Glossary

1/6th Rule

Board of Regents Policy that permits faculty consulting work outside the University as long as it does not interfere with teaching and other University commitments, normally not more than 1/6 of their time during any academic period

1800 Grant Street

Location in downtown Denver where University offices are located, ie, President's Office, Payroll and Employee Services, Office of University Controller, Office of Policy and Efficiency, Board of Regents, Internal Audit, University Systems Office, etc.

A-21

Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 -- Cost Principles for Educational Institutions  (superseded by CFR Title 2, Part 200)

A-110

Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 -- Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations  (superseded by CFR Title 2, Part 200)

A-122

Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Circular A-122 -- Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations (superseded by CFR Title 2, Part 200)

A-133

Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 -- Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations (superseded by CFR Title 2, Part 200 Sub part F, see “Single Audit” below)

AAALAC

American Association of Animal Laboratory Accreditation Council

AAAS

American Association for the Advancement of Science

AAMC

Association of American Medical Colleges

AAU

Association of American Universities

ABRF

Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities

ACO

Administrative Contracting Officer

Account Code

a/c.  A ChartField used to identify the nature and financial type of a financial transaction

ACM$

National Science Foundation’s system for awardees to manage award payment and post-award financial processes

ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

AFAA

Air Force Audit Agency

AFARS

Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 

AFOSR

Air Force Office of Scientific Research

AFRL

Air Force Research Laboratory

AHRQ

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Allocable

A cost is allocable to a particular award or other cost objective if the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable to that award or cost objective in accordance with relative benefits received. Able to assign assigning a cost, or a group of costs, to one or more cost objective(s), in reasonable proportion to the benefit provided or other equitable relationship.

Allowable

A cost that is necessary, reasonable and allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods provided for sponsored projects

ALN

Assistance Listing Number – five-digit number assigned in the awarding document for all federal assistance award mechanisms, including federal grants and cooperative agreements (formerly CFDA)

AMC

Anschutz Medical Campus

Amendment

Same as modification

ANPRM

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

AOR

Authorized Official Representative

AP

Accounts Payable

APL

Applied Physics Laboratory

APPE

Association of Practical & Professional Ethics

APS

Administrative Policy Statement -- policy statements issued by the System Office and are applicable to all University campuses

AR

Accounts Receivable

ARL

Army Research Lab

ARO

Army Research Office

ARDA

Advanced Research & Development Activity

ARPA

Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E, ARPA-H, DARPA)

ASAP

Department of Treasury's Automated Standard Application for Payment system which allows web based funds withdrawal from grant accounts

ATP

Advanced Technology Program

At-Risk Extension

A type of extension that may be requested during the life of an award when a PI anticipates a sponsor will provide official documentation of a new end date, with or without additional funding

Audit

An inspection of accounting records and procedures by a trained accountant for the purpose of verifying the accuracy and completeness of the records, and may also include examination of compliance with applicable terms, laws, and regulations

Award

Funds that have been obligated by a funding agency for a particular project; an award may have multiple project numbers

Award Lifecycle

Also known as Lifecycle of an Award (LOA). This is the entire process of an award – starting from proposal development and ending with award closeout. There are two major stages: pre-award and post-award.

AWOF or AWF

Agreement Without Funds -- a non-monetary service or research contract, under the authority of the Office of Contracts and Grants, between CU and another external entity or entities

AY

Academic Year

B2B

Business to Business

BA

Business Analyst

BAA

Broad Agency Announcement

BLM

Bureau of Land Management

BPN

Business Partner Network

Budget

A detailed statement outlining estimated project costs to support work under a sponsored project

Budget Deviation

Significant change from the sponsor-approved budget which may or may not require OCG or CCO approval (contact your Grant Officer or Area Accountant)

Budget Period

The interval of time, typically twelve months, when the project period is divided for budgetary and funding purposes

Burn Rate

The rate at which the budget is being spent

Capital Expenditure

Expenditure on an asset costing $5,000 or more that has a life of more than one year, used interchangeably with fixed asset or equipment. Individual sponsors may have different dollar limitations defining "capital equipment".

Carry Forward /
Carry Over

The process by which unobligated funds remaining at the end of a budget period may be carried forward (carried over) to another budget period. Some awards require sponsor approval for carry forwards.

CAS 

Federally mandated Cost Accounting Standards intended to ensure uniformity in budgeting and spending funds

CAS 501

Cost Accounting Standards 501 -- Consistency in estimating, accumulating and reporting costs by educational institutions 

CAS 502

Cost Accounting Standards 502 -- Consistency in allocating costs incurred for the same purpose by educational institutions 

CAS 505

Cost Accounting Standards 505 -- Unallowable costs must be identified and excluded from all claims for reimbursement

CAS 506

Cost Accounting Standards 506 -- Institutions must consistently use the same cost accounting period for estimating, accumulating, and reporting costs

CAS Exceptions (3 criteria)

Contracts & Subcontracts exempt from all CAS requirements are those whose work will be executed and performed entirely outside the United States, its territories, and its possessions

CASB

Cost Accounting Standards Board

CBD

Commerce Business Daily

CBO

Congressional Budget Office

CCH

Commerce Clearing House

CCO

Campus Controller's Office

CCR

Central Contractor Registration

CFDA#

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance – former unique number assigned to federal assistance programs (superseded by ALN in 2018)

CFO

Chief Financial Officer

CFR

Code of Federal Regulations -- the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States

CFR Title 2, Part 200 (2 CFR 200)

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards -- supersedes OMB Circulars A-21, A-110 and A-133 and became effective for universities on 12/26/14

CFS

Committee on Fundamental Science

Chart of Accounts

COA -- a list of accounts in the general ledger that are systematically classified by title & number

CICA

Competition in Contracting Act

CIW

Central Information Warehouse, Data tables from PeopleSoft Finance and HR modules maintained on-line and available for writing BrioQuery or Access reports. 

