Frequently Asked Questions

External funding may include a sponsored program or project, grant, contract, cooperative agreement, letter of intent, fellowship, training/workshop proposal, internship funds, or consulting services. (When university resources, e.g. software, computer, equipment, are required, it must go through the university.) Learn more in UPPS 02.02.01.

Kuali Research is the university’s official tracking system for external funding. This is the only way to document the funding for which you are applying and to comply with university policy. We use Kuali to report proposal activity in our college—if your proposal is not in the system, we cannot credit you for your effort. We want you and your department to receive credit for what you’re doing!

Email the Chair and Dean with the name of the opportunity, the sponsor, the project time period, cost share requests, facility needs, co-PIs, course buyouts and semesters, and notify them of any necessary university letters of support.

Faculty applying for a fellowship need to complete the Faculty Fellowship Planning Tool (navigate to Faculty & Academic Resources' Dynamic Forms web page and scroll down to the Faculty Fellowship Opportunities link) which is due in Faculty & Academic Resources with chair and dean approval at least 4 weeks before the application is due. Faculty are asked to discuss the fellowship with their chair while developing the planning tool/document.

AA/PPS No. 04.01.32, Management and Funding of Faculty Fellowships

Many funding agencies place limits on the number of proposals or applications that any one university may submit in response to a funding solicitation. When a PI discovers that a solicitation they plan to pursue is a limited submission, the PI must inform SRI (Strategic Research Initiatives) and copy the Pre-Award RC on the notification. SRI will disseminate a call for LOI upon notification.

Refer to AA/PPS 03.01.02 for more information.

If the sponsor is a foundation, corporation, private entity, or non-profit, University Advancement will receive the Kuali notice and provide approval to submit (or not). This ensures that Texas State is requesting funds from legitimate organizations, that long-term relationships with certain organizations are protected, and that small asks do not interfere with larger university or President’s Office initiatives, etc. Copy your Pre-Award RC on correspondence with UA since this may affect proposal routing.

Yes, but the instructions are slightly different.

Instructions for Completing Kuali for a Subaward Notification

Proposal Type: New
Sponsor: Lead PI’s university. Use the magnifying glass and do not use auto-fill. Type university name into Sponsor Name and search.
Sponsor Deadline: Lead university’s deadline
Principal Investigator: You (You are the PI for the Texas State portion)
Prime Sponsor: The funder (ex. DOE, NSF, IES). Type funder name into the Sponsor Name and search.
Make sure to...

• Include the RFP if you have it, via attachment or link.
• Send any forms that the lead university needs to be completed to ORSP.

Kuali Questions? Access the Kuali Guides or contact Maggie Hutchins with any specific questions.

Yes, you will follow the same procedures as you would for a full proposal but choose LOI instead of NEW for proposal type.

Yes, but you must have written approval (email is fine) from your department chair for any course buyouts.

Grant proposals should request indirect costs (IDC) wherever possible, also known as Facilities & Administration costs.  Along with sustaining an ongoing research environment, a main purpose of IDC is to bundle together the many small costs that could be billed as direct costs (e.g., the cost of lighting a room used for research). This bundling eliminates tedious small-cost accounting while also ensuring that the university gets fully compensated for the research work.

TXST has an updated policy on IDC as of March 2025, posted on this weblink.  When reviewing this policy, the following should help with interpretation:

• TXST’s definition of MTDC will likely update when we negotiate a new NICRA in mid-2026. For now, the definition for MTDC presented in the weblink will be used by TXST. If we draft proposals with other institutions that have adopted updated uniform guidance, TXST budgets will still use the posted definition of MTDC.
• If the potential sponsor does not have an IDC rate or some other relevant information specified in its grant instructions, then the NICRA rate applies by default. If they do specify a rate or a form of acceptable administrative costs in their instructions, then follow their instructions when planning a budget.
• As before, a proposal must have Division of Research approval to use an IDC rate that is lower than the 50.5% NICRA or which is lower than the rate published by the sponsor. Approval should be sought for every unique proposal.

If cost share/match is a requirement documented in the guidance, then ORSP can follow the sponsor request for cost share. If cost share is not required or requested in the guidance, then a form similar to the IDC waiver form discussed above is needed in order to approve a budget that includes cost share. The PI will need to provide a brief justification regarding the request to include cost share. Whether or not the cost share/match is a requirement of the sponsor, these funds will need a Cost Center/Fund Number from which these funds will be paid, should the proposal be funded by the sponsor. The individual who has the authority to commit these funds should provide approval via email – usually the PI’s Chair or Dean.

The earlier documents are received by the Pre-Award RC, the more thorough review they will receive. The later you submit the documents, the less time, attention, and feedback we can provide. The COERO office is handling multiple proposals at once, so be mindful of your fellow faculty and staff and submit early!!!

Pre-Award Support Services must receive the complete proposal package no later than three working days prior to submission deadline, or the proposal submission is not guaranteed. Proposal package should include:

• Copy of guidelines
• Abstract/summary/scope of work
• Budget
• Budget justification
• Narrative o Subaward documents
• All required sponsor forms

Refer to UPPS 02.02.01 for more information.

• Interpret the guidance
• Assist with budget development
• Assemble submission packages, when needed
• Complete a spot-check on number of pages, fonts, font sizes, and margins, etc.
• University routing

• Participate in project development/planning meetings
• RFP review
• Identify/compile data to support proposal
• Assist with budget/budget justification preparation
• Prepare/maintain boilerplate language for common proposal elements
• Review/comment on proposal content, especially against required elements
• Assist with dissemination plans
• Edit/proofread proposal draft