| Effort Reporting and Certification
New Procedures Effective February, 2008 (Technical Assistance Manual)
Effort Reporting Policy
Send completed effort certification reports to: Controller's Office, P.O. Box 13035
What is effort?
Effort is defined as the activities, functions, or categories to which an employee directs time and energies, including instruction, sponsored projects, and departmental administration, and effort devoted to sponsored projects for cost sharing. Effort certification reports confirm, on a best-judgment basis, the percentage distribution of effort for the period reported and serve to substantiate salary and wage charges or contributions to federal or state grants and contracts.
Effort refers only to base salary. Additional compensation is accounted for separately and IS NOT included in effort reports.
Who must report effort?
Any person who is paid by or who cost-shares any portion of their base salary on a state or federally funded
grant or contract must report effort expended on the project.
- Faculty, professional staff, and graduate students - must report their average
estimated effort on all activities over each
academic term in (fall, spring, and summer ) for which effort is expended on a state
or federal project.
- Classified staff and undergraduate students - must report
their average estimated effort on all activities
over each month in which effort is expended
on a state or federal project .
- Hourly staff / students - must report
their actual time on all activities over each
pay period in which effort is expended on a state
or federal project (university time sheets are sufficient).
Why must effort be reported?
Certifying employee time
and effort expended to fulfill commitments to federal and state
sponsors of externally funded, restricted grants and contracts
is required by federal and state laws and regulations [Office
of Management and Budget Circular A-21 and Texas Uniform Grant
Management Standards II (B) (11) (h) (1-5, 7)].
Because organizations funding research and sponsored programs
at Stephen F. Austin State University do not directly supervise
work performed, SFA (specifically the project dire tor or principal investigator) is responsible for ensuring that only legitimate
expenses are charged to or contributed to the grants and contracts
funded by these organizations.
Each grant or contract includes guidelines for charging employee
time spent working on that project. In order to comply with organizations'
funding regulations, SFA must maintain complete and accurate records
of effort expended by employees paid from a grant or contract
or contributed to a grant or contract as cost sharing. Effort
charges to any contract must represent work done on that project
only. It is inappropriate to charge time and effort from any other
project or activity for any reason whatsoever.
For more information and assistance, faculty and staff should
contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to ensure
that effort is reported properly.
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