Classified Salary

Salaries of administrative and clerical staff that should normally be treated as F&A costs. Direct charging of these costs may be appropriate where a major project or activity explicitly budgets for administrative or clerical services, and individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity. "Major project" is defined as a project requiring an extensive amount of administrative or clerical support, which is significantly greater than the routine level of such services provided by academic departments.

CLIN

Contract Line Item Number

Close Out

Procedures used after project termination to ensure all required paperwork, reports, and financial clean-up has occurred to submit required paperwork to sponsors and retire the project in PeopleSoft

CMIA

Cash Management Improvement Act

CMMC

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification – DOD program to enforce protection of sensitive unclassified information that is shared by the Department with its contractors and subcontractors

CMP

Conflict Management Plan

CNO

Chief Naval Operations

CO

Contracting Officer

Co-PI/Co-I

Co-Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator

COGNOS Reporting Tool

Systems tool used to generate m-fin financial reports from PeopleSoft

COGR

Council on Government Relations

COI

Conflict of Interest

Concur

System operated and maintained by PSC that supports University travel (Concur Travel) and is the mechanism by which PCard transactions, employee reimbursements, and travel card expenditures are allocated to the appropriate SpeedType (Concur Expense)

Confidential Information (CU classification)

Includes data elements usually not disclosed to the public but are less sensitive than highly confidential data. If a legally required and applicable Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request is submitted, these records may be released. See additional information regarding CU’s Data Classification.

Consistency

The principle of applying same methodology to similar transactions, events, or circumstances

Contract

A mechanism for procurement of a product or service with specific obligations for both sponsor and recipient. Typically, a research topic and the methods for conducting the research are specified in detail by the sponsor.

Cooperative Agreement

An award similar to a grant, but in which the sponsor's staff may be actively involved in proposal preparation and anticipate having substantial involvement in research activities once the award has been made

Corporate Travel Card

VISA card used by employees for University-related travel expenses; it provides State travelers with insurance coverage, and is required for expenses related to the use and fueling of rental vehicles, lodging, airline tickets and other common carrier tickets (if not purchased through an approved travel agency), and international travel expenses.

COS

Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council

COSEPUP

Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy

Cost Accounting Standards

(CAS) Federally mandated accounting standards intended to ensure uniformity in budgeting and spending funds

Cost Principles

The treatment of costs in accordance with Uniform Guidance, campus and university policies and procedures. The specific cost can be charged to an award only if it is allowable, reasonable, and allocable.

Cost Share

Cost Share or Matching is that portion of the costs of research, training, public service or equipment projects that the University or a third party pays for or documents as its portion of a project's costs

Cost Share: Statutory/Mandatory

Cost share commitments that are required by the agency for the award

Cost Share: Voluntary Committed

Cost share commitments that are not required for the award but are voluntarily committed in the budget and/or in the project proposal

Cost Share: Voluntary Uncommitted

Cost share commitments that are neither required for the award nor obligated in the project budget or proposal but represent University commitment actually spent on the project. This type of cost share does not need to be tracked, reported, or included in the F&A base.

Cost Share: In Kind

Contributions or assistance in a form other than money-equipment, materials, or services of recognized value that are offered in lieu of cash. 

Cost Transfer

A cost transfer involves the recording of an expense in a sponsored project SpeedType that had previously been charged elsewhere. Cost transfers should be considered “the exception, rather than the rule,” and must be kept to a minimum. They must be allowable, timely, reasonable, consistent, of benefit to the sponsored project that is the recipient of the cost, and adequately documented.  

COR

Contract Officer’s Representative

CORA

Colorado Open Records Act

COTR

Contract Officer Technical Representative

CPARS

Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System

CPFF

Cost Plus Fixed Fee

CPSR

Contractor Purchasing System Review

CR or Cost Reimbursable

A funded agreement in which the sponsor reimburses the university after costs are incurred, invoiced and found allowable

CRADA

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

CRS

Congressional Research Service

CSR

Center for Scientific Review

CTSA

Clinical & Translational Science Award

CU-Data

The official reporting system that contains m-Fin, eRA reports and other types of reports

CUI

Controlled Unclassified Information

DA

Departmental Administrator -- the person in a department (center, institute, etc.) that is responsible for the day-to-day transaction processing of departmental financial events

DA

Department Administration Costs

DA

Department of the Army

DARPA

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DCE

Direct Cost Equivalent

DCAA

Defense Contract Audit Agency

DCASRs

Defense Contract Administration Services Regions

DEAR

Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations

DFARS

Department of Defense supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), applicable to DOD contracts and subcontracts, implements and supplements the FAR

Deliverable

Specific end product as a result of work performed on a sponsored project. Examples include a final technical report, an evaluation report, technical assistance, training, compiled database, etc., usually with specific deadlines.

DEPA

Disclosure of External Professional Activities -- the annual disclosure of information relevant to potential conflicts of interest and/or commitment

Depreciation

Allocating the acquisition cost of a fixed asset over its estimated useful life rather than charging its full cost in the year it was acquired

DHEW

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

DHHS

Department of Health and Human Services

DHS

Department of Homeland Security

DIA

Defense Intelligence Agency

DIALOG

A computer-based search system using key words 

DIPEC

Defense Industrial Plant Equipment Council

Direct Cost (DC)

Costs identified with the sponsored work that can be identified relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. General categories of direct costs include but are not limited to salaries and wages, fringe benefits, research supplies, contractual services, travel and communication, equipment, and computer use. 

