support costs charged to sponsored agreements.

f. Cognizant Federal agencies involved in negotiating facilities and administrative (F&A) cost rates and auditing should assure that institutions are generally applying these cost accounting principles on a consistent basis. Where wide variations exist in the treatment of a given cost item among institutions, the reasonableness and equitableness of such treatments should be fully considered during the rate negotiations and audit.

3. Application. These principles shall be used in determining the allowable costs of work performed by colleges and universities under sponsored agreements. The principles shall also be used in determining the costs of work performed by such institutions under subgrants, cost-reimbursement subcontracts, and other awards made to them under sponsored agreements. They also shall be used as a guide in the pricing of fixed-price contracts and subcontracts where costs are used in determining the appropriate price. The principles do not apply to:

a. Arrangements under which Federal financing is in the form of loans, scholarships, fellowships, traineeships, or other fixed amounts based on such items as education allowance or published tuition rates and fees of an institution.

b. Capitation awards.

c. Other awards under which the institution is not required to account to the Federal Government for actual costs incurred.

d. Conditional exemptions.

(1) OMB authorizes conditional exemption from OMB administrative requirements and cost principles circulars for certain Federal programs with statutorily-authorized consolidated planning and consolidated administrative funding, that are identified by a Federal agency and approved by the head of the Executive department or establishment. A Federal agency shall consult with OMB during its consideration of whether to grant such an exemption.

(2) To promote efficiency in State and local program administration, when Federal non-entitlement programs with common purposes have specific statutorily-authorized consolidated planning and consolidated administrative funding and where most of the State agency's resources come from non-Federal sources, Federal agencies may exempt these covered State-administered, non-entitlement grant programs from certain OMB grants management requirements. The exemptions would be from all but the allocability of costs provisions of OMB Circulars A-87 (Attachment A, subsection C.3), "Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments," A-21 (Section C, subpart 4), "Cost Principles for Educational Institutions," and A-122 (Attachment A, subsection A.4), "Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations," and from all of the administrative requirements provisions of OMB Circular A-110, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations," and the agencies' grants management common rule.

(3) When a Federal agency provides this flexibility, as a prerequisite to a State's exercising this option, a State must adopt its own written fiscal and administrative requirements for expending and accounting for all funds, which are consistent with the provisions of OMB Circular A-87, and extend such policies to all subrecipients. These fiscal and administrative requirements must be sufficiently specific to ensure that: funds are used in compliance with all applicable Federal statutory and regulatory provisions, costs are reasonable and necessary for operating these programs, and funds are not be used for general expenses required to carry out other responsibilities of a State or its subrecipients.

4. Inquiries.

All inquiries from Federal agencies concerning the cost principles contained in this Circular, including the administration and implementation of the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) (described in Sections C.10 through C.13) and disclosure statement (DS-2) requirements, shall be addressed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Federal Financial Management, in coordination with the Cost Accounting Standard Board (CASB) with respect to inquiries concerning CAS. Educational institutions' inquiries should be addressed to the cognizant agency.

B. Definition of terms.

1. Major functions of an institution refers to instruction, organized research, other sponsored activities and other institutional activities as defined below:

a. Instruction means the teaching and training activities of an institution. Except for research training as provided in subsection b, this term includes all teaching and training activities, whether they are offered for credits toward a degree or certificate or on a non-credit basis, and whether they are offered through regular academic departments or separate divisions, such as a summer school division or an extension division. Also considered part of this major function are departmental research, and, where agreed to, university research.

(1) Sponsored instruction and training means specific instructional or training activity established by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. For purposes of the cost principles, this activity may be considered a major function even though an institution's accounting treatment may include it in the instruction function.

(2) Departmental research means research, development and scholarly activities that are not organized research and, consequently, are not separately budgeted and accounted for. Departmental research, for purposes of this document, is not considered as a major function, but as a part of the instruction function of the institution.

b. Organized research means all research and development activities of an institution that are separately budgeted and accounted for. It includes:

(1) Sponsored research means all research and development activities that are sponsored by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations. This term includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function.

