UDM Effort Reporting Policy

Background

The University’s effort reporting policy provides the principal means for certifying that the salaries and wages charged to, or contributed to, sponsored projects are reasonable and consistent with the portion of total professional activity performed on and committed to the projects. UDM requires this effort reporting to comply with the federal government’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 “Principles for Determining Costs Applicable to Grants, Contracts, and Other Agreements with Educational Institutions.”  This process applies to all regular staff and faculty of UDM whose compensation is charged in whole or in part to an externally sponsored project of any type, including cost sharing.  

Appropriately certified effort reports provide auditable documentation to demonstrate to UDM’s external funders that the level of effort described in the grant application has been maintained and continued throughout the project. Once an award has been made, the PIs will follow UDM effort reporting policy as listed below.

Effort is measured as a percent of the individual’s total activity within her or his university appointment and includes all research, teaching, service, and administrative duties the employee performs.  The percent effort is not based on a typical 40-hour work week. Total University effort is 100% whether a typical work week is 20 or 60 hours. Effort reported must always equal 100% during an on-term semester, and 100% or less during an off-term semester.  Total effort may never exceed 100% and should include only those activities for which an individual receives University compensation.  This includes teaching, service, clinical and administrative duties, in addition to work performed on sponsored projects.  An individual’s 100% effort must be reasonable and supportable to the department, school, university, and external reviewers.

Please Note:  Effort reporting is a federal requirement and a current focus of federal auditing. Recent noncompliance findings at other universities have resulted in multimillion dollar fines.

Frequency of Reports

Effort Reports must be completed every semester for each of the sponsored projects where time and effort is committed. Completed reports are due to the OSPRA according to the following schedule:  January 15 (for fall term), May 15 (for spring term), September 15 (for summer term).  Additionally, the OSPRA requires personnel working on sponsored programs to attach a “planned effort report” for their off-term to the report prior to that off-term (for instance, if a faculty member’s off-term is summer, he/she would attach a planned report to the May 15 spring term report).  Completed reports will be kept on file in the OSPRA. Federal compliance requires adherence to University policies and procedures. Timely certification and return of Effort Reporting Forms within University established deadlines is a federal compliance requirement.

Certification of Report

The employee’s signature on the report confirms that the distribution of effort reported represents a reasonable estimate of the actual work performed during the reporting period. The Principal Investigator or the Dean (if the employee is the P.I.) must also verify the information provided on the report. Federal regulations require the individual who certifies effort must have firsthand knowledge of the employee's activities. The completed form is then sent to the OSPRA where it is reviewed and accepted by the Director of OSPRA and passed on to the Budget Office.

On-term Time and Effort Reporting Form (TERF)

Off-term Time and Effort Reporting Form (TERF)

Off-term Planned Time and Effort Reporting Form (TERF)