Updated Cost Elements


unsplash-logoKyle Glenn

In an effort to make the Coeus budgeting process more accurate, we have made several changes to the available list of Coeus budget cost elements. Starting immediately, these changes include the removal of old cost elements and the addition of some new cost elements to make Coeus budget creation easier and more accurate.

Removing University Cost Elements

VUMC Coeus no longer maintains fringe rates, indirect rates, or other financial information related to Vanderbilt University budget expenses. Therefore, the Coeus cost elements associated with the University have been disabled and will no longer appear in the budget selection list. This includes item such as 50200UF and 50600F for faculty academic and summer salaries. Budget items associated with Vanderbilt University expenses are typically captured in the subaward budget and do not need to appear in the VUMC budget detail. In situations where VU expenses must be captured directly in a VUMC budget, Coeus users are encouraged to use ‘TBD’ personnel lines or 61910 “Other Expenses,” including any clarifying information in the description field.

Coeus users copying an older budget containing now-deactivated university cost elements will receive a warning at the time of the copy. These budgets can still be copied, but the user will not be able to save edits to the budget until all inactive cost elements have been removed.

Adding “Other Expenses” for Training Grants

We have added cost element 61910T for “Training Other Expenses.” Currently, when Coeus users build budgets for training grants, they often include “Other Expenses” related to their project, but this 61910 cost element requires the user to manually adjust the expense from the default to its proper section on the training budget form. That manual adjustment is no longer required – simply choose the training-specific cost element, and it will be appropriately categorized on the training budget form.

Adding Non-Training Items

We have added two new tuition costs elements (64311NT and 64312NT) that allow users to select graduate tuition for non-training grants without having to manually move the expenses to a non-training budget category. Selecting these cost elements will place the expenses in “Section F. Other Direct Costs,” instead of “Section E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs.”

We have also added a cost element for non-training health insurance (64330NT). Selecting this cost element will also place the expenses in “Section F. Other Direct Costs,” instead of “Section E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs.”

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes including how it might apply to your proposal, please contact your OSP Specialist or coeushelp-vumc@vumc.org