Salary Cost Distribution Adjustments

Processing Student Payroll Corrections

Changes to student employee funding sources can be initiated retroactively to adjust previous payroll, or to reallocate future expenses. Depending on the status of the job, these changes are processed through two different actions:

Salary Cost Distribution (SCD) Form: For Active Jobs

Student Adjustment Request Form (SARF): For Terminated Jobs

If the adjustment includes the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Award, please note the correct IO for the adjustment period:

FY25–26 FWS IO: 9500316675 
FY26–27 FWS IO: 9500317962 (effective 06/22/26 for payroll 07/01/26 and beyond)

Salary Adjustments/Cost Transfers to Grants

A grant cost transfer is an after-the-fact reallocation of a direct expense, either salary or non-salary, to or from a sponsored project (starts with 95).

These types of adjustments require the approval of Sponsored Program’s Post Award staff. Adjustments for after-the-fact reallocation of a direct expense that posted more than 90 days in the past require the approval of the Principal Investigator in addition to the Sponsored Program’s Post Award staff.

To find the Post Award staff responsible for the grant you can refer to this site. Be advised that individual grants are not referenced here, but rather this shows the Post Award Officer by the fund center that the grant is set up under.

For more information:  Cost Transfers and Salary Adjustments | Office of Research