(2) University research means all research and development activities that are separately budgeted and accounted for by the institution under an internal application of institutional funds. University research, for purposes of this document, shall be combined with sponsored research under the function of organized research.

c. Other sponsored activities means programs and projects financed by Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations which involve the performance of work other than instruction and organized research. Examples of such programs and projects are health service projects, and community service programs. However, when any of these activities are undertaken by the institution without outside support, they may be classified as other institutional activities.

d. Other institutional activities means all activities of an institution except:

(1) instruction, departmental research, organized research, and other sponsored activities, as defined above;

(2) F&A cost activities identified in Section F; and

(3) specialized service facilities described in Section J.47. Other institutional activities include operation of residence halls, dining halls, hospitals and clinics, student unions, intercollegiate athletics, bookstores, faculty housing, student apartments, guest houses, chapels, theaters, public museums, and other similar auxiliary enterprises. This definition also includes any other categories of activities, costs of which are "unallowable" to sponsored agreements, unless otherwise indicated in the agreements.

2. Sponsored agreement, for purposes of this Circular, means any grant, contract, or other agreement between the institution and the Federal Government.

3. Allocation means the process of assigning a cost, or a group of costs, to one or more cost objective, in reasonable and realistic proportion to the benefit provided or other equitable relationship. A cost objective may be a major function of the institution, a particular service or project, a sponsored agreement, or a F&A cost activity, as described in Section F. The process may entail assigning a cost(s) directly to a final cost objective or through one or more intermediate cost objectives.

4. Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, for the purpose of this Circular, means costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and, therefore, cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. F&A costs are synonymous with "indirect" costs, as previously used in this Circular and as currently used in Appendices A and B. The F&A cost categories are described in Section F.1.

C. Basic considerations.

1. Composition of total costs. The cost of a sponsored agreement is comprised of the allowable direct costs incident to its performance, plus the allocable portion of the allowable F&A costs of the institution, less applicable credits as described in subsection 5.

2. Factors affecting allowability of costs. The tests of allowability of costs under these principles are: (a) they must be reasonable; (b) they must be allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods provided herein; (c) they must be given consistent treatment through application of those generally accepted accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances; and (d) they must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as to types or amounts of cost items.

3. Reasonable costs. A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired or applied, and the amount involved therefore, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made. Major considerations involved in the determination of the reasonableness of a cost are: (a) whether or not the cost is of a type generally recognized as necessary for the operation of the institution or the performance of the sponsored agreement; (b) the restraints or requirements imposed by such factors as arm's-length bargaining, Federal and State laws and regulations, and sponsored agreement terms and conditions; (c) whether or not the individuals concerned acted with due prudence in the circumstances, considering their responsibilities to the institution, its employees, its students, the Federal Government, and the public at large; and, (d) the extent to which the actions taken with respect to the incurrence of the cost are consistent with established institutional policies and practices applicable to the work of the institution generally, including sponsored agreements.

4. Allocable costs.

a. A cost is allocable to a particular cost objective (i.e., a specific function, project, sponsored agreement, department, or the like) if the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable to such cost objective in accordance with relative benefits received or other equitable relationship. Subject to the foregoing, 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, or (3) it is necessary to the overall operation of the institution and, in light of the principles provided in this Circular, is deemed to be assignable in part to sponsored projects. Where the purchase of equipment or other capital items is specifically authorized under a sponsored agreement, the amounts thus authorized for such purchases are assignable to the sponsored agreement regardless of the use that may subsequently be made of the equipment or other capital items involved.

b. Any costs allocable to a particular sponsored agreement under the standards provided in this Circular may not be shifted to other sponsored agreements in order to meet deficiencies caused by overruns or other fund considerations, to avoid restrictions imposed by law or by terms of the sponsored agreement, or for other reasons of convenience.

c. Any costs allocable to activities sponsored by industry, foreign governments or other sponsors may not be shifted to federally-sponsored agreements.

d. Allocation and documentation standard.

(1) Cost principles. The recipient institution is responsible for ensuring that costs charged to a sponsored agreement are allowable, allocable, and reasonable under these cost principles.

(2) Internal controls. The institution's financial management system shall ensure that no one person has complete control over all aspects of a financial transaction.

(3) Direct cost allocation principles. If a cost benefits two or more projects or activities in proportions that can be determined without undue effort or cost, the cost should be allocated to the projects based on the proportional benefit. If a cost benefits two or more projects or activities in proportions that cannot be determined because of the interrelationship of the work involved, then, notwithstanding subsection b, the costs may be allocated or transferred to benefited projects on any reasonable basis, consistent with subsections d. (1) and (2).