DIS

Defense Investigative Service

DNA

Defense Nuclear Agency

DOC

Department of Commerce

DOD 

Department of Defense

DoD GAR

Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations -- these regulations provide uniform policies and procedures for the award and administration of DoD Grants and Cooperative Agreements (see FAR for contract regulations)

DOE

Department of Energy 

DoED

Department of Education

DOI

Department of the Interior

DOL

Department of Labor

Donor

An external party that provides a gift or endowment to the university who has no expectation of anything in return

DOT

Department of Transportation

DRA

Department Research Administrator

DS-2

The Boulder Campus Disclosure Statement filed with and approved by our federal cognizant agency (Department of Health and Human Services). The DS-2 formally states our policy for direct charging expenses to sponsored projects.

DSMB

Data Safety Monitoring Board for human subjects research

DSMP

Data Safety Monitoring Plan for human subjects research

DUNS

Dun & Bradstreet Number (replaced by UEI in 2022)

EAR

Export Administration Regulations

EARS

Electronic Approval and Routing Systems

ebXML

Electronic Business Extensible Markup Language

EC

Electronic Commerce

EDA

Economic Development Administration 

EDGAR

Education Department General Administration Regulations

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange

EEOC

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Effort Reporting

Reporting the amount of time spent by an employee on a particular activity during a certain period of time

EFT

Electronic Funds Transfer

EHS

Employee Health Services

EH&S

Environmental Health & Safety

EIN

Employer Identification Number

EMTALA

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Encumbrance

Costs obligated for expenditure but not yet realized. May be created by PO, SPO, tuition or payroll subsystems.

EO

Executive Order

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency

ESTTOOL

Estimation Tool – internal budget form used to estimate project costs

ePERs

Electronic Personnel Effort Reporting System -- paperless effort reporting forms completed & filed electronically

Equipment

(Also called capital equipment or fixed assets) Tangible personal property with a life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or more.

ERA

Economic Regulatory Administration 

ERA

Electronic Research Administration

ESCRO

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight

ESSCB

Empire State Stem Cell Board

ETA

Employment and Training Administration 

EVS

Equipment Visibility System

Exchange-like Transaction

Transaction in which there is an identifiable exchange between the University and a sponsoring agent but the exchange may not be quite equal, or the direct benefits of the exchange may not be exclusively for the parties

Expanded Authority

The authority granted to CU that waives the prior approval requirements by a sponsoring agency.   Expanded authority is used only for changes that are necessary for the completion of the project within its original scope and original total budget.

F&A (also IDC)

Indirect Costs, also known as overhead or facilities and administration costs (F&A)  -- Indirect (F&A) Costs: 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance defines indirect (F&A) costs as “those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved.” IDC or F&A are real costs to CU Boulder that are not readily or easily assignable to a specific funded project. Indirect costs help promote organized research at CU Boulder by providing funds for research-related expenses such as heat, light, water, electricity and custodial services in offices and laboratory spaces; occupational safety and hazardous waste removal; telecommunications; computers and internet access; and many other support services.

F&A Rate

A rate (in form of a percentage) that UCB charges to a sponsored project for the use of institution facilities and administration. This rate is negotiated every 3-4 years.

FAA

Federal Aviation Administration

Fabrication

Created component parts that work together to make a product or structure

FAPIIS

Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System

FAR

Federal Acquisition Regulations -- the primary regulation for use by all Federal Executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services with appropriated funds (federal contracts are often subject to the FAR) 

FARS

Financial Accounting and Reporting System

FASA

Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act 

FASAB

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board

FASEB

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 

FastLane

FastLane is an interactive real-time system used to conduct NSF business over the Internet.  Much of the system functionality has been transferred into Research.gov.

FBO

Federal Business Opportunities 

FCC

Federal Communications Commission 

FCST

Federal Council for Science and Technology

FDA

Food and Drug Administration

FDP I 

Florida Demonstration Project Phase 1

FDP II

Federal Demonstration Project Phase 2

FDP III & IV

Federal Demonstration Partnership Phase 3 and 4

FEA

Federal Enterprise Architectures

FECAI

Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Instructions

Federal Cognizant Agency

The federal agency to which we are assigned for purposes of certain administration functions such as F&A rate negotiation and audit resolution

Federal Flowthrough

A non-Federal entity that provides a Federal award to a subrecipient or subaward to carry out a Federal program

FEDIX

An online federal data base serving most federal agencies for online searches

Fellowship

Fellowships are funding to support the educational experience of the recipient and are not considered compensation for performance. The purpose of fellowships are to enhance academic experience or career growth and may be for research or non-research activities. Fellows are not considered to have an employee-employer relationship with the university.

FEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

FFATA

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 or "Transparency Act" -- The FFATA Subaward Reporting System tool is used by Federal prime awardees (i.e. prime contractors and prime grants recipients) to capture and report subaward and executive compensation data regarding their first-tier subawards 

FFMIA

Federal Financial Management Improvement Act

FFR

Federal Financial Report

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration 

FICC

Federal Interagency Coordinating Council

FileMaker

OCG database that supplies proposal and award information on proposals and awards.  This system is no longer used for this purpose and was replaced by InfoEd in 2015.

FIMA

Financial Management System

FIPSE

Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education

FISAP

Fiscal Operations Report & Application to Participate

Fiscal Manager

(Formerly known as Key Contact) Departmental Administrator who receives monthly project financial reports and is responsible for managing its financials

FISMA

Federal Information Security Management Act

Fixed Asset

Expenditure on an asset costing $5,000 or more that has a life of more than one year, used interchangeably with capital equipment or equipment

FP or Fixed Price

A funded agreement in which payment will be made upon a set dollar amount, regardless of how much is expended to complete the agreed upon performance

Fly America Act

This requires Federal employees and their dependents, consultants, contractors, grantees, and others performing United States Government financed foreign air travel to travel by U.S. flag air carriers

FMC

Federal Management Circular

FN

Foreign National

FOA

Funding Opportunity Announcement

FOB

Free On Board

FOIA

Freedom of Information Act

FPS

Financial Procedure Statement, which provides procedural guidance for University financial activity

FR

Federal Register

Fringe Benefits

Employee benefits paid by the employer (e.g., FICA, Worker's Compensation, Withholding Tax, Insurance, etc.)

