All employees funded by federal grants are responsible for making certain that their reported distribution of payroll is an accurate representation of the effort expended on sponsored projects.

Annually, an Effort Report Form is distributed to each faculty and staff who receives federal grant-funded compensation.  Forms are distributed in August for the preceding academic and summer period.

The Principle Investigator has signature and certifying authority to confirm effort of all staff, if necessary.

All Effort Report Forms must be signed and certified, and returned to the Accounting Department, 221 Lane Hall.

On a bi-weekly basis, students who receive federal grant-funded compensation, submit time sheets documenting hours worked, which are approved by the Principal Investigator.

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Time and Effort Reporting Policy and Procedures

In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 2 CFR, Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter II, Part 200, et al., Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, all employees funded by federal grants, both directly and as a component of cost-share, are responsible for making certain that their annual reported distribution of payroll represents 100% of the compensation received from the College and is an accurate representation of the proportional efforts expended on all compensated activities during the year, including sponsored projects.

Since a majority of the work on sponsored projects occurs during the summer months, the College uses the Plan Confirmation method to obtain certification of actual effort expended, based on an annual reporting cycle, as follows:

• For faculty or staff charged to federally sponsored projects, annually within 30 days of the close of the faculty contract period, an Effort Report Form accounting for 100% of the employee’s compensated work is drawn from the payroll system and distributed to each employee who receives federal grant-funded compensation and/or cost-share compensation.
• For students and staff who are paid hourly and charged to federally sponsored projects, time sheets documenting hours worked are signed and approved on a bi-weekly basis by the employee and the Principal Investigator.  The Payroll Office confirms that bi-weekly payroll for students does not exceed a maximum of 20 hours per week worked while classes are in session.

All Effort Report Forms are requested to be signed and certified within 30 days of receipt and returned to the Accounting Department, 221 Lane Hall.  The Principle Investigator or other supervisor(s) having first-hand knowledge of the time and effort reported, has signature and certifying authority to confirm effort of applicable staff and students, if necessary.  Follow up procedures, including obtaining the Principle Investigator’s signature on behalf of the applicable staff and students, if necessary, will commence and continue until all reports have been returned, ideally no later than November 30.

Changes or Corrections to Effort Reports:  Actual effort should be monitored throughout the life cycle of each sponsored project and significant changes (greater than 10%) to planned effort distributions should be requested through the Payroll Office as soon as they become known.  If, at the end of a certification period, the Effort Report does not reflect a reasonable and proportionate estimate of the employee’s efforts expended for each activity (within a 10% margin), corrections should be made directly on the report, and the report should be signed and returned to the Accounting Department, 221 Lane Hall.  Cost transfers must be both allowable and directly related to a sponsored project or activity to which the cost is being transferred.  Requests for cost transfer, including correction of labor distributions, will be reviewed to ensure that they are fully documented to substantiate the appropriateness of the cost transfer, and will be signed by all respective Principal Investigators and fund managers.