Living Allowances for Unpaid Appointments Guidelines

Guidelines and requirements-living allowances

Effective Date: April 1, 2011

Caution: The guidelines do not apply to “post doctoral fellowships and post doctoral fellowship job titles.” The post doctoral fellowship job title is used when the sponsor requires non-wage payments (i.e. fellowship). This includes NRSA training grants, grants that Sponsored Financial Services deems to be equivalent to NRSA training grants or sponsor authorized fellowships for post doctoral fellows).

Use of Living Allowances/Stipends for Unpaid Appointments

Background:We have reviewed CALS practices related to the use of Subsistence Payments/Living Allowances and have concluded that additional documentation is required for these payments to help ensure consistency and sound business practices, including, but not limited to compliance with Sponsored Program, Workers Compensation or Tax requirements.

Historically these payments have been intended to provide support for living expenses incurred by any unpaid appointment including but not limited to Visiting Academics (Visiting Fellows/Critics/Scientist/Scholars) in support of collaborative research arrangements that do not exceed 12 months.

Guidelines/Requirements:

Any request for a Living Allowance/Stipend to any unpaid appointment requires the following documentation

• Appointment Title and Term of Appointment.
  • The actual appointment must not exceed 12 months.
  • The “expected” term of the visit at Cornell must not exceed 12 months.
  • The allowance/stipend must not exceed 12 months.
  • NOTE: The length of stay is in alignment with the spirit of Visiting Fellow/Visiting Critic/Visiting Scientist/Visiting Scholar appointment requirements on Page 36 of the Faculty Handbook. https://blogs.cornell.edu/deanoffaculty/files/2015/12/Chapter-2-1gmo5k0.pdf
• Identification of the individual’s permanent residence, which must be more than 100 miles from “Cornell.”
• For foreign nationals, a complete Foreign National Questionnaire, https://www.dfa.cornell.edu/tax/foreignnationals/questionnaire .
• The source of funding to support these allowances, which must not require “work,” an expectation of performance of a specific activity. If work is identified by the “funding source,” payments should be processed as salary through payroll. • For payments made on sponsored funds, the following must also be included:
  • A copy of the approved budget and agreement.
  • Agreement and/or budget that clearly approved the use of funds as subsistence/fellowship payments.

Implementation

• Any request to provide a Living Stipend after April 1, 2011 must conform to these guidelines. The college recognizes that some current arrangements will need to 3 transition as a result of these new guidelines. The college will work with Principal Investigators (PIs) to make these transitions on a case-by-case basis.
• The CALS Research office and BSC offices will utilize the above guidelines to assess budgets containing these types of payments as well as transactions involving payments governed by these guidelines.
• All grants/programs contracted after April 1, 2011, must conform explicitly to the above guidelines.

Case Examples

Acceptable Use of Living Stipend

• Grant-supported research specifically budgets for and authorizes funds to be used to provide living stipends to enable collaboration between Cornell and another institution. The collaborator is appointed as an unpaid academic at Cornell, while simultaneously retaining an appointment at home institution. Grant funds are utilized to provide a living stipend to the collaborator during a period not to exceed 12 months in duration.

Unacceptable Use of Living Stipend

• A recent PhD is identified and wishes to support research on a grant. The individual does not retain an academic appointment at any other institution, and the Cornell Principal Investigator wishes to appoint the individual at Cornell in an unpaid academic title to enable them to complete research activities. The Cornell PI wishes to provide a Living Stipend to the appointee to offset living costs. This would not be an appropriate use of a Living Stipend, even if the grant allows such payments.
• A Graduate Student from another University who is pursuing a PhD/Masters Degree is identified to support research on a grant over the summer. The grant allows for use of Living Stipends. The Cornell Principal Investigator wishes to appoint the individual at Cornell in an unpaid academic title for the summer. The Cornell PI wishes to provide a Living Stipend to offset the living costs for the appointee. This would not be an appropriate use of a Living Stipend, even if the grant allows such payments.
• A Masters -level Researcher is identified to support research in a PI’s lab on faculty start-up funds. The individual does not retain an academic appointment at any other institution, and the Cornell PI wishes to appoint the individual at Cornell in an unpaid academic title to enable him or her to complete research activities. The Cornell PI wishes to provide a Living Stipend to offset living costs for the researcher. The individual lives in Syracuse, NY. This would not be an appropriate use of a Living Stipend.
  • Alternatives for the above cases to enable and support collaboration
    • In each of the above cases, the PI may appoint the individual to a paid academic title. For a term less than 1 year in duration, no search would be required, and payments would be made through payroll.