About PTAEO - Project
About Project
All activities undertaken by the University are organized into projects. Projects enable departments to track work activities from budget set-up through completion of the activity. Projects:
- must have budgets,
- should not be used for purposes covered by other segments (such as award or expenditure type), and
- have a unique 7-digit number that is automatically assigned.
There are three types of projects:
- Operating - Operating projects are activities supported by all fund sources other than sponsored awards. As a general rule, an operating project cannot be linked to a sponsored award. Any project funded wholly or in part by a sponsored award will likely be classified as a sponsored project.
- Sponsored - Sponsored projects are activities funded wholly or in part by sponsored awards, most notably by grants and contracts. Sponsored projects may only be linked to non-sponsored awards when the sponsored award specifies mandatory or voluntary-committed cost sharing (see University Policies 1306 and 1316). Important aspects of the project (e.g. its start and end dates) are determined by the terms of the associated sponsored award.
- Capital - Capital projects are a specific type of operating project undertaken to extend the useful life of an asset or to create a new asset. This project type is used for the purchase or construction of buildings and fixed equipment where the cost will equal or exceed $50,000. All renovations and alterations of buildings or fixed equipment ›= $50,000 or that will extend the planned useful life for more than two years should also be captured in capital projects. Moveable Equipment (MEI) must cost ›= $5,000 and have an estimated useful life greater than one year. If you think a project your organization is considering might be a capital project, please contact the Office of Capital Management at 203-432-8012.
Project Attributes
Each project must have a:
- name, which must be unique and clearly describe the purpose of the project. Can use up to 30 characters. Sponsored project names are assigned by the Grants and Contracts Pre-Award Offices. Other project types are named by the departments.
- functional classification, which indicates the purpose of the activity. This provides the ability to summarize and report by major program. There are 12 functional classification codes. See the Functional Classification list below.
- project-owning organization that is responsible for monitoring and managing the project. However, a project can be linked to other organizations for charging purposes.
- project manager who is responsible for conducting the activity of the project. On a sponsored project, the principal investigator is the project manager.
- start date. End dates are optional. Thus, the duration of a project may be limited to a specific period or may continue indefinitely if the project represents an ongoing activity.
Optional: Due to certain department reporting needs, projects may need to be grouped in ways other than through Functional Classification or Task. In these circumstances, departments should consult with the Chart of Accounts department to explore the use of other attributes, such as the Department Reporting Cluster.
Project/Award & Project/Organization Linkages
In order for a project (and its tasks) to accept charges, it must be linked to an award and organization (creating a valid PTAO). These linkages are established during the set-up process. They are used to validate data entry and ensure that only the appropriate project/award and project/organization combinations are charged. A project can generally be linked to any organization for charging purposes. There are certain limitations for award linkages; please see the discussion of operating and sponsored projects in the “About Projects” section above.
About Functional Classifications
Each project is classified according to its primary purpose in one of the following functional classes. Each project must have one (and only one) functional classification. A full description of each functional class is below (examples may not be all-inclusive).
The School of Medicine also uses functional classifications to allocate financial activity across the three core missions (clinical, research and education) to facilitate easier mission-based financial reporting. The table below shows how the School of Medicine maps the functional classifications to the lines of business.
PROJECT FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION MAPPED |
||
|---|---|---|
PROJECT - FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION |
CODE |
LINE OF BUSINESS - Med School |
| Education | 01 |
Education |
| Academic Support | 02 |
Education |
| Student Life & Services | 03 |
Education |
| Organized Research | 04 |
Research |
| Research Training | 05 |
Research |
| Research Support | 06 |
Research |
| Professional Practicum | 07 |
Clinical |
| Public Services | 08 |
Admin |
| Other Scholarly Activities | 09 |
Research |
| Administration | 10 |
Admin |
| Facilities | 11 |
Admin |
| Institutional External Affairs | 12 |
Admin |
| 01 Education | All educational activities offered either for credits toward a degree or certificate, or on a non-credit basis.
|
| 02 Academic support | Resources and programs to support the academic missions of the University, such as:
|
| 03 Student life and services | Programs and resources provided for the benefit and support of students outside the context of the formal academic/instructional program, such as:
|
| 04 Organized research | Research efforts that are separately budgeted and accounted for, including cost sharing where required by the award, and which meet at least one of the following criteria:
|
| 05 Research training | Activities directed toward provision of practical research training, usually at the postgraduate (including postdoctoral) level.
|
| 06 Research support | Resources and programs that support the research missions of the University, include:
|
| 07 Professional practicum | Professional/clinical practice and training. These activities take place primarily in the professional schools and include the following:
|
| 08 Public services | Programs and activities directed toward the community (external of Yale University). These may be funded from a variety of sources, both institutional and external. Examples include:
|
| 09 Other scholarly activities | Research, development and/or scholarly activities that are neither organized research nor direct educational and instructional activities, and may not be formally/regularly budgeted. Examples include:
|
| 10 Administration | Planning and management of financial, physical and human resources. Examples include:
|
| 11 Facilities | Operation and maintenance of physical plant, including:
|
| 12 Institutional external affairs | Activities directed toward external constituencies (examples below) on behalf of the institution
|
Project Forms
Click for Project form:
Last Updated: July 27, 2012 (Bliss).