FS&T

Federal Science and Technology Budget

FTC

Federal Telecommunications System

FTE

Full Time Equivalent

Funding

Financial resources provided to sponsored projects.

Funding: Incremental

A method of funding contracts that provides specific spending limits below the total estimated funding. These limits may be exceeded only at the contractor's own risk. Each increment is, in essence, a funding action.

Funding: Modular

Specific to NIH R01, R03, R15, & R21 awards that have direct cost budgets of $250K or less that require no budget detail with the proposal submission. Payments are made in $25K increments.  

Funding: Advance

Funding paid to the University by the sponsor at the beginning of the project. The terms of this type of payment usually require returning any unused funds to the sponsor at the completion of the project.

Funding: Fixed price (FP)

A contract/grant for which one party pays the other party a predetermined price, regardless of actual costs, for services rendered

Funding: Cost reimbursable (CR)

A contract/grant for which the sponsor pays for costs incurred in the conduct of the work on a defined cadence up to an agreed-upon amount

Funding: Supplement

Additional funding to a current funded award to add a closely related component to the ongoing award that is within the scope of the approved award

Funding Source

Funding received by several types of sponsors: Federal, State of Colorado, Industry, Foundations, Non-profits, Foreign entities, and other universities

FWA

Federal Wide Assurance

FY

Fiscal Year

G5

U.S. Department of Education grants management system

GA

General Administration (Costs)

GAAP

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

GAIR

General Administrative and Infrastructure Recharge is a combination of the General Administrative Recharge (GAR) and the General Infrastructure Recharge (GIR). The two have their own rates and are calculated separately in the Finance System, but are often referred to together as GAIR.

GAO

General Accounting Office

GAR

General Administrative Recharge -- a percentage rate charged to auxiliary and self-funded funds (20, 26, 28, and 29) and their renewal and replacement plant fund (78) and to agency funds (80) calculated monthly on expenditures.

GASB

Governmental Accounting Standards Board

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

General Purpose Equipment

Equipment which is not limited to research, medical, scientific, or other technical activities. Examples include office equipment and furnishings, modular offices, telephone networks, information technology equipment and systems, air conditioning equipment.

GIR

General Infrastructure Recharge -- a percentage rate charged to auxiliary and self-funded funds (20, 26, 28, and 29) and their renewal and replacement plant fund (78) calculated monthly on expenditures.

GL

General Ledger -- that part of PeopleSoft Finance that contains the accounting records of all financial data for the University that are used to generate the official financial reports of the University.

GMO

Grants Management Office

GMRA

Government Management Reform Act

GPO

Government Printing Office

GPRA

Government Performance and Results Act 

GRA

Graduate Research Assistant

GSA

General Services Administration

Grant

A grant is a legal instrument of financial assistance used to transfer money, property, or anything of value to a recipient in order to accomplish a particular purpose, without substantial involvement from the sponsor, in the direction of the project.  

Grant Officer (GO) /Contract Officer (CO) (OCG)

OCG staff member responsible for reviewing and negotiating contract terms, administering the award, and liaising with sponsor representatives during a project's period of performance.

Grant/Contract Officer (Sponsor)

A sponsor's designated individual who is officially responsible for the business management aspects of a particular grant, cooperative agreement, or contract. Serving as the counterpart to the business officer of the grantee/contractor organization, the grant/contract officer is responsible for all business management matters associated with the review, negotiation, award, and administration of a grant or contract and interprets the associated administration policies regulations, and provisions.

Grants.gov

Portal used to submit proposals for many federal awards, which are then distributed to each appropriate agency. Electronic proposal submission required from Feb 1, 2007 onwards.

GUIRR

Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable

HBCU

Historically Black College and University

HCFA

Health Care Financing Administration 

HCM

Human Capital Management -- this is the PeopleSoft human resources module that stores all personnel data and handles payroll and personnel actions.

HEGIS

Higher Education General Information Survey

HHS

Department of Health and Human Services

Highly Confidential (CU definition)

Includes data elements that require protection under laws, regulations, contracts, relevant legal agreements and/or require the university to provide notification of unauthorized disclosure/security incidents to affected individuals, government agencies or media. See additional information regarding CU’s Data Classification.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act

HRSA

Health Resources and Services Administration 

HSARPA

Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency

HSC

CU Denver's Health Sciences Center

HUD

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

IAA

Interagency Agreement

IACUC

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

IAEGC

Interagency Electronic Grants Committee 

IBC

Institutional Biosafety Committee

ICC

Interstate Commerce Commission 

ICR

Indirect Cost Recovery (or Revenue) -- F&A expenses charged to projects generate F&A revenue (recovery) that are booked to the general fund. This helps offset project expenses so a portion of ICR is then reallocated back to departments that generated this revenue and is transferred to a departmental ICR SpeedType.

IDC

See “F&A” above

IDEA

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access or, for the U.S. Department of Education, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IDIQ

Indefinite duration indefinite quantity

IFB

Invitation for Bid -- a solicitation issued to prospective bidders. An IFB describes what is required and how the bidders will be evaluated. Award is based on the lowest bid. Negotiations are not conducted.

