New Faculty Research Startup Funding Requests

Guidance for New Faculty Startup Research Funding Requests Involving the Office of Research (OR)

The Office of Research (OR) partners with Departments, Colleges, and Research Centers to provide startup funding to assist new tenure-track or tenured faculty hires with establishing their research program at USU. This funding is intended to position new faculty to pursue external funding, especially F&A generating grants and contracts.

This guidance is designed to:

• Assist Department Heads in preparing startup funding requests to OR
• Serve as a reference for new faculty members and business services staff regarding allowable uses and terms of funding

The guidelines are reviewed and updated annually with input from the Department Head Exec Committee.

General Principles

• OR startup funding is intended to match or fund costs for the research, scholarship, or creative activities for new tenure-track or tenured faculty whose role statement includes research.
• Funding is available only for new faculty members with a home department in an academic college.
• Departments are responsible for providing required office and laboratory space to support the new faculty.
• OR funding may provide up to 50% of total startup costs and is proportional to the new faculty member’s research role assignment (e.g., a 45% research role may receive up to 45% OR support).
• OR funding begins the semester employment starts. Funding timelines for ABD (all but dissertation) hires may differ (see Department and College Index Setup).
• Pre-approval from OR is required before any verbal or written offer to new faculty that includes startup funding commitments.  
• Requests of $175,000 or greater require discussion among the VPR, Dean, Department Head, and/or Center Director. Meetings may be scheduled through Teresa Seeholzer at 435-797-1180 or teresa.seeholzer@usu.edu.
• Agreements with OR funding of $175,000 or more may require an annual budget review involving OR, the new faculty member and business services.
• The VPR reserves the right to decline specific funding or matching requests.

Best Practices

• Department Heads are strongly encouraged to work with candidates to identify resources needed to assist them in becoming successful in their research.
• Significant consideration should be given to existing USU resources that can be leveraged (e.g., existing equipment, core facilities, standard USU Facilities upgrades to address office refreshing, etc.).
• OR encourages ongoing communication during the request preparation, funding, and closeout periods to address any changes, concerns, or questions that may arise.
• Full transparency of the startup funding package with the new faculty member is expected.

Steps for Completing the Startup Agreement Process

1. Request and Pre-approval
   
   1. The Department Head completes the new faculty research startup budget form and provides a budget detail or justification.
   2. The proposed budget, details or justification, draft of offer letter, and role statement are submitted to OR Financial Officer (alisha.beus@usu.edu).
   3. OR reviews the request and will either reach out with any concerns or provide an email pre-approving the request and funding commitment.
   4. The Department Head extends offer to the candidate.
2. Finalizing the Agreement
   
   1. Upon offer acceptance, the Department Head submits to OR Financial Officer (alisha.beus@usu.edu):
      
      • Signed Offer Letter
      • Signed Role Statement
      • Final budget form (only required if changes to the allocations of the pre-approval commitment are needed; otherwise, Department Head can indicate that the proposed budget is final and ready for signatures.)
   2. The Department must submit documentation to OR within 60 days of the offer letter signature to finalize the OR new faculty startup agreement. Failure to meet this deadline may result in OR reducing its contribution by 50% or rescinding the pre-approval commitment entirely.
   3. OR verifies the submitted documentation and routes the final budget form for signatures from all funding entity administrators (e.g., Department Head, Dean, Center Director). Each signee will receive a copy of the completed form.
      
      • Additional signatories may be included at the Department Head’s request. Requests must include the name and email address of each individual and must be submitted with the final budget.
3. VPR Index Setup and Transfer of Funds
   
