These reports primarily serve as documentation to support salary.

Grants and Contracts Accounting

Virginia Commonwealth University

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS, INCLUDING THE ATTACHED DEFINITION OF TERMS, IN THEIR ENTIRETY, BEFORE COMPLETING THE EFFORT CERTIFICATION REPORT, THANK YOU.

QUARTERLY EFFORT CERTIFICATION REPORT INSTRUCTIONS

Federal government regulations require effort certification for all support staff University employees, grades 1-8, whose costs are charged either to (1) Federally sponsored grants and contracts or two (2) or more cost activities [departmental activities, departmental administration and sponsored research] used for purposes of allocating indirect costs to federal programs. The federal regulations require that this certification be done on a quarterly basis and the report be signed by a responsible University official having first-hand knowledge of the work performed.

The Effort Certification Report for support staff differs from the professional certification as follows:

(1) Accumulation and certification is required quarterly rather than per academic term,

(2) The effort certification report is to be reviewed and signed by a responsible University official with first-hand knowledge of the work performed rather than the employee,

(3) An effort certification statement is preprinted for each federally sponsored grant or contact and lists all staff to which the majority of, or 100% of, their effort is charged,

(4) A separate effort report is not prepared for each support staff employee, all employees subject to certification are listed by index for certification by a responsible University official. 

Please make every attempt to complete and sign the Quarterly Effort Certification Report within one week after receipt. Forward the completed report to your fiscal administrator.

Quarterly Effort Certification Reports are to be signed by a responsible official having first-hand knowledge of the work performed by each employee. For support staff, the responsible person is the person responsible for the index where the employee charges the majority of his effort. For federally sponsored grants and contracts, the responsible person will typically be the principal investigator, and for departmental accounts, the responsible person will typically be the department chairperson.

Quarterly the responsible person will receive from the fiscal administrator an Effort Certification Report listing all support staff charged either (1) 100% or (2) primarily to his index. (See Exhibit 1)-in addition, the report lists: Social Security Number, index charged, amount charged, and percentage of effort.

In order to certify to the effort associated with these direct costs, the responsible person should review this information to ensure that it is correct. If any of the information on the report is in error, or if an individual has been omitted, please strike through the erroneous data and insert the correct data. In addition, please attach copies of available supporting documentation, Personnel Action Form, (PAF) to facilitate the processing of required adjustments.

Regulations further require that an individual’s effort be allocated to one or more of the following cost categories: Departmental Activities, Departmental Administration and Sponsored Projects. (See Definition of Terms). Based on the responsible person’s first-hand knowledge of the work performed, the responsible person is to insert, in the spaces provided on the right hand side of the certification, the percent of effort associated with these activities. Effort must total 100%.

(See Exhibit II for examples of completed Quarterly Effort Certification Reports). 

Please sign and date the certification on the lower, right-hand side of the effort report. Forward the completed and signed effort report to your department’s fiscal administrator.

If an individual on your Effort Certification Report charges effort in another department or on an index where you are not aware of how the effort was expended, please contact the person responsible (shown in Exhibit I) for the amount and determine the correctness of the direct charges and the appropriate cost category allocation of this effort.

All inquiries regarding the Effort Certification should be directed to your department fiscal administrator.

I. DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION - The expenses incurred under this heading are those that have been incurred for administrative and supporting services that benefit common or joint departmental activities or objectives in academic dean’s offices, academic departments and divisions, and organized research units. Organized research units include such units as institutes, study centers, and research centers.

Departmental administration activities include:

• Working with a departmental committee (faculty compensation, faculty administration, departmental budgeting, long-range planning) in preparing, attending, or documenting the meeting.
• Typing and clerical activities supporting the administration of departmental staff or departmental meetings.
• Processing requisition and accounting forms supporting department activities.
• Assistance in personnel recruiting and in the administration of general personnel matters.
• Maintaining supplies and materials for departmental use.
• Telephone, messages, and typing support for the department.
• Supervision of other personnel responsible for typing, or other departmental administration activities.
•  

II. DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITY - The activities incurred under this heading are those that are related to instruction type activities such as:

• Curriculum preparation
• Instruction clerical and typing support
• Instruction material preparation and instruction administration
• Support for student admissions and student registration.

III. SPONSORED PROJECTS - This category includes effort approved and spent on sponsored research projects, sponsored training programs and other sponsored agreements.

Exhibits:

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