Preface

This manual has been designed to help you and the NCI manage and administer T32 Institutional National Research Service Awards as efficiently and accurately as possible by highlighting the common errors made by grantees when submitting information to the NCI and showing grantees how to avoid these errors. The information that you are required to submit and that the NCI is required to monitor for accuracy is determined by the legislative "payback" provisions mandated by the Congress of the United States. There are no shortcuts for submitting this kind of information, so the best way for the grantee and the NCI to eliminate unnecessary work is to submit the required information correctly the first time and avoid back-and-forth corrections that take so much of our time. Return to T32 Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. How to make an Inquiry to the NCI

3. Updating Your "Contact Information Form"

4. Common Errors Made in Submitting Information About Trainees - How to Avoid Them

   A. Statement of Appointment (Form PHS 2271)

   1. Item 4 - Type of Action
      1. New Appointments
      2. Reappointments
      3. Amendments
   2. Item 5 - Prior Support (Under NRSAs)
   3. Item 8 - Citizenship (Documenting Residency Status)
   4. Item 11 - Discipline, Specialty, or Field (For Research Under This NRSA Support)
   5. Item 13 - Education
      1. Date of Degree
      2. Foreign Degree Equivalency
   6. Item 17 - Support for Period of Appointment
      1. Determining Stipend Levels for Postdocs
      2. Relevant Postdoctoral Experience
      3. Documenting discrepancies between Education information (Item 5) and basis for stipend support

   B. Notice of Termination (Form PHS 416-7)

   1. Item 6. Dates of NRSA Support
   2. Item 7. Total NRSA Stipend Received and Months of Support
   3. Item 8. Summary of Training Received
   4. Item 9a. Indicate Post Award Activity
   5. Item 10a. Mailing Address after Termination
   6. Items 12, 13, and 14 - Signatures

5. Official NIH "National Research Service Award Guidelines"

6. Appendices:
   1. Extra "Contact Information Forms"
   2. Example Statement of Appointment (Form PHS 2271) for Reference
   3. Example Termination Notice (Form PHS 416-7)
   4. Examples of Acceptable and NON-acceptable Residency certifications
   5. Example of degree certification when the diploma has not been issued yet

I. Introduction:

The Manual is designed to help you and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) manage T32 Institutional National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) as efficiently, accurately and easily as possible. Within this manual, we have highlighted from our experience the areas that contribute the most to reporting errors and that require continued follow-up effort, and a lot more work, to correct these errors before the NCI can log in the information required for the "payback" provision defined in Congressional legislation. It is this payback requirement that places both the grantee and the NCI in a position of less flexibility compared to the reporting requirements of other grant forms sponsored by the NIH. With over 1,700 trainee positions to monitor for correctness each year, this is an immense administrative task for the NCI. The burden of reporting the information about trainees can be reduced considerably if it is submitted correctly at the outset, avoiding time-consuming follow-up by the NCI.

While we have made every effort to identify the most common errors in managing T32 institutional NRSAs, we urge you to read the full "National Research Service Award Guidelines" in Section V. of this manual. This is the official NIH policy document that governs the management of NRSAs.

With the above in mind, we need your cooperation in implementing a number of changes in your administration of the T32 Institutional NRSAs:

1. Provide us with a timely, updated "Contact Information Form" (See Appendix). Our ability to communicate quickly and effectively is the key to easy administration of these grants. While we hold the Principal Investigator (PI) responsible for the management of T32s, we know that in most cases there is someone who has been delegated much of the day-to-day administrative tasks. We need the key contact information for both the PD and the day-to-day administrator working for the PI. It is essential that we have current e-mail addresses. E-mail will become our first mode of communication. Phones will be used only when there are complicated issues to deal with that require discussion.

   You in turn will be provided an "NCI Contact Form" that you can use in making inquiries. It will contain e-mail contact information for general administrative inquiries with regard to submitting correct information about trainees, and the NCI Program Director contact when the PI wishes to discuss matters dealing with major policy issues or scientific issues.

2. When information needs to be corrected, NCI staff will do it unilaterally when they know the answer or can find the answer easily. They will send you the corrected document for your institution's records and NCI's records. Corrected documents will be stamped "NCI Official Copy". When appointment and termination forms need to be corrected by you, the NCI will expect the corrected version to be sent back to us within two weeks.

