Time & Effort Reporting
As a recipient of sponsored funds, Bradley University must assure Federal and other sponsors that the assignment of salary and fringe benefit costs to the projects they sponsor is reasonable in relationship to the work performed and that commitments to sponsors have been met. To do so, the University must maintain an accurate system for documenting and certifying time and effort. The system must specifically track the time or the percentage of effort dedicated to sponsored projects. Time and effort reporting serves as a way to reconcile that salaries and wages charged or cost shared to sponsored projects are consistent with the effort committed and contributed to sponsored programs. Inadequate time & effort reporting or failure to comply with established policies and requirements can lead to financial penalties, expenditure disallowances, repayments, and loss of funding.
Federal regulations provide a basic regulatory framework for salary & effort reporting. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions), Section J.10. …
The payroll distribution system will (i) be incorporated into the official records of the institution, (ii) reasonably reflect the activity for which the employee is compensated by the institution, and (iii) encompass both sponsored and all other activities on an integrated basis, but may include the use of subsidiary records
To be in compliance with Federal regulations, Bradley University requires individuals to complete a Time and Effort Report/Extra Compensation form or a Time & Effort Personnel Activity Report.
Time and Effort Report/Extra Compensation Form
Those individuals eligible for and receiving extra compensation as detailed in the Faculty Handbook (II. Faculty B. Faculty Appointment Status 3. Compensation b. Extra Compensation Policy) should complete the ‘Time and Effort Report/Extra Compensation’ form to document actual hours worked. The form should be submitted to the Controller’s Office at the end of each month (when work has been performed during that month). A requisition should also accompany the time and effort form when it is submitted to the Controller's Office. The requisition should denote the individual to receive the extra compensation, the total hours worked, the rate of pay, and the total amount of extra compensation.
Time & Effort Personnel Activity Report
Those individuals eligible for and receiving released time should complete the Time & Effort Personnel Activity Report. The form should be submitted to the Controller’s Office monthly or at the end of each semester as requested. Back-up and supporting documentation for the percentages reported on this form will need to be retained by the individual employee working on the grant. The employee is responsible for substantiating the percentages reported (via a log, diary, or other method).
Effort refers to the time spent on all university activities (e.g., instruction, organized and departmental research, public service, administration, patient services, internal consulting, student services, auxiliaries and other institutional activities). It excludes external consulting, non-institutional professional activities, or volunteer/unfunded activities such as community service.
Individuals are expected to devote 100% of their workload to fulfilling their total professional commitment to the University. Effort reporting is the process of monitoring and validating 100% of an individual’s total professional effort. It includes the time spent working on sponsored projects in which salary is directly charged or cost-shared.