(4) Documentation. Federal requirements for documentation are specified in this Circular, Circular A-110, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations," and specific agency policies on cost transfers. If the institution authorizes the principal investigator or other individual to have primary responsibility, given the requirements of subsection d. (2), for the management of sponsored agreement funds, then the institution's documentation requirements for the actions of those individuals (e.g., signature or initials of the principal investigator or designee or use of a password) will normally be considered sufficient.

5. Applicable credits.

a. The term "applicable credits" refers to those receipts or negative expenditures that operate to offset or reduce direct or F&A cost items. Typical examples of such transactions are: purchase discounts, rebates, or allowances; recoveries or indemnities on losses; and adjustments of overpayments or erroneous charges. This term also includes "educational discounts" on products or services provided specifically to educational institutions, such as discounts on computer equipment, except where the arrangement is clearly and explicitly identified as a gift by the vendor.

b. In some instances, the amounts received from the Federal Government to finance institutional activities or service operations should be treated as applicable credits. Specifically, the concept of netting such credit items against related expenditures should be applied by the institution in determining the rates or amounts to be charged to sponsored agreements for services rendered whenever the facilities or other resources used in providing such services have been financed directly, in whole or in part, by Federal funds. (See Sections F.10, J.14, and J.47 for areas of potential application in the matter of direct Federal financing.)

6. Costs incurred by State and local governments. Costs incurred or paid by State or local governments on behalf of their colleges and universities for fringe benefit programs, such as pension costs and FICA and any other costs specifically incurred on behalf of, and in direct benefit to, the institutions, are allowable costs of such institutions whether or not these costs are recorded in the accounting records of the institutions, subject to the following:

a. The costs meet the requirements of subsections 1 through 5.

b. The costs are properly supported by cost allocation plans in accordance with applicable Federal cost accounting principles.

c. The costs are not otherwise borne directly or indirectly by the Federal Government.

7. Limitations on allowance of costs. Sponsored agreements may be subject to statutory requirements that limit the allowance of costs. When the maximum amount allowable under a limitation is less than the total amount determined in accordance with the principles in this Circular, the amount not recoverable under a sponsored agreement may not be charged to other sponsored agreements.

8. Collection of unallowable costs, excess costs due to noncompliance with cost policies, increased costs due to failure to follow a disclosed accounting practice and increased costs resulting from a change in cost accounting practice. The following costs shall be refunded (including interest) in accordance with applicable Federal agency regulations:

a. Costs specifically identified as unallowable in Section J, either directly or indirectly, and charged to the Federal Government.

b. Excess costs due to failure by the educational institution to comply with the cost policies in this Circular.

c. Increased costs due to a noncompliant cost accounting practice used to estimate, accumulate, or report costs.

d. Increased costs resulting from a change in accounting practice.

9. Adjustment of previously negotiated F&A cost rates containing unallowable costs. Negotiated F&A cost rates based on a proposal later found to have included costs that (a) are unallowable as specified by (i) law or regulation, (ii) Section J of this Circular, (iii) terms and conditions of sponsored agreements, or (b) are unallowable because they are clearly not allocable to sponsored agreements, shall be adjusted, or a refund shall be made, in accordance with the requirements of this section. These adjustments or refunds are designed to correct the proposals used to establish the rates and do not constitute a reopening of the rate negotiation. The adjustments or refunds will be made regardless of the type of rate negotiated (predetermined, final, fixed, or provisional).

a. For rates covering a future fiscal year of the institution, the unallowable costs will be removed from the F&A cost pools and the rates appropriately adjusted.

b. For rates covering a past period, the Federal share of the unallowable costs will be computed for each year involved and a cash refund (including interest chargeable in accordance with applicable regulations) will be made to the Federal Government. If cash refunds are made for past periods covered by provisional or fixed rates, appropriate adjustments will be made when the rates are finalized to avoid duplicate recovery of the unallowable costs by the Federal Government.

c. For rates covering the current period, either a rate adjustment or a refund, as described in subsections a and b, shall be required by the cognizant agency. The choice of method shall be at the discretion of the cognizant agency, based on its judgment as to which method would be most practical.

d. The amount or proportion of unallowable costs included in each year's rate will be assumed to be the same as the amount or proportion of unallowable costs included in the base year proposal used to establish the rate.