3. When you are reporting information about trainees, refer to this manual to avoid common errors. We will tell you the kinds of errors that are made, how to avoid them, and provide examples that illustrate correct practices. This manual provides most of the information and instructions you will need to manage T32 Institutional NRSAs, ranging from the official guidelines issued in the NIH Guide to the problems areas highlighted and discussed by the NCI.

4. If after looking at everything and you still have a question, please send us an e-mail to initiate the dialogue rather than a phone call. If it is a simple solution, we can take care of it by e-mail. If it is more complex, we will call you.

II. How to Make an Inquiry to the NCI's Cancer Training Branch

With regard to the administration of your grant and the correct ways to submit information about trainees on T32s, please use the following procedure:

• If you don't know the email address of the NCI Grants Technical Assistant for your grant, then send an e-mail to the following address ctbtraining-r@mail.nih.gov. Provide your grant number (e.g., T32 CA ________), state the issue or question that you have, provide your phone number, AND the times of the day that you are most likely to be available for a phone call.

With regard to major policy issues or scientific issues, make your inquiries as follows:

• Send an e-mail to the NCI Program Director who is noted on your "NCI Contact Form". Provide the grant number (e.g., T32 CA ________), state the issue or question that you have, provide your phone number AND the times of the day that you are most likely to be available for a phone call. You will be contacted by either the Program Director or the Chief of the Cancer Training Branch, depending upon the nature of your inquiry.

III. Updating Your "Contact Information Form"

A blank copy of the "Contact Information Form" is provided in the Appendix. We find that a great deal of time is wasted when the PD/P.I.. assigns a new person to administer and submit the information about trainees and the NCI is not provided with appropriate contact information. Please make it a part of your routine procedure to submit immediately an updated "Contact Information Form" if there is a change in the PI on a temporary or permanent basis or a change in the individual assisting the PI in administering the grant. Any breakdowns in our ability to communicate with each other quickly and easily will cost us needless extra time and effort.

IV. Common Errors Made in Submitting Information About Trainees - How to Avoid Them

A. Statement of Appointment (Form PHS 2271) - See Appendix for Blank Example Form

1. Item 4 - Type of Action
   1. New Appointments: All new appointments must be for a 12-month period. Institions must obligate 12 months of stipend and tuition from the same fiscal year as the new trainee appointment. You must complete the entire Form 2271. It is important to be accurate, especially about the date of receipt of a degree and use of the correct stipend level.
   2. Reappointments: Reappointments are easy to do. Remember you do not have to fill in any new information in the shaded portion of Form PHS 2271.
   3. Amendments: An amendment of information about a trainee concerning a change of name, change of permanent mailing address, appointment period or support from this grant cannot become official until it is submitted. Amendments must be submitted as soon as the change occurs.

   All New Appointments, Reappointments, and Admendments MUST be reported to the NCI as soon as the occur.

2. Item 5 - Prior Support

   This refers to any prior support only from NRSA grants. This is vital information in maintaining a record of an individual's payback obligations. Predocs are allowed by law 5 years of total support from NRSA grants and Post-docs are allowed by law only three years of total support from NRSA grants. For example, if a postdoc was supported on a T32 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences or the National Aging Institute for one year at your institution or another institution, they are only eligible for two more years of support on a T32 from the NCI. The same would hold if they had been supported from an individual NRSA F32 award for one year.

3. Item 8 - Citizenship (Documenting Residency Status)

   Many grantees make mistakes in documenting residency status of foreign nationals. There are only two forms of certification of residency status that are acceptable: 1) a notarized Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551); or 2) a passport stamped and dated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Examples of each are provided in Appendix D. A letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Using this letter as evidence of verification of residency status is a common error made by many grantees.

4. Item 11 - Discipline, Specialty, or Field

   This refers only to the discipline, speciality or field of the research of the trainee while being supported on this grant. A common error is to relate this Item to the Trainee's degree or past experience.

5. Item 13 - Education
   1. Date of Degree

      It is important that you include the month and the year that a degree was officially awarded to a trainee. Many grantees provide only the year and not the month. We need both to properly calculate and confirm the appropriate stipend for the trainee and enter the information into the NIH database.

