Responsible Executives: Executive Vice President and CFO; University Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation
Responsible Office: Division of Financial Services
Last Update: February 25, 2020
Cornell University is committed to complying with reporting requirements for foreign gifts and contracts, as outlined in Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and in Section 207-a of the New York State Education Law.
Under this policy, all university units, including subsidiaries, are required to report semiannually all foreign gifts and/or contracts received by Cornell University or its subsidiaries.
Institutions, including Cornell University, that process U.S. federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act are required to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education gifts received from any foreign source, contracts with a foreign entity, and any ownership interests in or control over the institution by a foreign entity valued at $250,000 or more, alone or combined, in a calendar year.
In addition, every institution in New York State authorized to award degrees, by either the Legislature or Board of Regents, is required by Section 207-a of the Education Law to file annually with the State Education Department a report of gifts valued at more than $100,000 that it has received from foreign governments, persons, or entities during the most recent fiscal year.
Policy Clarification and Interpretation:
These definitions apply to terms as they are used in this policy. New York State Department of Education’s definitions used for foreign government, foreign person, foreign entity, foreign source, and gift.
Central Reporting Offices: Administrative units of the university; specifically, for the purposes of this policy, Alumni Affairs and Development (Ithaca), Budget Office (Weill Cornell Medicine [WCM]), Center for Technology Licensing, External Relations (WCM), Global Operations (Ithaca), Office of Sponsored Programs (Ithaca), and the Office of Sponsored Research Administration (WCM).
Contract: A binding agreement that includes any endowment, gift, grant, contract, award, or property of any kind.
Foreign Entity: Any legal entity created under the laws of a foreign government and any legal entity created under U.S. or state law if the majority of its stock is directly or indirectly owned legally or beneficially by one or more foreign governments, foreign persons, or foreign legal entities, or if a majority of the entity’s membership is composed of foreign persons or foreign legal entities, including agents of foreign legal entities.
Foreign Government: Any government other than the United States government or the government of a state or political subdivision thereof, including agents of foreign governments.
Foreign Person: Any individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States or a trust territory or protectorate thereof, including agents of foreign persons.
Foreign Source: A foreign government, including an agency of a foreign government; a legal entity, governmental or otherwise, created solely under the laws of a foreign state or states; an individual who is not a citizen or a national of the United States or a trust territory or protectorate thereof; and an agent, including a subsidiary or affiliate of a foreign legal entity, acting on behalf of a foreign source.
Gift: Financial support provided to the university in a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, cash; marketable securities; and in-kind, such as tangible fixed assets and consumable commodities. A donor must enter into the transaction voluntarily and receive nothing (other than a token of appreciation) in exchange.
Subsidiary: Any entity that is owned or majority-controlled by Cornell University.
Central Reporting Offices:
Colleges, Other Operating Organizations:
Division of Financial Services:
Global Operations:
Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) Finance:
To comply with federal and state laws and reporting requirements, the university must collect and properly evaluate all gifts and contracts it receives from foreign sources to determine whether the federal or state reporting thresholds have been met. Accordingly, all members of the university community must submit semiannually to a designated university office (see below) accurate and timely reporting of gifts or contracts of the administratively designated value from any foreign source at the time the contract or gift is finalized (i.e., contract is executed). If the amount of the transaction cannot be determined at the time of execution, the transaction must be reported the earlier of when the amount is known or the payment is received.
The Division of Financial Services in collaboration with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development, Global Operations, Office of Sponsored Programs, University Counsel, Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), and campus units, will prepare data for the state and federal foreign gift and contract reporting. This data will be reviewed by Global Operations and submitted by Financial Aid and Student Employment, or other office designated by the Executive Vice President and CFO.
The following tables show the offices responsible for HEA 117 reporting according to the types of agreements. For further information on signatory, consult University Policy 4.2, Transaction Authority and Payment Approval, which supersedes the signatory information below.
These classifications are for the purpose of foreign gift and contract reporting. For information on revenue classification for financial purposes see the Revenue Classification page on the Accounting website.
| Type of Agreement | Circumstances/Use Guidelines | System/Office of Record | Signatory | Responsible for HEA 117 Reporting to DFS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored program agreement | Activities sponsored by an external organization including:
|
Research Administration Support System (RASS) | Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) | Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) |
| Research-related field trial grants | See product testing agreement. | |||
| Clinical trial agreements | Agreements for the evaluation of a substance or device in an animal species. | RASS | OSP | OSP |
| Licensing agreements | Agreements in which Cornell grants rights to external organizations to make products or offer services that utilize Cornell’s intellectual properties (such as patents, copyright materials, and plant breeders’ rights) or the use other related rights. | Center for Technology Licensing (CLT) | CTL | CTL |
| Material transfer agreements | Contracts that govern terms and conditions for the transfer of Cornell’s materials to external parties with compensation. | CTL | CTL | CTL |
| Testing agreements using Routine Product Testing Agreement | For Cornell to perform testing for external parties on a proprietary product or device under a client-developed testing protocol. | Colleges | Approved Colleges | Colleges |
| Testing agreements not using routine product testing agreements | For Cornell to perform testing for external parties on a proprietary product or device under a client-developed testing protocol, where client will not accept Cornell’s standard agreement, or it exceeds the allowable dollar amount. | RASS | OSP | OSP |
| Gifts |
|
Peoplesoft | Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) | AA&D |
| Memorandum of agreement and project agreements |
|
Icertis | Vice provost or college dean | Global Operations |
| Non-sponsored related -- Master service agreements and statements of work |
|
Icertis | College dean | Global Operations |
| Scholarship/ student sponsorship agreement | When a private company, government, or other entity enters into an agreement with the university to sponsor tuition of any level of student, and the payment is made directly to Cornell. | College | College dean | College |
| Barter agreement | Exchanging goods or services not denominated in any currency. Goods or services received should be recognized at the fair market value. This excludes agreements for student exchange. | College | College | College |
| Corporate membership agreement, using Counsel-approved template | An agreement supporting an activity or center, for which only de minimis tangible benefits (such as listings, newsletters, etc.) are returned to the member (e.g., industrial partnership programs, corporate sponsor programs, etc.). | AA&D | Center or program | AA&D |
| Real Estate-related |
|
Real Estate Office | Real Estate Office | Real Estate Office |
These classifications are for the purpose of foreign gift and contract reporting. For information on revenue classification for financial purposes please contact WCM Finance.
| Type of Agreement | Circumstances/Use Guidelines | System/Office of Record | Signatory | Responsible for HEA 117 Reporting to DFS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored project agreement | Activities sponsored by an external organization including:
|
Office of Sponsored Research Administration (OSRA) | OSRA | Finance |
| Qatar Foundation programs | Activities sponsored by the Qatar Foundation in support of WCMC-Qatar. This includes:
|
Qatar Finance | College | Finance |
| Gifts |
|
External Affairs | External Affairs | Finance |
| Clinical trial agreements | Agreements for the evaluation of a substance or device in an animal or human species. | Joint Clinical Trials Office (JCTO) | JCTO | Finance |
| Memoranda of agreement and project agreements |
|
Budget Office | Vice Provost Finance & Administration | Finance |
| Scholarship/ student sponsorship agreements | When a private company, government, or other entity enters into an agreement with the university to sponsor tuition of any level of student, and the payment is made directly to Cornell. | SFA/Student Accounting | SFA/Student Accounting | Finance |
| Barter agreements | Exchanging goods or services not denominated in any currency. Goods or services received should be recognized at the fair market value. | College | College | College |
| Real Estate-related |
|
Real Estate | Real Estate | Finance |
Refer to the Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting shared Box folder for the procedure and timing of reporting, along with associated data.