10. Consistency in estimating, accumulating and reporting costs.

a. An educational institution's practices used in estimating costs in pricing a proposal shall be consistent with the educational institution's cost accounting practices used in accumulating and reporting costs.

b. An educational institution's cost accounting practices used in accumulating and reporting actual costs for a sponsored agreement shall be consistent with the educational institution's practices used in estimating costs in pricing the related proposal or application.

c. The grouping of homogeneous costs in estimates prepared for proposal purposes shall not per se be deemed an inconsistent application of cost accounting practices under subsection a when such costs are accumulated and reported in greater detail on an actual cost basis during performance of the sponsored agreement.

d. Appendix A also reflects this requirement, along with the purpose, definitions, and techniques for application, all of which are authoritative.

11. Consistency in allocating costs incurred for the same purpose.

a. All costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, are either direct costs only or F&A costs only with respect to final cost objectives. No final cost objective shall have allocated to it as a cost any cost, if other costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, have been included as a direct cost of that or any other final cost objective. Further, no final cost objective shall have allocated to it as a direct cost any cost, if other costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, have been included in any F&A cost pool to be allocated to that or any other final cost objective.

b. Appendix A reflects this requirement along with its purpose, definitions, and techniques for application, illustrations and interpretations, all of which are authoritative.

12. Accounting for unallowable costs.

a. Costs expressly unallowable or mutually agreed to be unallowable, including costs mutually agreed to be unallowable directly associated costs, shall be identified and excluded from any billing, claim, application, or proposal applicable to a sponsored agreement.

b. Costs which specifically become designated as unallowable as a result of a written decision furnished by a Federal official pursuant to sponsored agreement disputes procedures shall be identified if included in or used in the computation of any billing, claim, or proposal applicable to a sponsored agreement. This identification requirement applies also to any costs incurred for the same purpose under like circumstances as the costs specifically identified as unallowable under either this subsection or subsection a.

c. Costs which, in a Federal official's written decision furnished pursuant to sponsored agreement disputes procedures, are designated as unallowable directly associated costs of unallowable costs covered by either subsection a or b shall be accorded the identification required by subsection b.

d. The costs of any work project not contractually authorized by a sponsored agreement, whether or not related to performance of a proposed or existing sponsored agreement, shall be accounted for, to the extent appropriate, in a manner which permits ready separation from the costs of authorized work projects.

e. All unallowable costs covered by subsections a through d shall be subject to the same cost accounting principles governing cost allocability as allowable costs. In circumstances where these unallowable costs normally would be part of a regular F&A cost allocation base or bases, they shall remain in such base or bases. Where a directly associated cost is part of a category of costs normally included in a F&A cost pool that shall be allocated over a base containing the unallowable cost with which it is associated, such a directly associated cost shall be retained in the F&A cost pool and be allocated through the regular allocation process.

f. Where the total of the allocable and otherwise allowable costs exceeds a limitation-of-cost or ceiling-price provision in a sponsored agreement, full direct and F&A cost allocation shall be made to the sponsored agreement cost objective, in accordance with established cost accounting practices and standards which regularly govern a given entity's allocations to sponsored agreement cost objectives. In any determination of a cost overrun, the amount thereof shall be identified in terms of the excess of allowable costs over the ceiling amount, rather than through specific identification of particular cost items or cost elements.

g. Appendix A reflects this requirement, along with its purpose, definitions, techniques for application, and illustrations of this standard, all of which are authoritative.

13. Cost accounting period.

a. Educational institutions shall use their fiscal year as their cost accounting period, except that:

(1) Costs of a F&A function which exists for only a part of a cost accounting period may be allocated to cost objectives of that same part of the period on the basis of data for that part of the cost accounting period if the cost is: (i) material in amount, (ii) accumulated in a separate F&A cost pool or expense pool, and (iii) allocated on the basis of an appropriate direct measure of the activity or output of the function during that part of the period.

(2) An annual period other than the fiscal year may, upon mutual agreement with the Federal Government, be used as the cost accounting period if the use of such period is an established practice of the educational institution and is consistently used for managing and controlling revenues and disbursements, and appropriate accruals, deferrals or other adjustments are made with respect to such annual periods.