   1. The new faculty member’s A#, USU email address, and Unit Code are required to create OR funding indexes prior to transferring funds. This information is provided to OR Financial Officer (alisha.beus@usu.edu) by the Department’s business services team.
   2. OR submits the new VPR Equipment and/or VPR Personnel index requests to the Controller’s Office and notifies the Department’s business services team when complete.
4. Department and College Index Setup
   1. Best practices for setting up Department and College indexes for tracking NFS labor and expenditures:
      • When submitting the ServiceNow new index request provide the following:
        1. Index Title: NFS DPCODE Last Name, First Name/Initial Fund Type
           Examples:
           Department Index: NFS DPELED Smith, John FT12
           College Index: NFS CLEDUC Johnson, K FT13
        2. Attribute: Add “NFSU” attribute request in Comments section
      • Email new Department and College index numbers to OR Financial Officer (alisha.beus@usu.edu)
      • If an NFS Agreement includes recruitment costs or moving allowances that are not charged to an NFS index, the detailed expenditures must be submitted to OR along with supporting documentation for all recruitment‑related expenses.
   2. The Department and business services team support the new faculty member in understanding and managing their startup funding.
   3. For ABD candidates, the Department must notify OR when the degree confirmation documentation has been submitted to the Provost’s Office. OR will initiate startup funding after the Provost’s Office verifies all degree requirements have been met. The four-year OR funding period (with a five-year spending period) will begin the semester after the notification. Other funding sources included in the agreement may follow a different timeline.

Budget Form Instructions

Top Section

• Line items in the top section of the budget form are funded by the 
  Department, College, and/or Other Cost Centers, with corresponding amounts matched by OR in the remaining sections of the form. Line items must be included in the budget detail or justification submitted to OR.  The amounts listed in this section will be compared to Department, College, and University data for previous new faculty startup requests (data available from Alisha Beus).
  
  • Recruiting – Costs associated with the interview process (e.g., airfare, lodging, meals) for the specific individual for whom startup funding is requested. This does not include expenses incurred for all candidates during a search.
  • Moving – Moving reimbursements will follow USU Policy and Procedure Policy 3010: Relocation Assistance. This may also include travel costs for a trip to search for housing.
  • Summer Salary – Up to three months of summer salary will be matched by OR. The department will need to indicate the funding source/fund type to determine if benefits should be included.
  • Research Travel – Conference (New faculty member only) – Costs associated with new faculty member travel to conferences, including conference registration fees.
• Indicate office and lab space by building and room number to be assigned to the new faculty member for their research activities.

Equipment/Operating (E/O)

• Line items in this section may be funded or matched by OR, Departments, Colleges, and Other Cost Centers. These items must be included in the budget detail provided to OR.
  
  • Capital equipment (value >$5,000) must be listed on a single line. Vendor quotes are required for capital equipment over $25,000. Department Heads may be asked about availability of appropriate space for large instrumentation and plans for safe operation.
  • Non-capital equipment and operating supplies should be batched together in similar groups. OR strongly suggests organizing the request in categories within the equipment/operating section such as computer and peripherals, software, disposable laboratory supplies, chemicals, small tools/equipment, sample analyses, etc.
  • Research Travel. This should involve travel to field research sites, archives, etc. to gather data.
  • Operating costs may include open access publication costs for research or creative activities performed at USU.
  • Costs associated with professional development activities to enhance research competitiveness will be considered with justification. These activities should be clearly distinguished from training already offered by OR to all faculty.
  • Projects using startup funding to support research involving human participants must be reviewed by the USU IRB before expenditures are incurred. USU Policy 4103: Protection of Human Participants in Research.
  • The name and position title of the system administrator or support technician is required for all startup requests that include devices or services as outlined in USU Policy 5200: Information Security section 2.4.1

Personnel

• To align with USU's goal of obtaining Carnegie R1 classification, OR strongly favors funding in personnel categories that influence this designation, such as graduate research assistantships and post-doctoral researchers. Line items in this section may be funded or matched by OR, Departments, Colleges, and Other Cost Centers and must be clearly documented in the budget detail or justification submitted to OR.
  
  • Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) – Funding commitments from all contributors are to support graduate research assistants (P03 positions only) including the salary, withholdings, and the department portion of the subsidized insurance. Funding is not to be used for tuition, fees, hiring expenditures (e.g., background checks, position postings, etc.), or the student’s portion of the subsidized insurance or fees.
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher – Funding commitments from all sources are to support an employee in a post-doctoral fellow I, II, III salaried position. Funding is not to be used for P10 or other wage hourly positions, hiring expenditures (e.g., job postings, background checks, immigration fees, etc.), travel, training, or office accommodations.
  • Undergraduate Researcher Wage Hourly – Funding commitments from all contributors are to support the wages and withholdings of undergraduate researchers. Funding is not to be used for hiring expenditures (e.g., job postings, background checks, etc.), ACA medical insurance, or to support ongoing positions for lab technicians or managers.

