xTrain for Institution Users:
Termination of Fellowships Quick Reference Guide
Page 1 March 30, 2023
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Table of Contents
Terminating Fellowships ...............................................................................................................3
Who Can Initiate/Submit Termination Notices ..........................................................................5
Initiate a New Termination by PD/PI ..........................................................................................6
Initiate a new termination .............................................................................................................6
Complete the Termination Notice ................................................................................................8
Save Draft .....................................................................................................................................8
Route new termination to trainee ..................................................................................................9
Trainee processes form ...............................................................................................................10
Process Termination Notice by Trainee .....................................................................................16
Open the Termination Notice .....................................................................................................16
Complete the Termination Notice ..............................................................................................18
Recall ..........................................................................................................................................21
Process New Termination Notice by BO ....................................................................................23
Process a new termination ..........................................................................................................23
Early Terminations ......................................................................................................................26
Initiate an early termination ........................................................................................................26
Save Draft ...................................................................................................................................28
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Terminations
The Termination Notice documents the termination of NRSA fellowships and appointments to
NRSA training grants.
It may also be used to document the termination of appointments to non-NRSA institutional
research training programs (e.g., NLM T15’s), research education awards (e.g., R25), and
institutional career development awards (e.g., K12).
For non-NRSA awards, please refer to the Funding Opportunity Announcement or Notice of
Award to determine whether a termination notice is required.
Note that the flow below is for institutional research training programs. The flow for terminating
fellowships, career development awards, and research education awards, if applicable, differs.
Quick Reference:
http://era.nih.gov/files/termination_appointment.pdf
Figure 1: Termination Process Flow
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Terminating Fellowships
Users can initiate and submit termination notices for fellowships via xTrain. Once the
Fellowships are terminated, they will be automatically closed. As with training appointments,
institution users will be able to terminate Fellowships early. Internal users will not be able to
accept the TN until the Fellowship award is revised to show the new end date.
The Termination Notice for a Fellow can be initiated by the PD/PI (Fellow), business official
(BO), Sponsor or Sponsor Delegate. The flow diagram indicates the preferred process: the
Fellow initiates the termination notice; the Sponsor routes and certifies it; and the business
official submits it to the Agency.
The individual that initiates the award termination is the user.
• The user locates the most recent Fellowship and displays its Trainee Roster screen.
• The user selects Initiate Termination Notice.
• The Termination Notice screen is displayed with fields pre-populated with data from the
eRA system.
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• The user reviews the Termination Notice and makes any necessary edits/additions (such as
updating the email address of the PD/PI (Fellow) and entering/uploading the training
provided).
• The user routes the Termination Notice onward to the next reviewer.
NOTE: For Federal or Foreign (the Institution is outside the US) Fellowships, the PD/PI
(Fellow) and the Sponsor, as well as the BO, can submit the Termination Notice.
• The Termination Status is set according to the role of the individual who initiated it: In
Progress PI, In Progress Sponsor, or In Progress BO.
• Except for Foreign or Federal Fellowships, the Fellowship must be routed to the BO for
submission to the Agency.
• Only the principal investigator (PI) can modify the stipend on an early termination for T, K
and R grants—delegates cannot modify the stipend. On fellowships, the business official
can make changes as well.
NOTE: (If no action is taken):
• Termination Notices are automatically routed from the Sponsor to the BO after 14 days
• Termination Notices are automatically routed from the PD/PI (Fellow) to the BO after 14
days
Refer to the following topics for step-by-step instructions:
Initiate a New Termination
Process New Termination
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Who Can Initiate/Submit Termination Notices
xTrain users with the following eRA Commons roles can initiate a termination notice:
• Principal Investigator (PI) – this role includes Fellows
• Assistant (ASST) with a PD/PI xTrain-delegated role
• Business Official (BO)
• Sponsor (for fellowships)
• Sponsor Delegate (for fellowships)
Only the BO can submit a Termination Notice (TN) to the Agency for NRSA appointments and
fellowships.
Only the PD/PI can submit a Termination Notice for career development awards (e.g. K12, KL2,
and KM1) and research education awards (e.g. R25, R90). The BO is not involved.
For Federal and Foreign fellowships, the PD/PI (Fellow), and the Sponsor can submit the
Termination Notice. For more information see Appendix B – Termination Notice (416-7 Form).
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Initiate a New Termination by PD/PI
PD/PIs are responsible for initiating new terminations for funded budget periods.
Initiate a new termination
1. In the Awarded Grants table, click the hyperlinked grant number to display the Trainee
Roster screen.