(3) A transitional cost accounting period other than a year shall be used whenever a change of fiscal year occurs.

b. An educational institution shall follow consistent practices in the selection of the cost accounting period or periods in which any types of expense and any types of adjustment to expense (including prior-period adjustments) are accumulated and allocated.

c. The same cost accounting period shall be used for accumulating costs in a F&A cost pool as for establishing its allocation base, except that the Federal Government and educational institution may agree to use a different period for establishing an allocation base, provided:

(1) The practice is necessary to obtain significant administrative convenience,

(2) The practice is consistently followed by the educational institution,

(3) The annual period used is representative of the activity of the cost accounting period for which the F&A costs to be allocated are accumulated, and

(4) The practice can reasonably be estimated to provide a distribution to cost objectives of the cost accounting period not materially different from that which otherwise would be obtained.

d. Appendix A reflects this requirement, along with its purpose, definitions, techniques for application and illustrations, all of which are authoritative.

14. Disclosure Statement.

a. Educational institutions that received aggregate sponsored agreements totaling $25 million or more subject to this Circular during their most recently completed fiscal year shall disclose their cost accounting practices by filing a Disclosure Statement (DS-2), which is reproduced in Appendix B. With the approval of the cognizant agency, an educational institution may meet the DS-2 submission by submitting the DS-2 for each business unit that received $25 million or more in sponsored agreements.

b. The DS-2 shall be submitted to the cognizant agency with a copy to the educational institution's audit cognizant office.

c. Educational institutions receiving $25 million or more in sponsored agreements that are not required to file a DS-2 pursuant to 48 CFR 9903.202-1 shall file a DS-2 covering the first fiscal year beginning after the publication date of this revision, within six months after the end of that fiscal year. Extensions beyond the above due date may be granted by the cognizant agency on a case-by-case basis.

d. Educational institutions are responsible for maintaining an accurate DS-2 and complying with disclosed cost accounting practices. Educational institutions must file amendments to the DS-2 when disclosed practices are changed to comply with a new or modified standard, or when practices are changed for other reasons. Amendments of a DS-2 may be submitted at any time. If the change is expected to have a material impact on the educational institution's negotiated F&A cost rates, the revision shall be approved by the cognizant agency before it is implemented. Resubmission of a complete, updated DS-2 is discouraged except when there are extensive changes to disclosed practices.

e. Cost and funding adjustments. Cost adjustments shall be made by the cognizant agency if an educational institution fails to comply with the cost policies in this Circular or fails to consistently follow its established or disclosed cost accounting practices when estimating, accumulating or reporting the costs of sponsored agreements, if aggregate cost impact on sponsored agreements is material. The cost adjustment shall normally be made on an aggregate basis for all affected sponsored agreements through an adjustment of the educational institution's future F&A costs rates or other means considered appropriate by the cognizant agency. Under the terms of CAS-covered contracts, adjustments in the amount of funding provided may also be required when the estimated proposal costs were not determined in accordance with established cost accounting practices.

f. Overpayments. Excess amounts paid in the aggregate by the Federal Government under sponsored agreements due to a noncompliant cost accounting practice used to estimate, accumulate, or report costs shall be credited or refunded, as deemed appropriate by the cognizant agency. Interest applicable to the excess amounts paid in the aggregate during the period of noncompliance shall also be determined and collected in accordance with applicable Federal agency regulations.

g. Compliant cost accounting practice changes. Changes from one compliant cost accounting practice to another compliant practice that are approved by the cognizant agency may require cost adjustments if the change has a material effect on sponsored agreements and the changes are deemed appropriate by the cognizant agency.

h. Responsibilities. The cognizant agency shall:

(1) Determine cost adjustments for all sponsored agreements in the aggregate on behalf of the Federal Government. Actions of the cognizant agency official in making cost adjustment determinations shall be coordinated with all affected Federal agencies to the extent necessary.

(2) Prescribe guidelines and establish internal procedures to promptly determine on behalf of the Federal Government that a DS-2 adequately discloses the educational institution's cost accounting practices and that the disclosed practices are compliant with applicable CAS and the requirements of this Circular.

(3) Distribute to all affected agencies any DS-2 determination of adequacy and/or noncompliance.

D. Direct costs.

1. General. Direct costs are those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. Costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances must be treated consistently as either direct or F&A costs. Where an institution treats a particular type of cost as a direct cost of sponsored agreements, all costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances shall be treated as direct costs of all activities of the institution.

