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Rate Development and Review

How are Core Rates Established

All recharge centers (also commonly referred to as core facilities) must undergo a biennial rate review through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to ensure UNC’s compliance with federal guidelines. Failure to charge the rates determined through the rate development process may have negative consequences for UNC during federal audits and is considered a noncompliance.

Rate reviews can also be initiated by the core director at any time. Some minor revisions may receive a quick e-mail approval while full rate reviews may take a more lengthy time.

What to Expect

All cores are designated a review period to ensure that rate reviews are completed on or around the 2-year mark. The status of your core’s rate review is available in the Tableau Dashboard for your core facility. For questions about access to the Tableau Dashboard, please contact the OVCR Research Core Development team at RCD@unc.edu.

OSP will contact the individuals it has on file 90-days prior to the due date of the rate review. If you are a new core director or business administrator, please reach out to OSP to ensure that you are on their contact list for your core facility (please include the source number for your core in your communication) at rscsupport@unc.edu

When OSP contacts you, they will provide your last rate review documents for your review. You will need to use NEW forms for this year’s rate review. Some information may be copied over, but these forms are NOT copy-paste friendly. The best advice is to only copy and paste a single column, not across rows.

Please download the latest versions of the Rate Development Worksheet (Excel file)and Operating Plan (pdf).  If you have more rates to add or if you need extra rows unlocked in any of the sheets, you will need to contact OSP to make your request at rscsupport@unc.edu

  • “Member Subsidy” RDW forms should be utilize if certain individuals who are a “member” of whatever entity provides a subsidy to your core receive a DIFFERENT rate than other members of the UNC Chapel Hill (“Internal”) community.
  • If your subsidy reduces rates for everyone equally, please use the “No Member Subsidy” version.

If you have any subsidy, you will be asked to complete an MOU for EACH subsidizing unit for any rate reviews taking place on or after March 1, 2026.

You will likely need input from your business managers or accountants to complete the form. Please make your requests in a timely fashion so that other contributors have ample time to get you the information you will need to meet the deadline OSP provides.

Who Can Help

While rate reviews can seem daunting, there are several teams here at UNC who can help. Typically, those who are able to provide support will reach out to you during the rate review process to ensure you are set up for success. But, you can always reach out to us any time:

 

Frequently Asked Questions