Award Compliance and Monitoring

Roles and Responsibilities

• Principal Investigators (PIs) are well-versed in the sponsoring agency's requirements and the university's policies for charging expenditures directly to sponsored projects. They review awards and approved budgets to ensure all costs are allowable, properly allocable to the sponsored project, and incurred within the project period.
• College Research Administrators (CRAs) offer front-line support for pre-award and post-award activities across each college. PIs work closely with their CRAs to develop proposals, manage post-award project setup, and oversee grant funding.
• Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) supports UTSA’s educational and research mission as the central office for high-quality grant and contract services. OSP assists with proposal submissions, contract negotiations, and agreement execution while coordinating audits, site visits, and desk reviews by sponsors in collaboration with CRAs.
• Grants Contracts and Financial Services (GCFS) is responsible for the financial management of sponsored projects, ensuring that all sponsored funds are accurately recorded, reported, and accounted for promptly. Additional services include preparing and submitting required financial reports to sponsors, resolving financial issues in collaboration with OSP, and supporting external and internal sponsor-directed audits.
• The Business Services Center (BSC) manages business, financial, payroll, and personnel transactions for various UTSA departments, ensuring compliance with state and university policies.

Expenditure Monitoring

Expenditure Monitoring is essential to ensure that UTSA complies with Federal, State, and University regulations governing the consistent treatment of direct costs to sponsored projects. Visit the expenditure monitoring page for details on processes and procedures.

Sub-recipient Monitoring

UTSA is responsible for monitoring the programmatic and financial activities of its grant and contract sub-recipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsor funds. This policy addresses institutional responsibilities and assists PIs and staff to ensure that sub-recipients comply with federal laws and regulations and provisions of all agreements that govern the award and sub-award. [Link to sub-recipient monitoring policy]

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a way to evaluate the potential financial and compliance risk of a sub-recipient or sub-awardee on a project. The Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.332b) requires IU to "evaluate each subrecipient's risk of noncompliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward for purposes of determining the appropriate subrecipient monitoring. Higher-risk Subrecipients may require additional monitoring throughout the life of the award. Before full execution of the sub-award, a full risk assessment should be completed. The OSP is responsible for completing the full subrecipient risk assessments during award set-up. See the risk assessment form here. [Link for risk assessment form]

Participant Support Guidance

This policy ensures that participant support costs are managed per the sponsor’s requirements, aligning with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200.1). Read more about participant support costs and guidelines.

Training

The Training and Financial Compliance Program provides educational materials and ensures adherence to compliance policies and procedures for UTSA's research administration. For training requests, please contact the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP).

Research Administrator Onboarding

All new Research Administrators (RAs) at UTSA's Office of Research must complete general onboarding with the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), in coordination with their College Senior Research Administrator.