Expenditure Codes - Participant Expenses (sponsored projects only)

Participant Expenses

Discussion

The sponsoring agency provides funds to the university to conduct a workshop, conference, seminar, symposia or other short-term training or information sharing activity. Participants in the activity may be paid for that participation if such payments are in the approved budget. Contact the assigned sponsored projects officer or sponsored projects accountant in the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration (ORSPA) for assistance in determining if a participant payment is appropriate.

Participant Certification Form

Participants are not service providers. Services cannot be required of participants receiving expense reimbursements or non-compensatory stipends. Payments made with a PV document or Request for Check submitted to Payables and Reimbursements must be accompanied by a Participant Certification form documenting that services are not required.

Postdoctoral Associates and Assistants 

All payments to ASU postdoctoral individuals must be processed through the university’s Human Resources Management System as an Academic Professional Classified Position, titled Postdoctoral Associate or Assistant. These postdoctoral associates and assistants may not be paid participant stipends; all payments must be made through ASU’s payroll system.

Definitions

Program Participants

The recipients of training provided at a workshop, conference, seminar, symposia or other short-term instructional or information sharing activity funded by an external grant or award, or the training beneficiaries of the project or program funded by an external grant or award. There is a difference in the tax reporting and withholding requirements associated with a person engaged in a “traineeship” who could be classified as a program participant and an individual involved in an “internship.” A person classified as an intern would be paid as an employee and not as a program participant, because the intern, while receiving certain training, is also providing services to ASU, the grant sponsor, or a third party. A traineeship exists when all of the following conditions are met:

1. the participant has strong academic ties to the university.
2. the participant is not involved in providing deliverables to the university or to a third party. A deliverable can be defined as a research report to a third party or providing research results to a third party.
3. the participant would not be “terminated” and a replacement found if he or she did not perform certain services, other than failure to attend or participate in the sponsored event or training program.

Participant Payments

The sponsored budget must allow payments of small non-compensatory stipends and/or reimbursement of travel costs or other out-of-pocket costs incurred to support attendance at a workshop, conference, seminar, symposia or other short-term training or information sharing activity. Participant support is distinguished from student support (7700 object code) in that non-compensatory stipends for student support are for the objective of obtaining a degree, whereas participants are usually not students and, if they are, the non-compensatory stipend is not to support their degree-seeking enrollment. Participant expenses may be paid for directly or a reimbursement made to the individual. Participant expenses will be paid for using the participant expenditure codes as indicated in the table below: