There are various mechanisms to hire and/or pay individuals using SDSURF funds; these mechanisms depend on the type of person being paid/hired and the work they will perform.

How to process payments for the following:

Employees:

Adding SDSU Faculty on Project Payroll
Hiring Project Staff, Research Assistants and Students

All Others:

Scholarships, Fellowships and Stipends
Human Subjects/Incentives
Independent Contractors and Consultants

1. Adding SDSU Faculty on Project Payroll

Please contact your SRA grant specialist for assistance setting up faculty additional employment appointments and facilitating college approval for appointments.

Appointments are subject to the following policies and guidelines:

1. CSU Additional Employment Policy – This policy establishes reasonable limits on the total amount of employment an individual may have within the CSU system. Additional employment refers to any CSU employment that is in addition to the employee’s primary appointment. A maximum of 125% is allowed under certain circumstances. Typically, a full time AY faculty member can work an additional 25% on sponsored research activities, if allowed by the funding source.
   
   


2. Effort Reporting Policy - Under federal regulations, the research foundation is required to issue effort reports to document faculty effort worked on grants and contracts. Effort reports are issued electronically and include information on a faculty member’s total appointment including: instructional time, reimbursed time (course buyout), research foundation pay, and cost sharing on sponsored programs. For more information please refer to the Effort Reporting Policy.

2. Hiring Project Staff, Research Assistants, and Students

PIs work directly with their assigned human resources business partner to hire staff using the online HR recruiting system, ICIMS.

1. PIs can make appointment recommendations for staff working 29 hours per week or less
2. An HR recruitment is required for staff working 30 hours per week or more (full time employees)

Please contact your HR business partner for more information about hiring and all other employee issues.

3. Scholarships, Fellowships, and Stipends

Scholarship/fellowship payments can only be issued to individuals who are not being required to perform any past, present, or future services in exchange for the payment. Individuals receiving this type of payment are typically selected for participation in conjunction with the eligibility requirements specific to the grant award guidelines.

Receiving additional financial resources including scholarships, fellowships and stipends can affect financial aid eligibility for students who have applied for, or been awarded financial aid. Federal and state law requires that all financial resources be counted when determining financial aid eligibility.

Students are responsible for reporting any additional financial resources to the SDSU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Failure to report resources may result in the reduction or cancellation of financial aid received and the student being required to return funds.

The following forms can be used for these types of payments:

1. Tuition Waiver/Fee Authorization (Word Format, 32KB)* (for SDSU Students) authorizes the SDSU Cashier to bill an SDSURF fund for SDSU tuition.
2. Stipends, fellowship payments
   The following forms must be completed and provided to your grant specialist:
   1. Scholarship/Fellowship Payment Request Form (PDF Format, 612KB)* (project is required to complete)
   2. Notice to Recipients of Scholarships and Fellowships (Citizens & Resident Aliens) (Word Format, 396KB)* (students are required to complete)

The Project Administration Guide provides additional information regarding Scholarship/Fellowship Payment Requirements.

4. Human Subjects/Incentives

If your award has funds specifically budgeted for subject/incentive payments, SDSURF can issue payments to individuals who participate in research projects. Generally these payments are made using the Miscellaneous Income Payment Request form (PDF Format, 681KB)*. Please note: depending upon the circumstances or special requirements of the sponsor agency, procedures for payment may vary.

The Project Administration Guide provides additional information regarding Human Subject and Incentive Payments.

5. Independent Contractors and Consultants

PIs frequently use consultants to perform specific tasks when specialized skills or expertise are not available internally. Various legal standards are used to determine whether or not an individual should be paid as an employee or a consultant.

Before hiring a consultant, the PI should complete an Independent Contractor Pre-Selection Checklist (PDF Format, 356KB)* and submit the form to his/her grant specialist. The grant specialist will work with the associate director of human resources to determine if the individual can be paid as a consultant. Once a determination is made, the PI can work with his/her grant specialist to complete the required paperwork to set up the independent contractor agreement.

Please note that any independent contractor agreements exceeding $5,000 may require a consultant agreement in addition to the independent contractor form.

Please consult the PAG for additional Information regarding Independent Contractor vs. Employee Status.

*Note: Documents in Portable Document format (PDF) require Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or higher to view. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader
*Note: Documents in Excel format (XLS) require Microsoft Viewer. Download Microsoft Excel Viewer