Emory Research Administration News

Got Terminations?

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by

Demetrice S. Bryant
in

If you are a Department/RAS administer with a NIH Training Grant (T32), managing the trainee appointment forms and termination notices (TN) can be challenging and timely. Not only do they have quick deadlines and are due to NIH within 30 days of the trainee termination, but they also have a higher level of complexity.

The following outline is designed to provide information that will assist you in gaining approval for these types of awards more quickly by OGCA in eRA Commons.

Review the TN
In your review of the online TN, ask these questions and/or follow these steps.

  1. Did the PI initiate the Trainee Termination Notice?
  2. Review the Trainee information for the following:
    1. Trainee Summary (or attach a file) outlining the training received and research undertaken during trainee tenure. The Trainee should also list any publication, if any, resulting from the research during this period.
    2. Verify that the dates of the appointment are entered correctly based on the Statement of Training Appointment Form. If not, was this an early termination?
    3. Verify the Amount of Stipend is correct based on the appointment form and NRSA Stipend level for the Fiscal Year they were appointed.
    4. Verify that the appropriate Business Officer (BO) was selected to sign off on the termination notice on behalf of Emory:
      1. Team 1: Jennifer Crockett
      2. Team 2: Melissa Kuskie
      3. Team 3: Nicole Cohee

 

Review the Labor Distribution
In your review the labor distribution reports for the trainee.

  1. Make sure you have the correct stipend code.
    NOTE: NRSA Stipends need to be paid under Account Code: 61450
  2. If the stipend total is greater or less than the amount listed on the termination notice, an RST must be submitted online to correct or a payroll adjustment may be needed. (See article on ‘RSTs for NRSA Stipends’ for additional information.)
    NOTE: OGCA will not approve a termination notice until the stipend matches the termination notice.

Review the Business Officer (BO)

What do we do if the correct BO was not selected?

  1. Ask the PI to recall the TN and re-route with the correct BO.
  2. Contact the BO selected and ask them to re-route to PI so that the correct BO can be selected and re-routed.
  3. Contact the eRA Help Desk to request that the BO be changed.
    1. Unfortunately, OGCA does not have access to do this.
    2. The eRA Help Desk is the only ones that can correct this.

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Ensure that Notification is Appropriately Routed

The PI initiated the Trainee Termination Notice (TN) but the PI just received an email indicating that it has been re-assigned to him?

  1. If no action is taken by the current reviewer, eRA Commons will auto-route the form back to the last reviewer after 14 days of inactivity.
  2. If the PI is receiving the notification, the Trainee never completed their steps in the process. The PI will need to re-route it back to the Trainee for completion.

 

Melissa Kuskie
Associate Director
Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting