§ 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.

(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 §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 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]