Administrative Fee

The cost of operating RFCUNY is covered by a fee charged on the activity it administers. Sponsored projects (excluding PSC-CUNY) and all recovery account activity are included in the fee calculation. Unlike the University, RFCUNY receives no direct tax-levy appropriations from the State and City; therefore, it is almost entirely dependent upon the fee for its operating costs.

The current fee structure recognizes that services vary widely, depending on the requirements of each sponsored research project, and that there are varying costs associated with each service, driven largely by workload. RFCUNY has identified six distinct areas of cost.

The fee is assessed based on actual project expenditures, not award amounts, and is generally paid with college overhead funds. Principal investigators do not pay the administrative fee.

A Central Allocation Budget (CAB) fee is also collected on behalf of the University, which uses it to support vital research programs at the campuses (this is separate from RFCUNY’s administrative fee). The current CAB fee is $2.3 million in total.