Institutional Base Salary

Purpose

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has implemented this policy to:

define the components of UNMC Institutional Base Salary (IBS)
formalize practice and procedures for the consistent budgeting and expensing of salaries
document compliance with National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria for combining practice plan and university salaries as the basis for UNMC IBS

Background

The federal government requires recipients of federal funding to establish institutional policy that documents the budgeting and expensing of salaries on sponsored projects. Specifically, government regulatory costing principles such as those contained in the Office of Management Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, “Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,” and those required by the Cost Accounting Standards Board require that sponsored project costs, such as salaries, be treated consistently. In addition, institutions with practice plans must meet specific NIH criteria to combine practice plan and university salary to form the IBS.

Components of Institutional Base Salary

Institutional Base Salary (IBS) - the annual compensation for an employee’s appointment, whether for research, teaching, public service, administration or other activities. IBS wage codes are defined in Wage Code Types. Because IBS excludes some wage code types, IBS may be less than the total institutional salary.

UNMC IBS is composed of four major parts:

UNMC base salary
Specified UNMC stipends
UNMC Physicians base salary
Nebraska Pediatric Practice base salary

UNMC IBS excludes:

Supplemental compensation
One-time payments
Veterans Affairs (VA) salary
UNMC Physicians bonus payments
Nebraska Pediatric Practice bonus payments

Policy

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Institutional Base Salary (IBS) represents combined salary from UNMC and its affiliate practices' plans, UNMC Physicians and Nebraska Pediatric Practice. Veterans Administration salary is not included in the IBS, per NIH Grants Policy Statement (Revised December 1, 2003).

UNMC Compliance with NIH Criteria for Combining Salaries

To be eligible to incorporate the clinical practice plan salary into the IBS, NIH applicant institutions must meet five criteria outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. UNMC meets each of the criteria as specified below:

Clinical practice compensation must be set by the institution.

Per UNMC policy and practice, clinical practice compensation is set by department chairs who report to the Dean of the College of Medicine.

Clinical practice activity must be shown on the institution's payroll or salary appointment forms and records approved by the institution.

Per UNMC policy and procedure, faculty assignments and compensation are documented on annual terms of employment agreements issued by the College of Medicine Dean’s Office and in annual UNMC Physicians and Nebraska Pediatric Practice Employment Agreements. UNMC Physicians and Nebraska Pediatric Practice are instrumentalities of the University of Nebraska and acts as common paymaster for their clinical practice faculty.

Clinical practice compensation must be paid through or at the direction of the institution.

Per UNMC policy and procedure, faculty assignments and compensation are documented on annual terms of employment agreements issued by the College of Medicine Dean’s Office and in annual UNMC Physicians and Nebraska Pediatric Practice Employment Agreements. UNMC Physicians and Nebraska Pediatric Practice are instrumentalities of the University of Nebraska and acts as common paymaster for their clinical practice faculty.

Clinical practice activity must be included and accounted for in the institution's effort reporting and/or payroll distribution system.

Per UNMC policy and practice, UNMC includes clinical practice activity in its effort reporting and payroll distribution system.

The institution must assure that all financial reports and supporting documents associated with the combined IBS and resulting charges to NIH grants are retained and made available to Federal officials or their duly authorized representatives consistent with the requirements of 45 CFR Part 74.53 (Office of Management and Budget Circular A-110 Subpart C 53).

Per UNMC policy and practice, UNMC assures that all financial reports and supporting documents associated with the combined IBS and resulting charges to NIH grants are retained and made available as required by federal regulations.

Additional Information

Any questions about this policy should be referred to Financial Compliance and Cost Analysis.
Wage Code Types Applicable for Sponsored Projects
UNMC Standardized Budget Justification Language

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