Effort Certification Process

Effort certification is a collaborative process and requires the support of central research administration, RAS, RGC, department administrators, chairs, and faculty. The timeline, communication, and responsibilities outlined below provide a framework for meeting effort requirements.

Timeline

Effort forms are certified twice a year for the periods of September-February and March-August. The following timeline lays out the steps and deadlines needed to achieve compliance.

  • Monthly
    • Pending effort report goes out to RAS Directors & CBOs.
  • One month prior to new reporting period
    • Email sent to RAS Directors with a list of all Pre-Reviewers and Department Coordinators (DCs) informing them to make any necessary updates prior to creation of next set of forms.
  • One week prior to new reporting period
    • Email sent to RAS Directors reminding them of deadlines for pre-review and certification along with links to the effort process website.
  • Day 2-3
    • Initiation process
      • Occurs after payroll has processed for the month prior to the new reporting period.
      • New set of effort forms are created.
    • Emails sent out informing Pre-Reviewers that effort forms are available to review.
    • A pending effort report, including all newly created forms, is sent to RAS Directors for distribution to their units. This list should be reviewed for any needed reassignments. Department Coordinators reassign forms where available and notify Cost Studies of those they cannot reassign.
  • Week 1
    • Email from RPA to RAS Directors to request that terminated employees that are Pre-Reviewers and Sub Department Coordinators (Sub DCs) be reassigned.
    • Email from RPA about Reassignment of Pre-Reviewers to Directors, DCs, and Sub DCs responsible for sponsored awards.
    • Email from RPA to HR RAS units about Pre-Reviewers who work on other departments (informational purposes only).
  • Week 3
    • The pending effort report goes out to RAS Directors along with a reminder that pre-review should be completed within 45 days.
  • Day 45
    • Email sent to Pre-Reviewers informing them of the deadline and reminding them that all forms should now be pre-reviewed.
    • Communication (along with pending effort and status reports) sent to CBOs and RAS Directors informing them of effort forms pending pre-review and pending certification.
  • Day 60
    • Email sent out to all Certifiers notifying them of the 90-day deadline.
  • Day 80
    • Email with a list of any remaining pending forms is sent to CBOs and RAS Directors with a reminder that 10 calendar days remain.
  • Day 90
    • Effort Certification Deadline
  • Day 91
    • Email sent to Certifiers advising them that all remaining forms are delinquent and out of compliance.
    • Delinquent list sent to Dr. Nobles, CBOs, & RAS directors.

Roles & Responsibilities

Cost Studies Team

The Cost Studies team manages the overall effort certification process.

  • Maintenance of effort system (ERS)
  • Creation of effort forms every six months.
  • Assignment of department coordinators & and subdepartment coordinators
  • Reassignment of effort forms when not possible within units
  • Distribution of pending effort and delinquent reports
RAS Directors

RAS directors are responsible for ensuring forms within their areas are reviewed and available for faculty/staff to certify by the deadline. These responsibilities may be designated to others in the RAS unit.

  • Reviewing department coordinators and subdepartment coordinators for departments that fall within their area and updating these when changes are needed.
  • Reviewing and updating pre-reviewers assigned to departments in their areas.
  • Running reports in ERS to determine the completion status of forms.
RAS Staff

Post-award staff in the RAS are assigned to pre-review forms within that unit. Those assigned as pre-reviewers are responsible for the following:

  • Reviewing of assigned forms within 45 days of the end of the effort period
  • Processing of any RSTs before review of effort form
  • Reviewing of effort form for any salary cap requirements
  • Recording of any cost-sharing required on the effort form.
  • Identify awards where the need for a PAN is anticipated and requested.
RGC
  • Working with RAS & OSP to ensure new awards are set up promptly so costs may be charged correctly and not delay RSTs and thus the effort certification process.
  • Prompt set up of PANs when needed.
  • Approval of late RSTs adjusting effort amounts
Faculty/Staff

Employees paid for sponsored projects must certify the time on those projects. The principal investigator is responsible for ensuring all costs on their awards are appropriate and may be assigned effort forms for others working on their award.

  • Certification of forms to which they have been assigned.
  • If an effort form reflects incorrect percentages, there are questions related to the form, or the employee feels that they are not the correct person to certify the form, the form should be sent back to the pre-reviewer with comments.
  • If there are questions related to non-sponsored projects, employees should contact department administrators.
CBOs
  • Working with department chairs and faculty to ensure that forms are certified by the deadline.
Department Administrators (as applicable)
  • Work with RAS staff to ensure charges are correct on non-sponsored funds.
  • Ensuring cost-share amounts are correct.
  • Working with department chairs and faculty to ensure that forms are certified by the deadline.
  • May vary slightly by school.

Available Reports in ERS

The following reports are available to run in ERS for managing the effort certification process:

  • Forms Needing Pre-Review
    This report shows all forms still pending pre-review for all RAS units. The report can be filtered by department, pre-reviewer, or employee to identify those only in your area.
  • Forms Needing Certification
    This report shows all forms that have been pre-reviewed but are still lacking certification. The report can be filtered by department, pre-reviewer, or employee to identify those only in your area.
  • Department Coordinators and Pre-Reviewers
    This report lists all departments and the assigned Pre-Reviewer, DC, and SUBDC for each one. If changes are needed, please contact Cost Studies
  • School Role (DH)
    This report shows who is assigned as the DH for each operating unit. If changes are needed, please get in touch with Cost Studies.