IFR

Industry and Foundation Relations

IG

Inspector General

IN

Interdepartmental Invoice -- issued when one service department performs work or provides supplies for another University department

IMS

The Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) is a time-based schedule containing the networked, detailed tasks necessary to ensure successful program/contract execution that traces to the Integrated Master Plan (IMP), Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Statement of Work (SOW), Contractor Performance Report (CPR), and Earn Value Management system (EVMS).

IMURA

Inter Mountain University Research Administrators

Indirect Cost

See “F&A” above

infoEd

The system of record for proposal and award management. Also known as eRA or electronic research administration system.

Interest Account

An account (SpeedType) separately created for earned interest from non-federal sponsored awards, most common with awards from foundations. This type of account is specifically stated in the award terms and conditions.

Internal Controls

Mechanisms, rules and procedures that ensure the university financial, monitoring and compliance activities are accurate

IP

Intellectual Property 

IPA

Interagency Personnel Agreement 

IPASS

Interagency Panel on Advanced Science & Security

IPR

Intellectual Property Rights

IRB

Institutional Review Board (for human subjects research)

IRIS

An online search system for research opportunities developed by the University of Illinois. 

Also the acronym for International Resource Information System, an electronic grants portal maintained by the U.S. Department of Education for programs funded by Title VI of the Higher Education Act and the Fulbright-Hays Act.

ISC

Internal Services Center is a University center that provides goods and services to other University units, resulting in these units being charged an expense within their SpeedType

ISO/IEC

International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission

ITAR

International Traffic in Arms Regulations

ITMRA

Information Technology Management Reform Act

ITSO

Information Technology Security Office at CU Boulder

IUCRC

Industry–University Cooperative Research Center

JAG

Judge Advocate General

JE

Journal Entry (aka Cost Transfer)

JCS

Joint Chiefs of Staff

JPL

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Key Contact

Now known as Fiscal Manager.

LoB

Line of Business

LOBD

Level of Budget Detail

LOC

For CCO-RFS, LOC refers to Letter of Credit (see Payment: LOC), but means Limitation of Cost for OCG. Limitation of Cost is a mandatory clause for cost-reimbursement type contracts. Under the clause, the sponsor is not obligated to reimburse the contractor for costs in excess of the stated amount. The contractor, however, is not obligated to continue performance once expenses reach the stated amount.

Loggers (OCG)

OCG member who monitors the ocg@colorado.edu inbox and receives award documents and assigns action to appropriate OCG Grant or Contract Officer within infoEd.

LSA

Labor Surplus Area

M&O

Maintenance and Operations or Management and Operations Contractors

m-fin reports

On-demand reports delivered via the Cognos Reporting System

Marketplace

CU Marketplace is the University’s electronic procurement system that creates and approves purchase requisitions, places purchase orders, receives goods and services, and processes invoices through the internet. This system is maintained by an outside vendor.

Matching

See “Cost Share” above

Matching Grants

Matching grants are conditional awards that require the recipient to contribute a specified portion of the cost of a supported item of equipment or project be obtained from other sources.  The matched amount is considered by CU Boulder to be cost share (see “Cost Share” above).

MBDA

Minority Business Development Agency

MBE

Minority Business Enterprise

MECA

Midwest Conference on College Cost Accounting

Milestone (PeopleSoft)

PeopleSoft attribute that represents a report or invoice that is due and what date the report or invoice is due. An award may have multiple milestones.

Milestone (Project)

Milestones are markers on the project timeline to identify the important events, activities, or tasks.

Modification

An award document that modifies, changes, or revises any contractual aspect of an existing award

MOU

Memorandum of Understanding

MRA

Master Research Agreement

MSKCC

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

MTA

Material Transfer Agreement 

MTC

Modified Total Costs

MTDC

Modified Total Direct Costs -- F&A classification that exempts certain cost categories from F&A expense, such as tuition remission, fixed assets, student aid, and subcontract fees greater than 25,000

NACCA

National Conference on College Cost Accounting

NACUBO

National Association of College & University Business Officers

NAS

National Academy of Sciences

NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASULGC

National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges

NCC

National Coordinating Committee

NCE

No-Cost Extension -- a modification to an award that extends the end date without additional funding to allow for more time to complete the programmatic scope of work.

NCI

National Cancer Institute

NCRR

National Center for Research Resources 

NCST

National Council of Science and Technology

NCURA

National Council of University Research Administrators

NDA

Allows one party to share confidential information with the other party specifying how the receiving party/parties will protect and use the confidential information. NDAs are sometimes referred to as nondisclosure, proprietary information, or secrecy agreements, emphasizing the recipient's handling of the confidential information.

NEA

National Endowment for the Arts

NECA

Northeast Conference on College Cost Accounting

NEH

National Endowment for the Humanities 

NFS

NASA FAR Supplement, applicable to NASA contracts and subcontracts, implements and supplements the FAR

NGA

Notice of Grant Award

NIAID

National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases

NICRA

Negotiated indirect cost rate agreement -- Indirect costs are negotiated with the federal government regularly, in accordance with guidelines set forth in Appendix III to 2 CFR 200

NIE

National Institute of Education 

NIEHS

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

NIH

National Institutes of Health

NIJ

National Institute of Justice

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NLRB

National Labor Relations Board

NOA

Notice of Award

NOAA

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Nonexchange Transaction

Transaction in which a sponsoring agent gives value to the University without directly receiving a benefit in exchange

NPR

National Performance Review

NPRM

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

NPS

National Park Service

NRC

National Research Council

NRC

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NRL

Naval Research Laboratory

NSA

National Security Agency

NSABB

National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity

NSB

National Science Board

NSC

National Security Council

NSDD

National Security Decision Directive 189 (issued 1985)

