(1) A nonresident student is employed 25% time as a GSR and 25% time as a TA. Does s/he still receive the full NRT remission?

Yes, since the student is appointed at 25% time as a GSR, which is the trigger point for receipt of this benefit, the student's NRT remission is charged to the grant or fund source that is providing the GSR salary.

(2) A nonresident student is appointed as a 50% GSR for Fall quarter, a 50% TA for Winter quarter and as a 25% GSR/25% TA for Spring quarter. Does the student receive the NRT remission for the full year?

No. The student would receive the NRT remission as a benefit of their GSR appointments for Fall and Spring quarters only. Students employed as Readers, Tutors, Teaching Assistants or Associates In do not receive NRT remission as a benefit of their employment in those positions.

(3) A nonresident student is employed as a GSR with 25% time allocated to one grant and 25% time allocated to another grant. Must the NRT be split evenly between the two grants or can it be split in some other proportion? Can all of the NRT be charged to one grant and not the other?

Grant cost accounting generally requires that changes be in proportion to the effort devoted to that project. Thus, when a GSR appointment is split between multiple grants, the apportionment of benefits costs (fees, GSHIP and NRT) must be allocated according to the FTE allocated to each fund source, as reflected by the percentage appointment. In this example, the NRT remission charge is split evenly between the two grants. If the split appointment is not equal (for example, 30% FTE on grant A and 20% FTE on grant B), the total cost of benefits is distributed according to the distribution of total FTE (60% of total cost is assigned to grant A and 40% is assigned to grant B).

(4) A nonresident GSR is hired 25% time on a grant which will pay NRT and 25% time on a grant which will not pay NRT. Can the full NRT be charged to the grant that has the capability/capacity to pay it or must part of the NRT be charged to another account to substitute for the grant which cannot/will not pay the NRT?

As noted under item (3), the distribution of the cost of the NRT must reflect the same distribution of the FTE assigned to each grant and be must prorated in the same manner as fees and salary. If one of the fund sources is not able to pay its share of the NRT remission because it is funded by an agency whose policy prohibits the payment of nonresident tuition, the hiring department must provide an alternative, allowable non-Federal source of funds for the NRT remission. Typically, this may be a graduate program's Block Grant funding. The use of Block Grant funds requires prior written authorization of the chair of the student's program.

(5) A nonresident student is employed as a GSR 20% time by Dr. Black in Department A and 30% time by Dr. Decker in Department B. Dr. Black, in Department A takes the position that since he is only appointing at 20% time, independently of Dr. Decker, in Department B, his grant should not pay any of the NRT and he so instructs the MSO of Department A. Who pays the NRT?

As noted under item (3), the distribution of the cost of the NRT must reflect the same distribution of the FTE assigned to each grant and be prorated in the same manner as fees and salary. Since the student's total appointment as a GSR is in excess of the 25% "trigger point", the NRT remission cost, as well as fee and GSHIP remission costs, is prorated (40% to Black's grant and 60% to Decker's grant in this illustration) to all funds which support the appointment.

(6) A student is employed as a 50% GSR on a grant funded by the XYZ Agency which will not cover NRT remissions. Does the student still receive a NRT remission?

Yes, but from another allowable non-federal source of funds specified by the hiring department. The use of Block Grant funds requires prior written authorization of the chair of the student's graduate program. Additionally, the hiring department will need to provide written documentation (from the XYZ Agency) that it is the policy of the non-profit or governmental XYZ Agency not to provide funds for the payment of nonresident tuition. For-profit entities will not be exempted from the requirement to provide nonresident tuition remission.

(7) Dr. Smith employs a nonresident as a GSR. Even though NRT remission has been budgeted in the grant under which the student is employed, Dr. Smith would prefer to use Block Grant funds to pay the student's NRT. Is this permissable?

In general, this substitution is not permissable. Under the terms of the policy, the only times that Block Grant (or any fund source) may be substituted for the fund source that is providing the salary are:

• For existing grants (submitted prior to October 1, 2003)
• A written statement is provided from the program officer that rebudgeting of the grant is not allowed; or
• Evidence is submitted that rebudgeting will compromise programmatic objectives of the grant
• For new grants (applications submitted on October 1, 2003 or later)
• A written statement from the program officer that the granting agency prohibits NRT remission as a direct charge; or
• Evidence that there are no other alternative funding sources.

