Purpose

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program.

Solicitation NSF 19-582, features two mechanisms for support of student research:

• REU sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research.
• REU supplements may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects or may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements.

The purpose of this page is to define the proposal submission requirements for REU supplements, award setup requirements and post award administration requirements for NSF REU awards. Emphasis is placed on REU supplements due to this being the majority of ASU’s requests. For REU Site proposals, follow the directions in solicitation NSF 19-582.

Proposals (REU supplements)

• REU proposals will be submitted by PNT.
• REU supplements are to be prepared and submitted per the solicitation NSF 19-582 directions, and ASU’s Additional Funds for a Sponsored Project guidance (Note: To start a Revision ERA Funding Proposal – navigate to the original awarded proposal in ERA and click the “New Revision (Supplement)”button.
• Budgets:
  • ASU internal budget
    • ERA defaults to the full Research F&A rate. Leave as-is (unless the off-campus rate applies).
    • Budget student stipends as Participant/Trainee Support Costs. ERE should not be budgeted.
    • Materials and supplies or the travel line items should be budgeted in the correct categories within the Participant Support Costs’ category.
  • Submission method:
    • Non System to System (Research.gov): Enter all costs in participant support cost lines (section F) in the Research.gov budget form.

Award set-up

• NSF REUs will always be set up in a child account with the following identifiers:
  • “REU:” will be added to the beginning of the Project Title.
  • REUs will be paid as a non-compensatory stipend using expense category 7700.
  • F&A on the Participant Support account will be set up at 0%.
• Funds should be budgeted in accordance with the ASU Internal Budget saved in ERA. This internal budget should match the NSF budget noted in the Notice of Award (NOA).

Post-award management

• All direct costs budgeted in the REU account are considered participant support costs and cannot be re-budgeted to another account within the same award family, unless prior NSF approval has been obtained.
• The stipend that is paid to REU student participants is not a salary or wage for work performed. It is a traineeship, a form of student aid (like a scholarship or fellowship) provided to support a student’s education/training in a STEM field. In this case, the student’s training consists of closely mentored independent research.
• As non-compensatory stipends, REU payments should be paid under category 7700 and disbursed to students through Accounts Payable using a PV. Non-compensatory stipends do not incur ERE.
• It is important/imperative to fully expense the participant support funds prior to project close. Participant Support funds cannot be re-budgeted after the project ends and cannot be used to off-set a deficit on any other account within the award family.
• AMT will report all costs charged to the REU as participant support, therefore the costs should be excluded from F&A calculation.