2. Locate the trainee you wish to terminate. The Filter table field can be used to locate
someone quickly if desired.
3. Click the Actions button and select Initiate Termination Notice. The Termination
Notice screen is displayed with some fields pre-populated with data from the system.
NOTE: The Initiate TN menu option will not display if there is an existing WIP appointment
for the same Trainee.
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Complete the Termination Notice
1. Complete the Termination Notice. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
Tip: For form completion instructions and the form itself, click
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416-7.pdf.
Below are some key things to note while completing the form:
1. The Termination Date format is MM/DD/YYYY.
2. No commas or decimals are allowed in the Amount of Stipend/Salary field.
3. All comment text boxes are limited to 2000 characters.
4. Only the business official can submit the Termination Notice to the Agency for NRSA
appointments and fellowships. For career development awards (e.g. K12, KL2, and KM1)
and research awards (e.g. R25, R90), only the PD/PI can submit the termination notice.
5. Only the PD/PI can modify the stipend on an early termination for T, K and R grants—
delegates cannot modify the stipend. On fellowships, the business official can make changes
as well.
IMPORTANT: You must select the name of the business official (BO) who will submit the
termination notice to the agency.
Save Draft
1. Click the Save as Draft button. A confirmation message displays.
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2. Click the Save button. Your edits are saved and the form remains in your queue. The
draft form is saved and displayed for review; in addition, new options are added to the Take
Action section.
Route new termination to trainee
1. Add comments to the Comments field if desired.
2. Click the Send button. A confirmation message displays.
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3. Click the Save & Route to Trainee button. The system will check the form prior to
routing. Any identified errors must be corrected prior to routing. Warnings may be addressed
at your discretion. A confirmation message is displayed at the top of the screen indicating
that the Termination Notice has been successfully routed to the trainee. The status of the
termination is changed to In-Progress Trainee.
4. The Routing History tab in the trainee section contains a list of the actions taken on the
termination. The first item in the history reflects the current state of the termination.
The status of the termination is changed to In-Progress Trainee.
Trainee processes form
After receiving an email about the termination and logging into xTrain, the trainee reviews and
completes the necessary information. The trainee then routes the Termination Notice back to the
PD/PI.
The system will check the form, and any identified errors must be corrected prior to routing.
Warnings may be addressed at your discretion. If no errors are encountered, the termination
status becomes In-Progress PI.
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Complete the termination
You will receive an email when the trainee has reviewed and completed the notice and routed it
back to you.
1. In the Awarded Grants table, click the hyperlinked grant number to display the Trainee
Roster screen.
2. In the In Progress section of the grant details, click the Terminations button.
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The Pending Terminations Forms screen is displayed.
3. Click the hyperlinked trainee name to display the Termination Notices screen.
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4. To complete the termination, review the form one last time, add comments if desired,
then click the Send button in the Route to Business Official card. A confirmation message
displays.
5. Click the Save and Route to BO button. The system will validate the information
contained in the form and will flag any errors or warnings found. Errors must be corrected
before the termination is routed. Warnings are corrected at your discretion. A confirmation
message is displayed at the top of the screen indicating that the Termination Notice has been
successfully routed to the BO. The status of the appointment is changed to In Progress BO.
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Process Termination Notice by Trainee
Once the PD/PI creates a new appointment and routes it to the trainee, it is displayed in the My
Forms section of the Trainee Appointment Home screen.
Open the Termination Notice
1. To view a PDF of the Termination Notice, click the View Form button. The PDF is
downloaded to the browser's default location.
2. To complete the termination notice, click the Go to Form button. The Termination
Notices screen is displayed for your review.
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Complete the Termination Notice
1. Complete the form as appropriate. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
2. Enter details about the training in the Summary Comments field of the Training
Received section.
3. If desired, attach a PDF in the Supporting Documentation section. Click the Choose
button, navigate to the file's location, and double-click the file to attach it. Only one file can
be uploaded.
IMPORTANT: Your mailing and email address must be ones where you can be reached after
your training has been terminated.
Save Draft
Use this option to save your work on an termination notice and keep it in your queue.
1. Make the appropriate edits to the form.
2. Click the Save as Draft button. A confirmation message displays.
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3. Click the Save button. Your edits are saved and the form remains in your queue.
Save & Route to PI
When you have completed and reviewed the form, use this option to return the form to the PD/PI
for processing.
1. Make the appropriate edits to the form.
2. Add comments to the Comments field if desired.
3. Click the Send button. A confirmation message displays.
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4. Click the Save & Route to PI button. The system will validate the information contained
in the form and will flag any errors or warnings found. Errors must be corrected before the
Termination is routed to the PI. Warnings are corrected at your discretion. A confirmation
message is displayed at the top of the screen indicating that the Termination Form has been
successfully routed to the PI. The Trainee’s electronic signature is recorded and the status of
the appointment is changed to In-Progress PI.
