Policy Name
Policy on Tuition Remission for Graduate Students Supported by Sponsored Projects
Initial Policy Date
February 27, 2004
Revision Dates
October 14, 2004; March 15, 2009; June 25, 2009
Authorizing Officials
Gail Habicht, Vice President for Research
Lawrence Martin, Dean of the Graduate School
Purpose
The Graduate School and the Office of the Vice President
for Research aim to attract and retain top quality students to Stony Brook University’s graduate degree research programs by offering competitive recruitment packages including excellent salaries,
benefits and tuition remission. The purpose of this policy is to advise Principal Investigators on charging directly to sponsored projects a portion of tuition for graduate students assigned to
and supported by a sponsored project during the Fall and/or Spring semester(s).
Scope
This policy applies to all faculty and
Principal Investigators who submit grant, contract, or subcontract proposals to external funding sources that if awarded, will be managed by the Research Foundation (RF).
Policy Statement
All proposals for sponsored research, teaching/training, or public service projects which include salary support for graduate
students must also include a request for graduate student tuition remission. Tuition at the current NYS rate, for six (6) credits per semester (Fall and Spring only), per graduate student, is to
be included in the proposal budget as a direct cost line item. Tuition remission costs are excluded from fringe benefits or indirect cost assessment.
Exceptions and Waivers
Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the Dean of
the Graduate School in cases where sponsors have a written policy prohibiting the charging of tuition as a direct cost to the sponsored project.
Waivers of tuition remission may be granted under the following circumstances:
- when the proposal is for a small award where total funding available to the PI(s) for the project will be less than $50,000 per year AND
- fifty percent (50%) of direct costs are budgeted for graduate student salaries;
- when the graduate student being supported is teaching full-time (15-20 hours per week) in addition to the work being conducted as a research assistant.
Exceptions and waivers should be submitted to the Department Chair and Dean of the Graduate School prior to submission of the proposal to the sponsor. Note: where exceptions or waivers are authorized by the Chair and Dean of the Graduate School, the Principal Investigator shall indicate that six (6) credits of tuition at the NYS rate will be covered in the form of a university contributed tuition scholarship and the “waiver” box should be checked on the graduate students appointment form.
Implementation
Tuition remission for graduate students will be charged at six (6) credits per semester (Fall and Spring only), per RA, at
the NYS tuition rate. For proposals submitted on or after March 15, 2004 through March 14, 2009, the prior NYS rate of $1,725 will continue to be charged per graduate student, per semester (Fall
and Spring only) throughout the life of the resulting award. For proposals submitted on or after March 15, 2009, tuition will be charged at the current NYS graduate tuition rate effective Spring
2009 ($1,970) and effective Fall 2009 ($2094) per graduate student, per semester (Fall and Spring only) throughout the life of the resulting award.
Allocation and Utilization of Funds
Two thirds of tuition remission collected will be allocated to and used by the graduate program under which the funded graduate student is enrolled (either to
the Chair or Graduate Program Director, depending on where fiscal responsibility for the salary resides). Use of these funds is restricted to graduate program support. One third of the tuition
remission revenue will be allocated to and administered by the Graduate School and the use of these funds will be restricted to stipends or salary support for graduate students (e.g. supplements
or program expansion through additional lines).
Responsibilities
The Principal Investigator is responsible for including tuition remission as a direct cost budget item in proposal
applications. The Office of Sponsored Programs is responsible for ensuring that tuition remission is included in proposals per this policy and identified on the internal approval and routing form
(Four page form-SUSB 299) and for notifying the Principal Investigator of a resulting sponsor award. The Office of Grants Management is responsible for charging the tuition remission to the
appropriate award(s) and transferring the funds to the Graduate School. The Graduate School is responsible for transferring two-thirds of the funds to the appropriate Department Chair or Graduate
Program Director and retaining one-third for the Graduate School.
Reporting Requirements
The Chair or Graduate Program Director is responsible for reporting annually on the use of tuition
remission allocations to their respective Dean, the Vice President for Research, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The Graduate School is responsible for reporting on the use of its tuition
remission allocation on an annual basis to the Graduate Council.
Instructions/Forms
Office of Sponsored Programs Four Page Form: http://stonybrook.edu/research/forms/osp/299.shtml
Employee Appointment/Change Forms http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/HRSForms.nsf/256ae0f317db831085256a6f00699bd4/4bab8dd6ed5e019885256aa2005e30bd?OpenDocument
