My university is currently in the middle of its annual State audit.  As part
of the audit a sample of federal grants are included.  They have targeted
one of our DOD grants.  The DOD contract shows personnel salary dollers
(even faculty) calculated with hourly rates.  We're scrambling around for
documentation to justify the rates used for faculty since they are higher
than the rate the auditor comes up with using a 40-hour work week.  We have
several ways to justify it--in fact there was a cost audit done by HHS & DOD
before the project was funded that accepted the rates as proposed.

In the meantime, I am curious how (or even if) other institutions calculate
hourly rates for faculty working on federal grants.  If not a 40 hour work
week then what formula is used?

Any help will be appreciated.  Thanks.

Geri Walker, Director
Bureau for Faculty Research
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA  98225