2. Application to sponsored agreements. Identification with the sponsored work rather than the nature of the goods and services involved is the determining factor in distinguishing direct from F&A costs of sponsored agreements. Typical costs charged directly to a sponsored agreement are the compensation of employees for performance of work under the sponsored agreement, including related fringe benefit costs to the extent they are consistently treated, in like circumstances, by the institution as direct rather than F&A costs; the costs of materials consumed or expended in the performance of the work; and other items of expense incurred for the sponsored agreement, including extraordinary utility consumption. The cost of materials supplied from stock or services rendered by specialized facilities or other institutional service operations may be included as direct costs of sponsored agreements, provided such items are consistently treated, in like circumstances, by the institution as direct rather than F&A costs, and are charged under a recognized method of computing actual costs, and conform to generally accepted cost accounting practices consistently followed by the institution.

E. F&A costs.

1. General. F&A costs are those that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. See Section F.1 for a discussion of the components of F&A costs.

2. Criteria for distribution.

a. Base period. A base period for distribution of F&A costs is the period during which the costs are incurred. The base period normally should coincide with the fiscal year established by the institution, but in any event the base period should be so selected as to avoid inequities in the distribution of costs.

b. Need for cost groupings. The overall objective of the F&A cost allocation process is to distribute the F&A costs described in Section F to the major functions of the institution in proportions reasonably consistent with the nature and extent of their use of the institution's resources. In order to achieve this objective, it may be necessary to provide for selective distribution by establishing separate groupings of cost within one or more of the F&A cost categories referred to in subsection 1. In general, the cost groupings established within a category should constitute, in each case, a pool of those items of expense that are considered to be of like nature in terms of their relative contribution to (or degree of remoteness from) the particular cost objectives to which distribution is appropriate. Cost groupings should be established considering the general guides provided in subsection c. Each such pool or cost grouping should then be distributed individually to the related cost objectives, using the distribution base or method most appropriate in the light of the guides set forth in subsection d.

c. General considerations on cost groupings. The extent to which separate cost groupings and selective distribution would be appropriate at an institution is a matter of judgment to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Typical situations which may warrant the establishment of two or more separate cost groupings (based on account classification or analysis) within an F&A cost category include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Where certain items or categories of expense relate solely to one of the major functions of the institution or to less than all functions, such expenses should be set aside as a separate cost grouping for direct assignment or selective allocation in accordance with the guides provided in subsections b and d.

(2) Where any types of expense ordinarily treated as general administration or departmental administration are charged to sponsored agreements as direct costs, expenses applicable to other activities of the institution when incurred for the same purposes in like circumstances must, through separate cost groupings, be excluded from the F&A costs allocable to those sponsored agreements and included in the direct cost of other activities for cost allocation purposes.

(3) Where it is determined that certain expenses are for the support of a service unit or facility whose output is susceptible of measurement on a workload or other quantitative basis, such expenses should be set aside as a separate cost grouping for distribution on such basis to organized research, instructional, and other activities at the institution or within the department.

(4) Where activities provide their own purchasing, personnel administration, building maintenance or similar service, the distribution of general administration and general expenses, or operation and maintenance expenses to such activities should be accomplished through cost groupings which include only that portion of central F&A costs (such as for overall management) which are properly allocable to such activities.

(5) Where the institution elects to treat fringe benefits as F&A charges, such costs should be set aside as a separate cost grouping for selective distribution to related cost objectives.

(6) The number of separate cost groupings within a category should be held within practical limits, after taking into consideration the materiality of the amounts involved and the degree of precision attainable through less selective methods of distribution.

d. Selection of distribution method.

(1) Actual conditions must be taken into account in selecting the method or base to be used in distributing individual cost groupings. The essential consideration in selecting a base is that it be the one best suited for assigning the pool of costs to cost objectives in accordance with benefits derived; a traceable cause and effect relationship; or logic and reason, where neither benefit nor cause and effect relationship is determinable.

(2) Where a cost grouping can be identified directly with the cost objective benefited, it should be assigned to that cost objective.

(3) Where the expenses in a cost grouping are more general in nature, the distribution may be based on a cost analysis study which results in an equitable distribution of the costs. Such cost analysis studies may take into consideration weighting factors, population, or space occupied if appropriate. Cost analysis studies, however, must (a) be appropriately documented in sufficient detail for subsequent review by the cognizant Federal agency, (b) distribute the costs to the related cost objectives in accordance with the relative benefits derived, (c) be statistically sound, (d) be performed specifically at the institution at which the results are to be used, and (e) be reviewed periodically, but not less frequently than every two years, updated if necessary, and used consistently. Any assumptions made in the study must be stated and explained. The use of cost analysis studies and periodic changes in the method of cost distribution must be fully justified.

