Posted January 29, 2021 by Tiffany Lee
The Office of Sponsored Programs is updating its proposal budget template to reflect a set of changes to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s approach to charging graduate research assistants’ tuition remission. The new policies apply to GRAs paid through sponsored research projects or state-aided accounts.
Starting in the fall 2020 semester, the university is charging GRA tuition remission to the students’ source or sources of funding at the time of remission posting. The cost will reflect the tuition rate for the college or unit in which the GRA is housed. This is a departure from the pooled approach, where each college was charged its pro rata share in an amount calculated based on the university’s fringe benefit rate.
The change is part of Nebraska’s shift to an incentive-based budget model, under which the university is decentralizing budget authority, shifting responsibility from the central administration to individual schools or programs. The new policy ensures that colleges are charged GRA remission in accordance with their varying tuition rates, which range between $341 and $472 per credit hour. Previously, they all were charged at a rate that fell somewhere between those two amounts.
Sponsored Programs expects the new templates to be ready in February and will provide additional training and guidance at that time. With questions, contact David Doty, director of sponsored programs, 402-472-1825.