(8) A nonresident GSR is hired using 199XX funds (General Funds). Is the NRT charged to the 199XX funds or may they charge it to their Block Grant funds?

"199XX funds" or "General Funds" may be either State or University General Funds. State General Funds may not be used to pay NRT remission, but University General Funds may be used for that purpose. If a nonresident student is employed using General Funds, the nonresident tuition charge will post to and must be paid by that fund source. If necessary, the Office of Resource Management and Planning will substitute University General Funds for State General Funds in the departmental account to ensure compliance with University policy.

(9) A student is employed as a GSR for Fall 2004 on a grant which is in the middle of a multiyear term. The grant was funded in Fall 2002 and runs through Spring 2005. The PI is unable to renegotiate with the funding agency to add funds for NRT remission. Does the student still get the NRT remission?

Yes, the student still receives the NRT remission. In cases such as this, provisions have been made for a three year transition period (2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07). In this case, the NRT may be charged to Block Grant or other allowable non-Federal funding. The use of Block Grant funds requires prior written authorization of the chair of the student's graduate program. If no such alternative funding is available, the Provost is making available an emergency fund which will provide the NRT remission in cases such as this.

(10) Dr. Smith has a nonresident GSR who receives a stipend from his home government. Instead of charging the NRT to the grant, can Dr. Smith arrange to have the GSR pay the NRT from her/his stipend? If yes, how do we document this arrangement?

If the student's award from their home country, or from any other outside agency, is specifically for fees and/or tuition, this award should be used in lieu of charging the NRT to Dr. Smith's grant. This is accomplished by submitting a written request for substitution of the NRT fund source to Student Accounting. The student will need to present written documentation from the home government or outside agency specifying that this award is to be used for fees and/or tuition and the amount of the award. If the award does not cover the full cost of fees and/or tuition, the grant will be expected to provide the balance. However, if the award letter states that the award is a fellowship stipend to defray the cost of living or to provide the student with a stipend, it may not be used as a source of NRT in lieu of the employing grant. Family support does not qualify as an external source of funds for NRT for a nonresident GSR.

(11) Dr. Jones has an outstanding undergraduate student who she wants to hire as a GSR. Does the undergraduate receive NRT?

No, this program is for graduate students and professional school students, only. Undergraduate students are not eligible to hold GSR appointments.

(12) A nonresident student is hired as a GSR on Work Study funds. Is the NRT for that student charged to the Work Study funds? If not, what account should it be charged to?

Nonresident tuition cannot be charged to Work Study funds. The appointing department will need to provide an alternative, non-federal source of funds to pay for the nonresident tuition. Typically, alternative fund sources include a graduate program's Block Grant allocation. The use of Block Grant funds requires prior written authorization of the chair of the student's graduate program. If a suitable fund source cannot be identified, it may not be possible to hire a nonresident student on Work Study funds.

(13) A nonresident GSR is employed for Fall quarter and receives NRT remission. At some point in the term, the GSR self-terminates her/his employment? How much of the NRT remission gets refunded to the grant?

NRT remission will follow the same policy and procedure that applies to fee remissions. For students who voluntarily terminate their employment during a quarter, refer to http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/panman/feeremit.pdf

(14) A nonresident GSR is employed for Fall quarter and receives NRT remission. At some point during the term, the faculty member terminates the student's employment. How much of the NRT remission gets refunded to the grant? How much of the Fall quarter NRT is the student responsible for?

NRT remission will follow the same policy and procedure that applies to fee remissions. Please refer to http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/panman/feeremit.pdf for more information.

(15) Will BANNER be used for processing the NRT remission? Will it be done automatically or will the award need to be entered by hand?

The process for NRT remissions in BANNER will closely follow the current process used for fee remissions. In other words, when an eligible student is employed as a GSR at 25% time or greater, PPS will automatically post the NRT remission in BANNER.

(16) How do I do a fund substitution?

When the fund source for NRT remission differs from the fund source for a GSR's salary, the hiring department will need to follow the procedures described under Implementation Guidelines.