(4) If a cost analysis study is not performed, or if the study does not result in an equitable distribution of the costs, the distribution shall be made in accordance with the appropriate base cited in Section F, unless one of the following conditions is met: (a) it can be demonstrated that the use of a different base would result in a more equitable allocation of the costs, or that a more readily available base would not increase the costs charged to sponsored agreements, or (b) the institution qualifies for, and elects to use, the simplified method for computing F&A cost rates described in Section H.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (3), effective July 1, 1998, a cost analysis or base other than that in Section F shall not be used to distribute utility or student services costs. Instead, subsections F.4.c and F.4.d may be used in the recovery of utility costs.

e. Order of distribution.

(1) F&A costs are the broad categories of costs discussed in Section F.1.

(2) Depreciation and use allowances, operation and maintenance expenses, and general administrative and general expenses should be allocated in that order to the remaining F&A cost categories as well as to the major functions and specialized service facilities of the institution. Other cost categories may be allocated in the order determined to be most appropriate by the institutions. When cross allocation of costs is made as provided in subsection (3), this order of allocation does not apply.

(3) Normally an F&A cost category will be considered closed once it has been allocated to other cost objectives, and costs may not be subsequently allocated to it. However, a cross allocation of costs between two or more F&A cost categories may be used if such allocation will result in a more equitable allocation of costs. If a cross allocation is used, an appropriate modification to the composition of the F&A cost categories described in Section F is required.

F. Identification and assignment of F&A costs.

1. Definition of Facilities and Administration. F&A costs are broad categories of costs. "Facilities" is defined as depreciation and use allowances, interest on debt associated with certain buildings, equipment and capital improvements, operation and maintenance expenses, and library expenses. "Administration" is defined as general administration and general expenses, departmental administration, sponsored projects administration, student administration and services, and all other types of expenditures not listed specifically under one of the subcategories of Facilities (including cross allocations from other pools).

2. Depreciation and use allowances.

a. The expenses under this heading are the portion of the costs of the institution's buildings, capital improvements to land and buildings, and equipment which are computed in accordance with Section J.14.

b. In the absence of the alternatives provided for in Section E.2.d, the expenses included in this category shall be allocated in the following manner:

(1) Depreciation or use allowances on buildings used exclusively in the conduct of a single function, and on capital improvements and equipment used in such buildings, shall be assigned to that function.

(2) Depreciation or use allowances on buildings used for more than one function, and on capital improvements and equipment used in such buildings, shall be allocated to the individual functions performed in each building on the basis of usable square feet of space, excluding common areas such as hallways, stairwells, and rest rooms.

(3) Depreciation or use allowances on buildings, capital improvements and equipment related to space (e.g., individual rooms, laboratories) used jointly by more than one function (as determined by the users of the space) shall be treated as follows. The cost of each jointly used unit of space shall be allocated to benefiting functions on the basis of:

(a) the employee full-time equivalents (FTEs) or salaries and wages of those individual functions benefiting from the use of that space; or

(b) institution-wide employee FTEs or salaries and wages applicable to the benefiting major functions (see Section B.1) of the institution.

(4) Depreciation or use allowances on certain capital improvements to land, such as paved parking areas, fences, sidewalks, and the like, not included in the cost of buildings, shall be allocated to user categories of students and employees on a full-time equivalent basis. The amount allocated to the student category shall be assigned to the instruction function of the institution. The amount allocated to the employee category shall be further allocated to the major functions of the institution in proportion to the salaries and wages of all employees applicable to those functions.

c. Large research facilities. The following provisions apply to large research facilities that are included in F&A rate proposals negotiated after January 1, 2000, and on which the design and construction begin after July 1, 1998. Large facilities, for this provision, are defined as buildings with construction costs of more than $10 million. The determination of the Federal participation (use) percentage in a building is based on institution's estimates of building use over its life, and is made during the planning phase for the building.

