[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 34, Volume 1]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 34CFR74.25]



[Page 112-114]

 

                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION

 

PART 74_ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF 

HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS--Table 

of Contents

 

                    Subpart C_Post-Award Requirements

 

Sec.  74.25  Revision of budget and program plans.



    (a) The budget plan is the financial expression of the project or 

program as approved during the award process. It may include either the 

Federal and non-Federal share, or only the Federal share, depending upon 

ED requirements. It shall be related to performance for program 

evaluation purposes whenever appropriate.

    (b) Recipients are required to report deviations from budget and 

program plans, and request prior approvals for budget and program plan 

revisions, in accordance with this section.

    (c) For nonconstruction awards, recipients shall request prior 

approvals from ED for one or more of the following program or budget 

related reasons:

    (1) Change in the scope or the objective of the project or program 

(even if there is no associated budget revision requiring prior written 

approval).

    (2) Change in a key person specified in the application or award 

document.

    (3) The absence for more than three months, or a 25 percent 

reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project 

director or principal investigator.

    (4) The need for additional Federal funding.

    (5) The transfer of amounts budgeted for indirect costs to absorb 

increases in direct costs, or vice versa, if approval is required by the 

Secretary.

    (6) The inclusion, unless waived by the Secretary, of costs that 

require prior approval in accordance with OMB Circular A-21--Cost 

Principles for Institutions of Higher Education, OMB Circular A-122--

Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations, or 45 CFR part 74, 

appendix E--Principles for Determining Costs Applicable to Research and 

Development under Grants and Contracts with Hospitals, or 48 CFR part 

31--Contract Cost Principles and Procedures, as applicable.



[[Page 113]]



    (7) The transfer of funds allotted for training allowances (direct 

payment to trainees) to other categories of expense.

    (8) Unless described in the application and funded in the approved 

awards, the subaward, transfer or contracting out of any work under an 

award. This provision does not apply to the purchase of supplies, 

material, equipment, or general support services.

    (d) No other prior approval requirements for specific items are 

imposed unless a deviation has been approved by OMB.

    (e) Except for requirements listed in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(4) 

of this section, the Secretary may waive cost-related and administrative 

prior written approvals required by this part and OMB Circulars A-21 and 

A-122. These waivers may authorize recipients to do any one or more of 

the following:

    (1) Incur pre-award costs 90 calendar days prior to award or more 

than 90 calendar days with the prior approval of the Secretary. All pre-

award costs are incurred at the recipient's risk (i.e., the Secretary is 

under no obligation to reimburse these costs if for any reason the 

recipient does not receive an award or if the award is less than 

anticipated and inadequate to cover these costs).

    (2)(i) Initiate a one-time extension of the expiration date of the 

award of up to 12 months unless one or more of the following conditions 

apply:

    (A) The terms and conditions of award prohibit the extension.

    (B) The extension requires additional Federal funds.

    (C) The extension involves any change in the approved objectives or 

scope of the project.

    (ii) For one-time extensions, the recipient shall notify the 

Secretary in writing with the supporting reasons and revised expiration 

date at least 10 days before the expiration date specified in the award. 

This one-time extension may not be exercised merely for the purpose of 

using unobligated balances.

    (3) Carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent funding 

periods.

    (4) For awards that support research, unless the Secretary provides 

otherwise in the award or in ED's regulations, the prior approval 

requirements described in paragraph (e) of this section are 

automatically waived (i.e., recipients need not obtain prior approvals) 

unless one of the conditions included in paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this 

section applies.

    (f) The Secretary may restrict the transfer of funds among direct 

cost categories or programs, functions and activities for awards in 

which the Federal share of the project exceeds $100,000 and the 

cumulative amount of the transfers exceeds or is expected to exceed 10 

percent of the total budget as last approved by the Secretary. The 

Secretary does not permit a transfer that would cause any Federal 

appropriation or part thereof to be used for purposes other than those 

consistent with the original intent of the appropriation.

    (g) All other changes to nonconstruction budgets, except for the 

changes described in paragraph (j) of this section, do not require prior 

approval.

    (h) For construction awards, recipients shall request prior written 

approval promptly from the Secretary for budget revisions whenever--

    (1) The revision results from changes in the scope or the objective 

of the project or program;

    (2) The need arises for additional Federal funds to complete the 

project; or

    (3) A revision is desired which involves specific costs for which 

prior written approval requirements may be imposed consistent with 

applicable OMB cost principles listed in Sec.  74.27.

    (i) No other prior approval requirements for specific items may be 

imposed unless a deviation has been approved by OMB.

    (j) When the Secretary makes an award that provides support for both 

construction and nonconstruction work, the Secretary may require the 

recipient to request prior approval from the Secretary before making any 

fund or budget transfers between the two types of work supported.

    (k) For both construction and nonconstruction awards, recipients 

shall notify the Secretary in writing promptly whenever the amount of 

Federal authorized funds is expected to exceed the needs of the 

recipient for the



[[Page 114]]



project period by more than $5,000 or five percent of the Federal award, 

whichever is greater. This notification shall not be required if an 

application for additional funding is submitted for a continuation 

award.

    (l) When requesting approval for budget revisions, recipients shall 

use the budget forms that were used in the application unless the 

Secretary indicates a letter of request suffices.

    (m) Within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the request 

for budget revisions, the Secretary shall review the request and notify 

the recipient whether the budget revisions have been approved. If the 

revision is still under consideration at the end of 30 calendar days, 

the Secretary informs the recipient in writing of the date when the 

recipient may expect the decision.



(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 

1880-0513)



(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3, 3474; OMB Circular A-110)



[59 FR 34724, July 6, 1994, as amended at 60 FR 6660, Feb. 3, 1995]