NSF

National Science Foundation 

NSF/STIS

An online search system of the National Science Foundation

NSI

National Security Initiative at CU Boulder

NSP

Not Separately Priced

NSTC

National Science Technology Council

NTIS

National Technical Information Service 

NTSB

National Transportation Safety Board

NYSCF

New York Stem Cell Foundation

NYSTEM

New York State Stem Cell Science 

OBBR

Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research (NCI)

OCG

Office of Contracts & Grants

OCR

Office of Civil Rights

OCR

Office of Clinical Research (at MSKCC)

OEC

Office of Export Control at CU Boulder

OEDIT

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

OES

Office of Employment Security 

OET

Office of Employment Training

OFAC

Office of Foreign Assets Control

OFCC

Office of Federal Contract Compliance 

OFFM

Office of Federal Financial Management

OFM

Office of Financial Management 

OFR

Office of Federal Register

OHRP

Office of Human Research Protection

OIA

Office of Industrial Affairs

OIEC

Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance at CU Boulder

OIG

Office of Inspector General

OIRA

Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OMB)

OIS

Office of Information Security

OLAW

Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare

OLT

Over the Limit (cumulative expenditures posted are greater than the approved budget)

O&M

Operations and Maintenance Costs

OMB

Office of Management & Budget -- the federal office that establishes the principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other government agreements

ONR

Office of Naval Research 

OPAS

Organizational Prior Approval System -- OPAS is designed to be a PRIOR approval system for budget deviations and other project changes that require OCG approval

OPM

Office of Personnel Management

OPERA

Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration

OPRR

Office of Protection from Research Risks

ORA

Office of Research Administration 

Order of Precedence

Hierarchy of the many rules and regulations that must be followed throughout the life of an award with the most restrictive policies being the institutional policies

ORI

Office of Research Integrity 

OSEP

Office of Special Education Programs

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSP

Office of Sponsored Projects

OSTP

Office of Science and Technology Policy

OT

Office of Transportation

OTA

Other Transaction Agreement/Authority is a legal contract with the federal government that is not a grant, cooperative agreement, or a federal contract governed by FAR.  

OTT

Office of Technology Transfer (NIH)

OUC

Office of University Council

PAPPG

Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide – NSF’s guide comprised of documents relating to the Foundation’s proposal and award process for the assistance programs of NSF, updated annually

Participant Support Costs

Direct costs to support participants (non-employee of CU) in connection with conferences or training projects. Costs such as stipends, subsistence allowances, travel and registration fees. Most common with NSF grants; criteria for defining “Participant” for this purpose can vary by sponsor, but most follow NSF’s rubric.

Pass-through entity (PTE)

A non-Federal entity that provides a Federal award to a subrecipient to carry out a Federal program

Payment

Remuneration per the terms of the award

Payment: LOC

Cash requests are made through a Letter of Credit draw process for Federal awards

Payment: Invoice

Invoices are mailed according to the requirements of the sponsor, or draws are made via agency web sites

Payment: Auto Pay

Agency sends check or makes electronic funds transfer (EFT) to cover the award amount; agency may or may not require an invoice or a final report of expenditures

PCARD

CU Purchasing Card -- a VISA, issued to a specific individual, used by authorized University staff, faculty, and students, and by designated affiliate fiscal staff to purchase small-dollar items (maximum of $5,000) for university use (previously known as the A-Card)

PCAST

President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology

PCC

Policy Coordination Council

PCO

Procuring Contracting Officer

PDF

Portable Document Format

Pending

This term has a number of meanings & uses in OCG

PeopleSoft

CU’s official finance system used to record many of the financial transactions

Period of Performance

The time period during which the proposed work will be completed, and the funds awarded are available for expenditure by the recipient

PET

Payroll Expense Transfer -- transaction in PeopleSoft to move payroll charges to another SpeedType; the PET process automatically moves the benefits associated with the earnings that are being moved

PET: PETC

Correction Payroll Expense Transfer -- this is used to correct a single pay period using Employee ID and Pay Period/Pay Check. A PETC is used to correct a time entry override SpeedType/account code error

PET: PETP

ePER Payroll Expense Transfer -- a PET automatically generated by the PeopleSoft financial system when a variance has been created by a certified, submitted ePER

PET: PETR

Retroactive Funding Change -- this can correct multiple pay periods using specific Begin/End Date by position number. It can also extend into the future.  A PETR is used to modify a normal Time Collection transaction.

PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

PHI

Protected Health Information 

PHS

Public Health Service

PI

Principal Investigator, now known as Principal or Fiscal Principal

PIE

Pooled Investment Earnings -- used when interest is to be earned on advance payments. This is usually for federal awards, but can also apply to select non-federal awards and to all University SpeedType in funds 2x, 7x and 80.

PIGABS

Principal Investigator Grant Administration Burden Survey (done by FDP)

PII

Personally Identifiable Information

PKI

Public Key Infrastructure

PM

Project Manager or Program Manager

PMO

Program Management Office within OCG

PMS/DPM

Payment Management System/Division of Payment Management -- HHS web based payment system, aka SmartLink, Electronic 272

PO

Purchase Order (see Procurement web site for directions on requesting an PO via Marketplace)

POA

Physician Office Assistant

POP

Period of Performance, also known as PP or Project Period

Post-Award

That part of OCG that processes, negotiates, and manages grants & contracts. Post-award can also refer to financial management activities of sponsored projects within CCO.

PPS

Procurement Service Center Procedural Statements -- guidelines for utilizing PSC tools and for navigating through PSC procedures

PRD

Presidential Review Directive 

Pre-Award 

That part of OCG that processes and submits proposals, makes determinations on activity and Indirect Cost types, checks pre-submission compliance and certification requirements, and provides pre-selection information to sponsors prior to award.