5. The Routing History tab in the trainee section contains a list of the actions taken on the
termination. The first item in the history reflects the current state of the termination.
6. Additionally, the trainee should update their information in the Personal Profile section
within Commons and should know how to contact the Service Desk if the list of prior
Kirschstein-NRSA support is incorrect.
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7. Click the Done button.
If no action is taken by the PI within 14 business days, the system will automatically route
the form to the Business Official (BO), send a notification to the BO, and change the status to
In Progress by BO.
NOTE: If a TN is sent back to an Institution by the Agency and the TN has a status of In
Progress BO, the PI is able to recall the TN.
NOTE: The PD/PI should make every effort to have the Trainee update their Personal Profile
screen within Commons, specifically to update their email address with their new (forwarding)
email address, before the Trainee leaves the Institution.
Recall
If necessary, you can recall a termination form that has been routed onward to make edits.
1. Add comments to the Comments field.
2. Click the Send button. A confirmation message displays.
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3. Click the Recall button. The form is returned to your queue.
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Process New Termination Notice by BO
NOTE: The Business Official (BO) is the only one who can submit a Termination Notice (TN)
to the Agency for final processing and acceptance.
Process a new termination
In the Pending Forms list on the Business Official Home screen, locate the trainee you wish
to terminate. The Filter table field can be used to locate someone quickly if desired.
1. Click the hyperlinked trainee name to view the Termination Notices screen.
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2. Review the form, add comments if desired, then click the Send button in the Route to
Agency card. A confirmation message displays.
3. Click the Certify and Route to Agency button. The system will check the form prior to
routing. Any identified errors must be corrected prior to routing. Warnings may be addressed
at your discretion. A confirmation message is displayed at the top of the screen indicating
that the Termination Notice has been successfully routed to the agency. The status of the
appointment is changed to Pending Agency Review.
4. The Routing History tab in the Process Statement of Training Appointment section
contains a list of the actions taken on the appointment. The first item in the history reflects
the current state of the appointment.
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Early Terminations
If a Trainee terminates early, only the Appointment that is being terminated, as well as all
previous Appointments, will get terminated with the early termination date.
Initiate an early termination
1. In the Awarded Grants table, click the hyperlinked grant number to display the Trainee
Roster screen.
2. Locate the trainee you wish to terminate. The Filter table field can be used to locate
someone quickly if desired.
3. Click the Actions button and select Initiate Termination Notice.The Termination
Notice screen is displayed with some fields pre-populated with data from the system.
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4. Modify the Termination Date as appropriate using MM/DD/YYYY format. The system
will automatically recalculate the stipend.
Only whole numbers are allowed in the Amount of Stipend Salary field. Only the principal
investigator (PI) can modify the stipend on an early termination for T, K, and R grants—
delegates cannot modify the stipend. On fellowships, the business official (BO) can make
changes as well.
NOTE: When the end date is modified, and the appointment is for a partial year, sometimes the
recalculated stipend amount will differ from the stipend amount calculated by the institution. The
institution can modify the stipend based on its calculation. The Agency will approve the
modified stipend, if it is within an appropriate range.
IMPORTANT: You must select the name of the business official (BO) who will submit the
early termination notice to the agency.
Save Draft
1. Click the Save as Draft button. A confirmation message displays.
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2. Click the Save button. Your edits are saved and the form remains in your queue. The
draft form is saved and displayed for review; in addition, new options are added to the Take
Action section.
Once the draft early termination has been saved, it follows the same process as terminations:
1. PD/PI routes early termination to trainee.
2. Trainee reviews and routes early termination to PD/PI. If no action is taken by Trainee in
14 business days, the system will automatically route the form back to the PD/PI, send a
notification to PD/PI, and change the status of the TN to In Progress PI.
3. PD/PI reviews and routes early termination to BO.
4. BO reviews and routes early termination to Agency.
5. Agency reviews and approves early termination.
Review the Initiate a New Termination by PD/PI and Process Termination Notice by Trainee
and Process New Termination Notice by BO topics for more information.
NOTE: The PD/PI should make every effort to have the Trainee update their Personal Profile
screen within Commons, specifically update their email address with their new (forwarding)
email address, before the Trainee leaves the Institution. Otherwise, the PD/PI needs to know, and
be able to provide, a forwarding email address for the Trainee to be entered within the
Termination Notice.
