xTrain Module Web site
PREP
xTrain provides the ability to electronically prepare and submit PHS 2271 Statement of Appointment forms associated with institutional research training grants, institutional career development awards, individual fellowships and research education awards. xTrain is also used by the agency's program officers and agency grants management staff to review and process the appointments submitted electronically.
Yes. NIGMS policy requires that students participating in programs supported by R25 or T34 awards be formally "appointed." And in keeping with NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-10-072, appointment forms must be electronically completed and submitted through the xTrain module of the eRA Commons.
Bridges to the Baccalaureate, Bridges to the Doctorate, IMSD, MARC U-STAR, PREP and RISE programs require use of xTrain.
Detailed instructions are available in the xTrain User Guide [PDF, 32MB]. New users are encouraged to familiarize themselves with xTrain and learn about its features in a sample environment at the Commons Demo site.
Briefly, the steps of the appointment process are as follows:
Yes. A PD/PI may delegate many xTrain functions except for the authority to submit Appointments to NIH. See xTrain Delegation of Authority [PDF, 483KB].
Appointments must be made to the year in which the appointment begins, even if it crosses into another budget period (i.e., a single appointment that crosses into the next budget period should NOT be split into two separate appointments, one to each budget period). If appointments do cross budget periods, be sure to inform participant that payment is contingent upon availability of NIH funds. Failure to appoint students may result in delays in processing the progress report and Notice of Award.
A participant, if eligible, can be reappointed after the initial 12 month appointment ends. For reappointments, click the “Re-Appoint 2271” link for that specific trainee/participant on the xTrain Trainee Roster screen. Do not create a “New” appointment for trainees being reappointed to the grant unless there is a break in service between the original appointment period and reappointment period. See the xTrain Appointment, Re-Appointment, and Amendment Quick Reference Guide for Institution Users [PDF, 56KB].
Program participants must be appointed at least 2 consecutive months.
If the interruption is less than 1 month and the student participant is being paid partially within the month that the interruption occurs, there is no need to submit a separate appointment. However, if the interruption is more than 1 month, then separate appointments are required, making sure that each appointment is more than 2 months in length. (x-Train will not take any appointments less than 2 months.)
Termination notices are not required. If a trainee's period of support changes from what was stated in the original appointment form, then you must submit an amended Statement of Appointment form with the actual dates the participant was supported by the program.
Yes. All sections must be completed. Enter or select N/A or Does Not Apply, where applicable. Please note that much of the information is pulled into the 2271 form automatically from the student's eRA Commons account profile. Therefore, it is imperative that students make sure that all of the information in their profile has been completed and is kept up-to-date.
In general, an appointment form can still be processed if a warning appears as long as the information is validated by the Official completing the form. An appointment form cannot be processed if an error appears. Related to the length of appointment, an appointment for less than 9 months but more than 2 months will give a warning, but the form can still be submitted. If the appointment is less than 2 consecutive months, an error will appear, and the form cannot be submitted until the period of appointment is corrected. (Note: this applies for R25 grants, not T34 grants.)
For additional FAQs regarding appointments, roles (Institution, Principal Investigator and Trainees), technical issues and troubleshooting, go to the eRA Commons Frequently Asked Questions website. For additional training materials, go to the xTrain Appointment, Re-appointment and Amendment Quick Reference Guide for Institution Users [PDF, 56KB].
For xTrain and eRA Commons user and technical questions:
eRA Commons Help DeskWebsite: http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.htmlToll-free: 1-866-504-9552Phone: 301-402-7469TTY: 301-451-5939Hours: Mon.- Fri., 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time
For policy related xTrain questions:
For questions about appointment forms, contact the Grants Management Specialist listed on the latest Notice of Award.
For questions about program expectations, policies and qualifications of the students to be appointed to the program:
The student should answer "No." Note that under Question 16, the student should also include his or her undergraduate institution and degree awarded.
This page last reviewed on 9/30/2019 4:03 PM