Pre-award Authorization

When expenditures can be incurred on a project during the period of 90 days prior to the effective date (start date) of the award

Pre-award Spending Account

Establishes sponsored project account for contracts and grants without expanded authority so that work can begin or continue prior to receipt of official award documents. Department must sign a departmental guarantee form and the project must cover work within the anticipated period of performance.

Pre-proposal

Information requested by a sponsor to help them decide which projects they would like to fund and/or for a sponsor to gain an idea of how many full proposals to expect. Traditionally these do not require submission by an AOR. Sometimes called white paper, letter proposal, letter of intent, preliminary proposal, pre-application, abstract, or concept paper.

PRIM&R

Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research

Prime Award

The funding source of subawards or subcontracts to which UCB is subject

Prime Awardee

The organization to which an award or contract is issued by a sponsor.

Principal

Also known as Fiscal Principal, may be referred to as PI or Principal Investigator

PROG

Peer Review Oversight Group

Program (General)

Group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

Program (PeopleSoft)

Identifies a specific activity within an organization in the Finance System. Programs are used in funds 10, 11, 20, 28, 29, 34, 72, 73, 74, 78, 80, 99. Budget, revenue, expenses and transfers are tracked for a fiscal year.

Program Income

Revenue that is derived directly from the program itself and helps to reduce the net cost of the funding from general revenues. Treatment of program income generated by federally sponsored awards is addressed in 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance.

Program Management

Application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet program objectives.

Program/Project Officer

A sponsor's designated individual officially responsible for the technical, scientific, or programmatic aspects of a particular grant, cooperative agreement, or contract. Serving as the counterpart to the principal investigator/project director of the grantee/contractor organization, the program/project officer deals with the grantee/contractor organization staff to assure programmatic progress.

Project

Same as "Sponsored Project"

Project Management

The process of managing specific sponsored projects, which are temporary and unique endeavors, through use of specific knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques on project activities to meet sponsored project requirements.

Project period

The period established in the award document of when the sponsorship begins and ends. The project period may consist of one or more budget periods.

Project Status

Status of a project at a specific period of time. The status of a project could be of the following: S-Pre-Award, O-Open, E-Ended, R-Reporting, C-Closed or H-Hold.

Projections

An estimate of future spending on a project

Property

Tangible personal property which is not permanently fastened to a building and does not lose its identity; the terms "equipment" and "property" are used interchangeably

Proposal Analyst (PA) (OCG)

OCG staff member responsible for reviewing and submitting Proposals as the AOR

Proposal

An application for funding that contains all information necessary to describe project plans, staff capabilities, and funds requested. Formal proposals are officially approved and submitted by an organization in the name of a principal investigator or project director.

Proposal: New

Proposals that are submitted for the first time or ongoing projects that must recompete for funding prior to expiration of the original award

Proposal: Continuation

Applicable to grants and cooperative agreements only. This is for projects approved for multiple-year funding, although funds are typically committed only one year at a time. At the end of the initial budget period, progress on the project is assessed. If satisfactory, an award is made for the next budget period, subject to the availability of funds. Continuation projects do not compete with new project proposals and are not subjected to peer review beyond the initial project approval.

Proposal: Renewal

Applicable to grants and cooperative agreements only. A competitively reviewed proposal requesting additional funds extending the scope of work beyond the current project period.

Proposal: Supplement

Request to the sponsor for additional funds for an ongoing project during the previously approved performance period. Supplemental proposals may result from increased costs, modifications in design, or a desire to add closely related components to the ongoing project. 

PRP

Peer Resource Professional -- current team member assigned to assist a new employee when they have general questions and/or to help familiarize them with office logistics and procedures

PSC

Procurement Services Center -- the office responsible for travel, general purchases, PCard and travel cards, and accounts payable

PSR

Proposal Submission Request – form required for every sponsored project that includes project details and assurances certified by the PI 

PTE

Pass Through Entity

PTO

Patent and Trademark Office

Public Information (CU definition)

Includes any data on university websites to which the data trustee allows access without authentication and data made freely available through university print material. See additional information regarding CU’s Data Classification.

QA

Quality Assurance

RA

Research Assistant (graduate student), or Research Administration

R&R

Research and Related

RAC

Recombinant DNA Committee

RARC

Research Animal Resource Center

RBM

Research Business Models

RCR

Responsible Conduct of Research (similar to RECR)

RCREC

Responsible Conduct of Research Education Committee

RDC

Research Data Assistant

RDNA

Recombinant DNA Research

RDMS

Relational Database Management System

Reasonable

Costs that do not exceed what a “prudent person” would incur at the time of incurring the cost

Reconciliation

Accounting procedure that compares two sets of records to check that the expenditures are correct and in agreement, and resolving any discrepancies discovered

Records Retention

Retaining research documents designed to meet the requirements of an award’s sponsoring agency and university guidelines

RECR

Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (similar to RCR)

Revenue

Funds received from an outside source in exchange for providing goods or services

RFA

Request for Applications -- announcements that indicate the availability of funds for a topic of specific interest to a sponsor

RFI

Request for Information

RFP

Request for Proposal -- announcements that specify a topic of research, methods to be used, product to be delivered, and appropriate applicants sought

RFQ

Request for Quotation

RFS

Research Financial Services (formerly SPA)

RIO

Research Integrity Officer

RISQ

Reporting to Improve Safety & Quality 

ROI

Return on Investment 

ROM

Rough Order of Magnitude is a general estimate of a project’s costs and effort

Routing

The sequential movement of an award through OCG and CCO-RFS

Route as a Proposal (RASP)

An award is received for which proposal documents were sent directly to the sponsor and did not go through OCG, or, alternatively, when a sponsor adds or increases funding or anticipated value without University input. RASPs require a completed internal proposal prior to agreements being signed and awards setup.