Items not funded or matched by OR

• Office supplies and furniture such as desks, chairs, couches, shelving, etc.
• Teaching related expenditures
• Construction costs – remodeling, structural changes, new or upgraded electrical, plumbing, IT, etc.
• Equipment service agreements and extended warranties
• Ongoing equipment O&M
• Service center equipment
• Vehicle purchases (vehicle rental is acceptable)
• Off-road vehicles (requests may be submitted through the OR Capital Equipment Grant Program)
• Tuition and Fees
• Student portion of the subsidized insurance or fees
• Hiring costs – advertising, background checks, immigration fees, etc.
• USU HR out of state telework fees
• ACA medical insurance - insurance for wage hourly employees that work 30+ hrs/week
• Memberships and Dues
• Conference travel costs for anyone other than the faculty member, including registration fees
• USU IT - Data, telephone, service desk, etc.

Additional Details and Terms on the use of Department, College, or Cost Center funds

The Department, College, or Cost Center may choose to provide funding above the limits set on the top section or items that are not funded or matched by OR. If desired, these additions and any terms can be listed on page 2 of the agreement form in the section for the funding entity.

OR Funding Contributions

Terms

• Office of Research NFS funding will be distributed over a four-year period.
• Office of Research NFS funding allows a five-year spending period.
• Residual funding on Office of Research contributions will be swept at the end of the agreement.

Details

• OR contributions to the equipment/operating and personnel sections of the new faculty startup will be paid in four installments.
  
  • o The first installment for new faculty beginning in Fall semester will be made when the faculty member is hired at USU, the second, third and fourth installments will be transferred at the start of the following fiscal years with the agreement ending June 30 of the fifth  fiscal year (e.g., those beginning Fall 2025 (FY26) would end June 30, 2030 (FY30)).
  • o For faculty hired beginning Spring semester, January 1st or later, installments will be annual but based on the calendar year with the agreement ending December 31st of the fifth calendar year (e.g., those beginning Spring 2026 (FY26) would end December 31, 2030 (FY31)).
• OR will request new indexes for equipment/operating and personnel support funded by OR. The department is responsible for all other funding indexes.
• OR will perform an annual review of the expenditures charged to the OR portion of the startup. The results of this review will be communicated to the new faculty member and the business services support if there are expenditures in question.
• Use of OR new faculty startup funds as match for external grant proposals requires approval from OR before the proposal is submitted and must be documented on a cost share commitment form. This match funding will only be available for the timeline of the new faculty startup funding. Any remaining funds in match accounts will be swept back.
• It is the new faculty member’s responsibility to ensure expenditures reflect the signed agreement form or any approved budget reallocations. Expenditures not approved as part of the OR funding will need to be moved to other funding sources. OR strongly encourages departmental business services to assist faculty in annually reviewing startup expenditures to determine that they are allowable. Any questions or concerns should be discussed with OR prior to the annual financial end of year.
• Requests for reallocations should be sent via email to alisha.beus@usu.edu. 
• At the end of the agreement period any unused funds from OR will be swept back and no longer available to the new faculty member. No extensions are allowed unless under circumstances wherein university policy for extended timelines is applicable. An example would be an extension of the tenure review date for a faculty member by the Provost’s office.
  
  • The new faculty member and department are responsible to ensure all expenditures associated with the agreement have been incurred and posted to the OR funded index by the end of the agreement. Expenditures not meeting these criteria will need to be removed.

Suggested Best Practices After the New Faculty Member Arrives

• A copy of the signed startup agreement will be shared with the new faculty member to provide full transparency.
• Assisting the new faculty member in understanding the startup agreement and creating a spending strategy will lead to the best use of funding in the time allotted and eliminate potential frustrations. Therefore, OR recommends the new faculty and business services team attend the OR annual budget training session. Prior to the session, new faculty will receive the signed budget form and index information for the OR funded portion.

OR startup funds cannot be used as match for other funding requests from OR (e.g., PDRF, URCO, equipment grants, etc.). Similarly, funding from other OR programs (e.g., PDRF, URCO, equipment and seed grants, etc.) cannot be used at match on startup agreements.

Questions can be directed to Alisha Beus at 797-7900; alisha.beus@usu.edu