CLOSE MENU
Effort reporting is a process mandated by the federal government by which the salary charged to a sponsored project is certified as reasonable in relation to the effort expended on that project.
CUNY faculty effort is expressed as a percentage of the total time spent on work-related activities (instruction, research, etc.) for which the University compensates an individual. The total effort expended cannot exceed 100%.
As a recipient of federal funding, the Research Foundation (RF) must keep documents demonstrating the amount of time faculty members spent on grant activities. Effort reporting constitutes one of the primary auditable documents supporting a sponsored project’s salary costs.
This policy applies to all federally and non-federally funded sponsored awards, and the research community at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health should understand it.
When to Complete Effort Certification
Before a Principal Investigator (PI) can certify effort, the faculty’s effort must be processed via a staff effort notice or payment authorization. This policy will provide detailed information on effort processing.
PIs will then certify their effort and the effort of all faculty members who spent time on their project(s) at the end of each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer). Online effort certification is available to PIs on the first business day following the end of the semester.
In the absence of a PI, the Department Chair or Associate Dean for Research will certify faculty members’ efforts by completing a PAR (personnel activity report). The Grants Officer (GO) assigned to the project will coordinate this process.
Effort reporting must be completed and certified within a reasonable period after each semester.
How to Complete Effort Certification
The instructions to certify fall and spring efforts online are as follows:
- Log on to the RF’s website. If you have forgotten your User ID and/or Password, please contact Tatyana_Gun@rfcuny.org or Lisa_DeStefano@rfcuny.org.
- Select Effort Reporting from the Electronic Tools options on the RF website.
- Select Certification.
- Click Select to choose the semester to certify.
- Click on an employee’s name.
- Click on “Agree” next to the effort percentages if correct. Effort percentages come directly from Staff Effort Notices. (Click on Disagree if the number looks incorrect and notify your grants officer).
- Repeat the process for any open items or log off.
The instructions to certify summer effort are as follows:
- Log on to the RF’s website. If you have forgotten your User ID and/or Password, please contact Tatyana_Gun@rfcuny.org or Lisa_DeStefano@rfcuny.org.
- Select Summer Salary from the Electronic Tools options on the RF website.
- Select Effort Certification
- The year will automatically be the most current; if you need to change the year, please do so using the change year button.
- Click on an employee name to verify the Project #, Effort %, Salary Amount paid, and PI name.
- If the Project #, Effort %, or Salary Amount needs to be corrected, contact your Grants Office.
- Click on Process on the right side of the screen. Confirm your choice in the pop-up window by clicking Agree or Decline.
As per the entries from the summer appointments, summer effort can only be certified once all summer effort has been charged to projects.
Here are a couple of exceptions:
- Research faculty on a 12-month appointment will certify their summer effort – or have it certified – in the “effort reporting” system as they are not eligible for summer salary.
- In some instances, such as the absence of the PI, the effort will be certified via a PAR. The form is linked above. The PAR should be fully completed and signed. The effort distribution should lead to a “GRAND TOTAL” of 100%. An effort total below 100% will not be processed.
Common Issues
The below practices are NOT allowed:
- Total time charged across sources exceeds 100%.
- Charging time to awards when no work on the award occurred to make up for funding shortfalls.
- Using grant funds to pay employees based on budgeted hours.
- Inconsistent application of requirements across all sources of funding.