RPC

Research Project Coordinator

RSA

Research Study Assistant

RSO (College)

Research Support Office

RTM

Research and Technology Management

RU

Rockefeller University

SA

Session Assistant

S&W

Salaries and Wages

S&W + B

Salaries and Wages plus Benefits

S2S

System to System

SAMHSA

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration

SBA

Small Business Administration

SBU

Sensitive But Unclassified

SBIR

Small Business Innovation Research

SCC

Starr Cancer Consortium

SECA

Southeast Conference on College Cost Accounting

Sensitive Expenses

A-Typical costs posted to a project that may potentially be unallowable based on policy or guidelines of an organization (e.g. alcohol)

SEOG

Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants

Service Agreement

A legally binding contract used for the sale of a good or service (fee for service) from CU Boulder to an external entity

SEVIS

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (INS for tracking foreign students)

Single Audit

A non-Federal entity that expends $750,000 or more during the non-Federal entity's fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single audit conducted in accordance with 2 CFR 200.514 (2 CFR 200 Subpart F Audit Requirements, formerly referred to as Circular A-133)

SF

Standard Form

SKI

Sloan-Kettering Institute 

SNAP

Streamline Non-Competing Application Process

SOW

Statement of Work or Scope of Work -- submitted as part of the proposal to the sponsor which becomes part of the award. It defines the work that will be completed by the award and how it will be done.

Special Purpose Equipment

Equipment which is used only for research, medical, scientific, or other technical activities. Examples include microscopes, x-ray machines, and spectrometers.

SpeedType  (ST)

A unique eight-digit number assigned by the PeopleSoft Finance System to each project number that includes the campus code, the fund code (30 or 31), and the number assigned to the project. A subclass is assigned its own unique SpeedType.

SPIN

An online search system for research opportunities developed by the University of New York (SUNY) System

SPO

Standing Purchase Order (see Procurement web site for directions on requesting an Subcontractor SPO)

Sponsored Project

A financial award from an external source (sponsor) that is governed by specific terms & conditions established in a written agreement between the sponsor and the University of Colorado for the purpose of research, training, fellowships, purchase of specialized research equipment, or clinical trials.

SRA

Society of Research Administrators

SRO

Sponsored Research Office

STEP

Science, Technology, and Economic Policy Board

STP

Science and Technology Policy

Stipend

Refers to type of payment to be received by awardees. Sponsors often use this term loosely to mean any type of payment to individual recipient but UCB restricts this payment type to those individuals from whom no effort will be supplied to the University or to a sponsored project. See the document entitled, "Charging Stipends on Sponsored Projects" on the CCO website for detailed description of what constitutes positions that do not require effort and would therefore receive a stipend instead of a salary.

STTR

Small Business Technology Transfer Program

Sub-Agreement

Legally enforceable agreement between our institution and an external entity (subrecipient) that includes the applicable terms and conditions and the scope of work the subrecipient is expected to perform. A sub-agreement may also be called a subaward or subcontract.

Subcontract

A document written under the authority of, and consistent with the terms and conditions of, a contract that transfers a portion of the research or substantive effort of the prime award to another institution or organization

Subaward

A document written under the authority of, and consistent with the terms and conditions of, a grant or cooperative agreement that transfers a portion of the research or substantive effort of the prime award to another institution or organization

Subrecipient

The legal entity to which a subaward/subcontract is made and is accountable to the University (prime awardee) for the use of the funds provided in carrying out a portion of the University's scope of work under a sponsored project.

T&A

Time and Attendance

T&C

Terms and Conditions

T&M

Time and Materials

TBSR

Total Business Systems Review

TCN

Tri-Institutional Collaboration Network

TDC

Total Direct Costs - F&A classification in which all cost categories are charged F&A expense, including tuition remission, fixed assets, student aid, and all subcontract fees

Tests of Propriety

Test questions to evaluate the appropriateness of an expenditure (refer to APS #4015)

Third Party Cash Cost Share (3PCCS)

Cash dollars that are given to CU from an outside entity in support of a designated main award, and are therefore considered to be Cost Share.

Total Project Costs

The total allowable direct and indirect costs incurred by an organization to carry out an approved project

Tri RCR

Tri-Institutional Responsible Conduct of Research Program: MSKCC, RU, WCMC

Tri-SCI

Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative: SKI, RU, WCMC

U.S.C

United States Code

UBIT

Unrelated Business Income Tax

UCA

Utility Cost Adjustment

UCB

University of Colorado Boulder

UCCS

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

UCD

University of Colorado Denver

UCD/AMC

University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus

UEI

Unique Entity ID

UG

Uniform Guidance; see CFR Title 2, Part 200 in this glossary

UIDP

University-Industry Demonstration Partnership

UMS

University Management Systems

USA

United States Army

USAF

United States Air Force

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

USCG

United States Coast Guard

USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

USDE

United States Department of Energy

USGS

United States Geological Survey

USIA

United States Information Agency

USN

United States Navy

VA

Department of Veterans Affairs

VP

Venture Partners, formerly known as the Technology Transfer Office

Warrant (PeopleSoft)

Term commonly used for a check issued by PeopleSoft to pay for an outstanding obligation

WAWF

Wide Area WorkFlow -- Payment system which allows web based funds withdrawal from grant accounts

WBS

Work Breakdown Structure is a project management tool that decomposes the total scope of work into deliverables and work activities

WCMC

Weill Cornell Medical College

WCGSMS

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences

WECA

Western Conference on College Cost Accounting

WHO

World Health Organization

XML

Extensible Markup Language 

YCC

Youth Conservation Corp