Student Support on Sponsored Projects – Office of Sponsored Programs

Student support encompasses benefits for GRAs on Sponsored Projects, such as salary, tuition, and fees. Check out the tools below for guidance on Mandatory Graduate Fees and effectively managing your student support on sponsored project funding.

*Read the specific Award Terms and Conditions before charging any expense to a sponsored project.

(1) GRA Predoc appointment type – used for Fellowship and Trainee Grants. Some Trainee grants require a GRA Predoc student to be a full‐time student, currently defined as 9 credit hours.
(2) Tuition, Differential Tuition, and fees may be paid out of the associated Cost of Education Account, which may have restrictions on the type of costs that can be charged. Read the specific
Award Terms and Conditions before charging any expense to a project.
(3) Fringe may not be charged to the ‘53’ sponsored project; however, the fringe benefit cost will be paid by a central pool.

Appointment Type	Compensation Type	Employment Type	Compensation Allowed on Sponsored Projects	Tuition and Differential allowed on Sponsored Projects?	Mandatory Fees allowed on Sponsored Projects?	Fringe Benefits by Appointment	Fringe Benefits allowed on Sponsored Projects?	Resources
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)	Monthly Salary	At‐will Employee	Yes*	Yes* ‐ In‐State portion only	Yes*	Health contribution, EAP, ACA, Medicare, Parental Leave, Worker’s Comp	Yes*	https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/ financial/assistantships/
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)	Monthly Salary	At‐will Employee	No	No	No	Health contribution, EAP, ACA, Medicare, Parental Leave, Worker’s Comp	No	https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/ financial/assistantships/
GRA Predoc (1)	Monthly Stipend	Trainee (not an employee)	-1	-2	-2	Health contribution, EAP, ACA, Medicare, Parental Leave, Worker’s Comp (3)	No (3)	https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/ financial/
Student Hourly	Bi‐weekly pay based on hours logged on TimeClock Plus	At‐will Employee	Yes*	No	No	Medicare, ACA, Workman’s comp	Yes*	https://financialaid.colostate.edu/stud ent‐employment/

Mandatory Graduate Fees on Sponsored Projects

As of January 2023, mandatory student fees for all Graduate Students will be partially paid by CSU (per an email from the Office of the Provost on November 29th). This will be a phased approach, during the spring semester of 2023 GRAs and GTAs will have 50% of their fees paid by CSU and be responsible for the other 50%; for the academic year 2024-2025 they will have 75% of their fees paid by CSU and be responsible for 25%, and by the academic year 2025-2026 100% of their fees will be covered by CSU. Fee coverage may be by a central account, a College/Department account, or a sponsored project account.

Mandatory Student Fees FAQ's – Updated 10/13/2025

What are mandatory student fees?

General Fees, University Technology Fee, University Facility Fee, and University Alternative Transportation Fee. For international GRA students, the Immigration Services Fee (f/k/a Internal CSU SEVIS Fee).

Can mandatory student fees be paid on sponsored projects?

Students with GRA appointments who are staffed on a 53 account may be able to have their mandatory fees paid in proportion to the effort they have on a sponsored project the same as tuition and differential tuition. Mandatory fees must have been part of the budget during proposal submission for them to be allowable and will be charged in the amount of the current phase.

If fees are specifically unallowed per the terms and conditions of an award, mandatory fees will be unallowed as well. If a GRA’s salary will be split between projects, fees should be pro-rated between projects.

Will the mandatory fees be exempt from indirect?

Like tuition and differential tuition, mandatory fees will be exempt from indirect costs.

How should we budget for mandatory student fees in upcoming proposals?

The best practice is to budget fees in the same way as tuition and differential tuition. Tuition and fees should be pro-rated If a GRA will be paid less than full-time (50% FTE is considered “full-time” during the AY for a GRA). Use the current year’s tuition and mandatory fees as your basis and refer to the guidance for Preparing Budgets on Sponsored Projects.

Is there sample budget justification language?

We suggest the following description in the budget justification: Graduate student tuition and mandatory fees are requested in accordance with University guidance. The request for tuition and fees is based on resident graduate credit hours and associated mandatory fees. Inflation is calculated at 8% in future budget periods.

If I have additional questions, who should I contact?

Please reach out to the Graduate School or your OSP Research Administration team.

Can we rebudget on existing awards to pay for mandatory student fees if we did not request them at the proposal stage?

Mandatory student fees cannot be paid on projects that they were not requested and justified at the proposal stage.

What Academic Year (AY) does the Summer Session align with?

Summer Session aligns with the AY preceding it. For example, Summer 2024 aligns with AY 2024.

Student’s Support on Sponsored Projects FAQ's – Updated 6/23/2023

Can a student on a federal work-study award work on my federally funded project?

No. Only students on State or Institution work-study awards can work on federally funded projects.

Can I pay tuition and fees for my graduate student who is a student hourly from my sponsored project?

No. Students must have a GRA or GRA Pre-Doc assignment and be enrolled in at least one resident-instruction credit to be eligible for tuition and fees. (https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/financial/assistantships/)

My GRA student is enrolled in continuation registration or online credits. Can I use my sponsored project to pay their tuition?

No. Sponsored Programs aligns with the graduate school in what types of credits will be covered for Graduate Assistantships. Students must have a GRA or GRA Pre-Doc assignment and be enrolled in at least one resident-instruction credit, to be eligible for tuition and fees. (https://graduateschool.colostate.edu/financial/assistantships/)

What Colleges/Programs can pay for differential tuition on sponsored programs accounts?

College of Engineering
College of Business
School of Advanced Materials Discover (SAMD)
Graduate Degree Program in Ecology (GDPE)
Cell and Molecular Biology

https://www.research.colostate.edu/osp/2021/07/15/assistantships-vs-fellowships/

My GRA is paid on two projects, and one of them does not allow tuition or fees. Can I pay for tuition fully on the project that allows tuition?

No. The tuition and mandatory fees should be allocated by the effort on the project(s) for the same period. If a project does not allow these expenses, then a department or other nonsponsored project would need to be charged.

My GRA has been doing extra work and I would like to pay them a “bonus”, how do I do that?

Students should be compensated for extra work, and it can be reflected in an increased FTE. Work with HR personnel to determine the best method. Restrictions may apply to international students. Supplemental pay is not allowed on GRA, or GRA Pre-Doc assignments.

We have a student on a GRA Predoc Fellowship (“Fellowship Grant Trainee Pre-Doctoral Scholar”) assignment. Why do their payments through object code 5381 show up in KFS but not in ecrt?

Pre-Doc Fellowship payments through object code 5381 are considered stipends (to support the student in their pursuit of studies or research, offset the fellow’s cost of living, etc.). Since fellowship/trainee stipends are not driven by hours or effort worked, they are not part of CSU’s definition of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) reflected on the quarterly effort statements and certified in ecrt.