Procedure Library

Capstone Projects

Purpose

Capstone projects are student and industry partner collaborations and courses that put students into a professional mindset by working on specific assignments relevant in their field. Students work with a faculty advisor, who may or may not be the project PI, that help tailor the experience to their degree plan and career goals. 

The following procedure may assist faculty, as well as Deans & Chairs (or their designees), in their consideration of entering into such relationships.  

Applicability

Principal Investigators (PIs) and faculty advisors participating in capstone projects. The majority of capstone projects are currently run through Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

Instructions

When the University is contemplating an industry partnership for a capstone project, the PI or the department should provide OSP with:

1. A completed DSS, as each is considered a sponsored project
   1. Start your short and long title in eProposal with "CAPSTONE:"
   2. Use Instruction (TIE) as the PURPOSE in eProposal
   3. Capstone projects are exempt from F&A. A waiver is not needed as UofU policy excludes F&A on capstone projects as a generally accepted waiver.
   4. Indicate fixed-price type agreement
2. The PI will need to work with the SPO to draft an agreement using the MEP Capstone template. This is the UofU negotiated capstone agreement. The DSS number should be the agreement number. 
   1. The PI/Department will send the completed draft to the sponsor for review and signature. 
3. A fully executed capstone agreement is one that is on the UofU negotiated template, signed by the sponsor, and has an authorized OSP signature.
4. The PI/Department can request project setup via eAward, once the DSS has been approved and integrated. 

Department Administration

Departments typically determine a flat amount for personnel effort that is extricated from the project thru e-journal and reviewed by the department and GCA. Those funds are moved into an activity. At the end of the project, any remaining fixed price income is also moved into this activity.

If the project is underspent and the remaining fixed price amount exceeds 50% of the project total, moving these funds into an activity require special permissions from FBS and is an extensive process, per the Research Handbook.

“The Principal Investigator may move unexpended funds from a fixed price contract to a departmental operation or a development activity at the conclusion of the sponsored project. These residual funds should normally not exceed fifty percent of the total value of the fixed price contract. F&A costs will be removed from the residual amount prior to the transfer of funds.

If the residual funds exceed fifty percent of the total value of the contract, the Principal Investigator will provide to Research Accounting a written explanation as to how the project was accomplished using less than the budgeted amount. This memo will protect the University and the Principal Investigator from Unrelated Business Income Tax A A Revised February 24, 2012 Page 20 of 104 (UBIT) implications and alleviate any perception regarding the University Kickback policy.”

Related Policies and Procedures

• Research Handbook > Types of Sponsored Projects > Contracts