(1) When an institution has large research facilities, of which 40 percent or more of total assignable space is expected for Federal use, the institution must maintain an adequate review and approval process to ensure that construction costs are reasonable. The review process shall address and document relevant factors affecting construction costs, such as:

- Life cycle costs

- Unique research needs

- Special building needs

- Building site preparation

- Environmental consideration

- Federal construction code requirements

- Competitive procurement practices

The approval process shall include review and approval of the projects by the institution's Board of Trustees (which can also be called Board of Directors, Governors or Regents) or other independent entities.

(2) For research facilities costing more than $25 million, of which 50 percent or more of total assignable space is expected for Federal use, the institution must document the review steps performed to assure that construction costs are reasonable. The review should include an analysis of construction costs and a comparison of these costs with relevant construction data, including the National Science Foundation data for research facilities based on its biennial survey, "Science and Engineering Facilities at Colleges and Universities.” The documentation must be made available for review by Federal negotiators, when requested.

3. Interest. Interest on debt associated with certain buildings, equipment and capital improvements, as defined in Sections J.25, shall be classified as an expenditure under the category Facilities. These costs shall be allocated in the same manner as the depreciation or use allowances on the buildings, equipment and capital improvements to which the interest relates.

4. Operation and maintenance expenses.

a. The expenses under this heading are those that have been incurred for the administration, supervision, operation, maintenance, preservation, and protection of the institution's physical plant. They include expenses normally incurred for such items as janitorial and utility services; repairs and ordinary or normal alterations of buildings, furniture and equipment; care of grounds; maintenance and operation of buildings and other plant facilities; security; earthquake and disaster preparedness; environmental safety; hazardous waste disposal; property, liability and all other insurance relating to property; space and capital leasing; facility planning and management; and, central receiving. The operation and maintenance expense category should also include its allocable share of fringe benefit costs, depreciation and use allowances, and interest costs.

b. In the absence of the alternatives provided for in Section E.2.d, the expenses included in this category shall be allocated in the same manner as described in subsection 2.b for depreciation and use allowances.

c. For F&A rates negotiated on or after July 1, 1998, an institution that previously employed a utility special cost study in its most recently negotiated F&A rate proposal in accordance with Section E.2.d, may add a utility cost adjustment (UCA) of 1.3 percentage points to its negotiated overall F&A rate for organized research. Exhibit B displays the list of eligible institutions. The allocation of utility costs to the benefiting functions shall otherwise be made in the same manner as described in subsection F.4.b. Beginning on July 1, 2002, Federal agencies shall reassess periodically the eligibility of institutions to receive the UCA.

d. Beginning on July 1, 2002, Federal agencies may receive applications for utilization of the UCA from institutions not subject to the provisions of subsection F.4.c.

5. General administration and general expenses.

a. The expenses under this heading are those that have been incurred for the general executive and administrative offices of educational institutions and other expense of a general character which do not relate solely to any major function of the institution; i.e., solely to (1) instruction, (2) organized research, (3) other sponsored activities, or (4) other institutional activities. The general administration and general expense category should also include its allocable share of fringe benefit costs, operation and maintenance expense, depreciation and use allowances, and interest costs. Examples of general administration and general expenses include: those expenses incurred by administrative offices that serve the entire university system of which the institution is a part; central offices of the institution such as the President's or Chancellor's office, the offices for institution-wide financial management, business services, budget and planning, personnel management, and safety and risk management; the office of the General Counsel; and, the operations of the central administrative management information systems. General administration and general expenses shall not include expenses incurred within non-university-wide deans' offices, academic departments, organized research units, or similar organizational units. (See subsection 6, Departmental administration expenses.)

b. In the absence of the alternatives provided for in Section E.2.d, the expenses included in this category shall be grouped first according to common major functions of the institution to which they render services or provide benefits. The aggregate expenses of each group shall then be allocated to serviced or benefited functions on the modified total cost basis. Modified total costs consist of the same elements as those in Section G.2. When an activity included in this F&A cost category provides a service or product to another institution or organization, an appropriate adjustment must be made to either the expenses or the basis of allocation or both, to assure a proper allocation of costs.

6. Departmental administration expenses.

a. The expenses under this heading are those that have been incurred for administrative and supporting services that benefit common or joint departmental activities or objectives in academic deans' offices, academic departments and divisions, and organized research units. Organized research units include such units as institutes, study centers, and research centers. Departmental administration expenses are subject to the following limitations.

(1) Academic deans' offices. Salaries and operating expenses are limited to those attributable to administrative functions.

(2) Academic departments: