Effort Reporting

Effort reporting is the process by which the university employee’s salary charged to a sponsored project is certified as being reasonable in relation to the effort expended on that project. An effort report is an after-the-fact reporting of activities for which the employee was compensated by the institution.

The federal government requires universities to document that salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable in relation to the effort expended. Effort reports constitute one of the primary auditable documents to support salary costs on sponsored projects.

• For Faculty and Staff who charge effort to sponsored projects, generally the employee or the award’s principal investigator is the best person to approve.
• Alternate Certifiers at the College/Division, Department Heads, Project Directors and Financial Managers may also be assigned in Banner.
• Principal investigators are required to certify the effort of graduate students funded by their grants.
• Temporary employees and students who complete a time sheet of hours worked are excluded (signed timesheets meet the effort certification requirement).

UNCG collects certifications of effort for three different periods each year:

• January – June for all employees, with the certification process in August-September of that year.
• July – December for all employees, with the certification process in February-March of the next year.
• May 15 – August 15 to capture only the “off-contract” effort of 9-, 10, and 11- month faculty, (i.e., the additional pay received for work on a sponsored project during the months they are not contracted to be working) with the certification process in October – November of that year.

Effort certification will now be an electronic, online process available through UNCGenie. Instructions on the process can be found by visiting the following button link: