A participant is an individual who receives a service or training opportunity from a workshop, conference, seminar, symposium, or other short-term instructional or information sharing activity funded by a sponsored award. 

A participant may be a:

• U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or foreign national
• UNLV student/scholar
• Student/scholar from another institution
• Private sector company representative
• K-12 teacher, or a state or local government agency personnel
• Employee from other NSHE campuses, if they do not have a role in organizing the event or forwarding the project’s aims

The participant must have a social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).

The following are not considered participants:

• UNLV employees 
• A student or project staff member receiving compensation directly or indirectly from the grant
• Research subjects receiving incentive payments
• Recipients of compensation from any other federal government source while participating in the project (applies only to federal grants)

A participant does not perform work or services for the project or program other than for their own benefit. The participant is not required to deliver anything or provide any service to the university in return for these support costs.

Participant support costs are direct costs for items such as participant allowance, supplies, per diem, travel expenses, and/or registration fees paid to or on behalf of a participant in connection with a meeting, workshop, conference, symposium, or training project conducted under the award. 

Amounts must be reasonable, based on type and duration of the activity, and outlined in the program solicitation. All costs that are reimbursed or paid on behalf of the participant must be incurred within the project period and be specifically allowed by the sponsoring agency.

Participant support costs may include the following expenses:

• UNLV tuition and registration fees if required to participate in the project
• Event registration fees
• Stipend (predetermined amount regardless of actual costs) for housing and subsistence allowance for any other necessary costs
• Travel costs when the sole purpose of the trip is to participate in the project activity
• Event support costs for lodging and food expenses paid directly to the event facility, only if the payment is made on behalf of, or reimbursed directly to, the participant
• Meals and incidentals when on travel status
• Training materials
• Lab supplies

The following expenses, except when specifically allowed by the award, should not be processed as participant support costs:

• Travel for project principal investigator (PI) or staff
• Multi-purpose travel (i.e., to perform research in addition to attending a project related meeting)
• Travel for a consultant who is providing service to the university
• Event support cost (i.e., facility rentals, media equipment rentals, food/refreshments)
• Entertainment/food for non-participants
• Honoraria paid to a guest speaker or lecturer
• Incentive payment to encourage an individual to participate as a research subject
• Subaward to a provider for multiple training events (i.e., an ongoing contract with specific terms and conditions)
• Payments to a participant’s employer to reimburse for the costs related to sending the employee to the project event
• Expenses related to meetings of an administrative nature

Funds provided for participant support costs that are not spent cannot be transferred for use in other budget categories except with the prior written approval of the sponsor. In most cases, unspent participant support funds must be returned to the sponsor.

Sponsors do not provide guidance regarding tax treatment of participant support payments. As such, the university must determine the appropriate tax reporting required, if any, and the appropriate payment channel – which may be financial aid disbursement, payroll disbursement, or accounts payable disbursement. Contact Accounts Payable for information on appropriate tax reporting.