NIH caps training-grant reimbursements

In a change of policy, NIH will now place limits on reimbursements for tuition and fees funded through its institutional training grants and individual fellowships. The grants and fellowships, which are associated with the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, support graduate students and postdocs by providing stipends, tuition and fee reimbursement, training-related funds, and travel funds. Prior to this revision, tuition, fees, and health insurance were fully covered for the first $3,000 and at 60% above that value. The revised policy, however, would cover only tuition and fees at 60% up to $16,000 for graduate students and up to $4,500 for postdocs. Health insurance for both groups would be shifted to training-related expenses, with an additional $2,000 and $4,000 for graduate students and postdocs, respectively, allotted for this category. The stipends for both groups will remain unchanged. The policy change will affect grants beginning in fiscal 2007. The policy will be evaluated after two years, with the final policy expected by July 2010.