      Often a trainee's official month and date for receiving a degree is when they received their diploma. Since the receipt of a diploma often is delayed from the time that the trainee completes all requirements for a degree, you can obtain confirmation in a letter from the degree awarding institution before the trainee officially receives a diploma. The letter must show the exact date that the trainee completed all requirements for the degree. An example of an appropriate letter is provided in Appendix E. It is should be clear on the Statement of Appointment that the appointment date of the postdoc is on or after his/her official completion of all requirements for the doctoral level degree. A letter from a thesis advisor is not acceptable. It should be a an official letter from the institution (e.g., Registrar or Dean of the Graduate School).

   2. Foreign Degree Equivalency

      Many trainee's come from foreign countries in which their degree is not comparable to the usual standards accepted in the U.S. It is the institution's responsibility to determine degree equivalency. The NCI will not adjudicate any disputes in this area.

6. Item 17 - Support for Period of Appointment
   1. Determining Stipend Levels** for Postdocs

      This is one of the most common areas for error. The stipend levels that you use are determined by the Congressional language for each fiscal year that your grant was awarded**. The Federal Fiscal Year begins October 1 and ends September 30. Thus, fiscal year FY99 extended from October 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999. Below are illustrated a few extreme examples to illustrate how to choose the correct stipends.

      **Updated stipend levels are always provided at the following website address: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm

      Example A:
      Your T32 was awarded September 30, 1998, the last day of Fiscal Year FY98. This means that any appointees that you make from September 30, 1998 to September 29, 1999 are under the stipends in effect in FY 98. You cannot take advantage of the higher stipends offered in FY99 starting October 1, 1999 because your grant was awarded in FY98. The common error is to believe that when you appoint a trainee, for example, in December that you can use FY99 stipend levels.

      Example B:
      Your T32 was awarded July 1, 1998 and you want to make appointments to the grant between July 1, 1998 and June 30, 1999. In this case you must use FY98 stipend levels until you receive your next award July 1, 1999, at which time you can employ FY99 stipend levels.

      Remember, the stipend levels you can use are determined by the fiscal year in which your grant was awarded and are in place for an entire one-year grant period. We are all legally bound to use the correct stipends; it is just as important to not overpay a trainee as it is to not underpay a trainee.

   2. Relevant Postdoctoral Experience:

      This relates to anything in which your degree and training were essential to the postdoctoral experience. It does not relate only to research experiences but to non-research experiences (e.g., teaching, health practice, relevant education). It is very important to consider all relevant experience (research and non-research when determining the stipend level of a postdoc).

   3. Documenting discrepancies Between Education Information (Item 5) and the basis for stipend support.

      Often grantees present a date for receiving a doctoral level degree that doesn't match up with the stipend level chosen. For example, an individual received a Ph.D. on a certain month and day of 1994 but the stipend level requested (in 1999) is for 3 years of postdoctoral experience rather than for 5 years. The NCI is obligated to follow up on these discrepancies. If you have this kind of discrepancy, either correct it because it is inaccurate or explain it. The ONLY reason a discrepancy like this can be true is if the trainee took personal time off from their professional career. If this is the case, you must provide a note of explanation with the Form PHS 2271.

B. Notice of Termination (Form PHS 416-7)

1. Item 6 - Dates of NRSA Support

   Please make sure that this matches with the dates requested on your Statements of Appointment. Otherwise, the NCI will have to follow up on this discrepancy and it will cost us all a lot of time to make the corrections.

2. Item 7. Total NRSA Stipends Received and Months of Support

   This information must also correspond exactly with what was requested and accepted by the NCI on the Statements of Appointment for trainees. This is critical information that must be in the NIH tracking system in order to accurately determine a trainee's payback obligation. Always ensure that the stipend information on the Statements of Appointment are exactly comparable to the stipend information presented in the Termination Notice.

3. Item 8. Summary of Training Experience.

   This must be completed in detail. A few sentences are not adequate and will force NCI staff to request more information. We expect a substantive paragraph or two along with a list of all of the publications that resulted during the training experience.

4. Item 9a. Indicate Post Award Activity

   Many Notices of Termination leave this information out. It must be included or we will have to ask for the information and delay the clearance of the trainees termination.

5. Item 10a. Mailing Address after Termination

   This must be provided. If the trainee has a payback obligation, there must be a way to contact the trainee. It is a legal obligation to provide this information.

6. Items 12, 13 and 14. Signatures

   All three signatures are necessary to make the Termination Notice official. The Trainee (line 12), the Program Director (line 13), the institutional Business Official (line 14) must all sign in the appropriate places provided.

V. Official NIH "National Research Service Award Guidelines

VI. Appendices

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