Budgeting Tips: Personnel & Fringe

SUMMER SALARIES for PI's and Co-PI's go in the personnel line. In order to do these calculations, you will need to know your current rank and rate of pay. (Your current rate of pay appears on your paycheck stub, if you do not know the exact amount). The only way for a faculty member to receive additional salary on an award is to charge summer salary, even if the majority of the work will be done during the academic year. One month of summer salary equals 1/9 of your annual tax levy salary. The University's Multiple Position Policy limits summer salary to a maximum of three months on a research project--less for training or other type of project. Some agencies and foundations also limited the amount of summer salary one may request.
RELEASE TIME (or "reassigned time") "buys you out" of a course; your annual rate of pay remains the same. One three-credit class equals 1/7 or 14.3% of a faculty member's workload. Arrangements to buy out a course at replacement rates (i.e. the cost of an adjunct salary) must be made with your Chair and the appropriate dean before submission.
For multi-year projects, contractual salary increases should be factored in. SPAR can help you do this if you provide your current salary.
Salaries for research and other personnel go beneath the faculty personnel. The Research Foundation publishes Salary Guidelines for various classes of personnel; select the category that most closely matches the actual work your personnel will do and base his/her salary in that range. These figures are based on a full time (35 hour per week) work schedule. Reduce the amount accordingly for part-time employees. Most graduate assistants at Baruch are paid approximately $14-25 per hour.
FRINGE BENEFITS through the Research Foundation are a direct charge to a grant. It is useful to remember when you prepare a grant that employees who work an average of less than 20 hours per week are eligible for a substantially smaller fringe benefit rate. This can help bring the budget total down. The rates for budgeting purposes are:

Category	Description	Rate
Full-time and Part-time A	Full time Employees scheduled to work 35 or more hours per week and paid on an annual basis.	36.5%
Part-time A	Part time employees scheduled to work between 20 and 34 hours per week, and paid on an hourly basis	36.5%
Part-time B	Part/Time employees scheduled to work no more than 19 hours per week, and paid on an hourly basis. CUNY Faculty who are on Sabbatical Leave.	10%
Released Time Faculty	CUNY Faculty released to work on a grant or contract	33%
Summer Salary	CUNY Faculty who are receiving Summer Salary payments	25%

For more info, please visit the fringe page on the RF website.

Last updated: 11/20/2008