Effort Reporting September 7, 2006

							          Effort Reporting

        September 7, 2006


            Eric Cottington
Associate Vice President for Research
Agenda

•   Background
•   Regulations
•   Challenge
•   Progress to Date
•   Changes to Effort Report Form and Process
•   Q&A
Background


•  Effort is the proportion of time spent on professional activities such as
research, teaching, administration, service.

• Effort Reporting is the method of documenting the proportion of time
devoted to these professional activities as a percentage of total professional
activity.

•   Effort not necessarily calculated on a 40-hour workweek.

•   Payroll and effort distributions are not the same thing.
    Effort Reporting per OMB Circular A-21 (Section J; Part
    8)


•     Most universities use after-the-fact activity record systems

• Distribution of salaries and wages are supported by activity reports
that:
    • show the percentage distribution of activity of employee
    • are signed by the employee, principal investigator, or
      responsible official(s) using suitable means of verification that
      the work was performed
    • reflect activity applicable to each sponsored project
    • are prepared each academic term, but no less frequently than
      every six months.
Challenge
•   Reporting is complicated and time-consuming.

•   Federal policy interpretations lack flexibility to accommodate diverse
    university activities and compensation arrangements.
    •    Blurred lines among researchers’ activities
        –     Research versus patient care
        –     Multiple funding sources for research with overlapping purposes
    •    Policies that discourage or prohibit accurate calculation of institutional
         base salaries when compensation comes from outside of the institution

•   Recent governmental enforcement
    •   Northwestern University: $5.5 Million settlement
    •   Johns Hopkins University: $2.6 Million settlement
    •   Harvard University: $3.3 Million settlement
    •   University of Alabama-Birmingham: $3.9 Million settlement

•   NIH has specific requirements for including clinical practice
    compensation as part of base salary for effort reporting purposes
NIH requirements regarding clinical practice
compensation

•   Clinical practice compensation must be set by the university

• Clinical practice activity must be shown on the university’s payroll or
salary appointment forms and records approved by the institution

• Clinical practice compensation must be paid through or at the
direction of the university

• Clinical practice activity must be included and accounted for in the
institution’s effort reporting and/or payroll distribution system

• University must assure that all financial reports and supporting
documents associated with the combined institutional base salary and
resulting charges to NIH grants are retained and made available to
federal officials
Effort Reporting Progress-To-Date
 • Revised effort reporting process for faculty initiated in
   February 2006
 • To date effort reports have been completed by faculty for
   the following periods:
   - Summer Semester 2005 (faculty with nine month appts.)
   - Fall Semester 2005 (faculty with nine month appts.)
   - Second-half 2005 (faculty with twelve month appts.)
 • Compliance has been close to 100%
 • Discrepancies between certified effort and charged effort
   are currently being reconciled
 • Form and process are being revised based on feedback
   from initial implementation
 • Effort reporting process for Spring 2006 and first half of
   2006 set to begin by mid-September
Effort Certification Process
   Department Administrator Review

   •   E-mail sent to dept. admin. with link to on-line worksheets and attached
       spreadsheet of Case Payroll Data for reporting period
   •   Dept. admin. reviews effort certification worksheets for faculty in department based
       on most recent form completed and Case payroll data
   •   Dept. admin. makes any adjustments, as necessary, and either clicks “Ready to
       Certify” button or creates printable version

   Faculty Member Review and Sign-off

   •   Faculty member either receives e-mail with link to his or her on-line form or receives
       paper version of form
   •   Faculty member reviews on-line or paper form and either signs it or discusses
       changes with dept. admin and then signs revised form
   •   Once form has been certified by faculty member, it can not be changed unless
       it is recertified by the faculty member
   •   Faculty members can not create their own form
 On-Line Effort Certification: E-mail to Dept. Admin.
 (School of Medicine Only)
Subject:         Effort Reporting: January 1 – June 30, 2006

As you know, Case has revised its effort reporting procedures. In order for Case to remain in
compliance……

To this end, your assistance is requested in reviewing and completing effort report worksheets for
faculty in your department or division. The attached spreadsheet provides the salary allocation detail in
PeopleSoft for faculty in your department or division who have charged salary to sponsored projects
and/or other activities from January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006.

To review and complete the effort report worksheets that will then generate effort report forms for the
faculty member to review and sign (either electronically or on paper), go to the following website and
enter your Case network ID and password. Select Effort Reporting from the menu. Click on your
department or division name. You will then see the names of the faculty who need to certify their
effort. Click on their name to prepare their form.

https://addison.ra.cwru.edu/spiderweb/

The effort report worksheets for these faculty have been pre-populated with percentages
derived from the most recent effort report form completed by the faculty member. Data from
the attached, current PeopleSoft salary distribution will also be displayed in blue on the
worksheet. Also displayed on the worksheet are sponsored projects that were on the most recently
completed effort report form, but that are not on the current worksheet. These can be imported to the
effort worksheet as necessary.
On-Line Effort Certification: E-mail to Dept. Admin.
(All Schools Other Than Medicine)

Subject:         Effort Reporting: Spring Semester 2006

As you know, Case has revised its effort reporting procedures. In order for Case to remain in
compliance……

To this end, your assistance is requested in reviewing and completing effort report worksheets for
faculty in your department or division. The attached spreadsheet provides the salary allocation detail
in PeopleSoft for faculty in your department or division who have charged salary to sponsored projects
and/or other activities for the Spring 2006 semester.

To review and complete the effort report worksheets that will then generate effort report forms for the
faculty member to review and sign (either electronically or on paper), go to the following website and
enter your Case network ID and password. Select Effort Reporting from the menu. Click on your
department or division name. You will then see the names of the faculty who need to certify their
effort. Click on their name to prepare their form.

https://addison.ra.cwru.edu/spiderweb/

The effort report worksheets for these faculty have been pre-populated with percentages
derived from the attached, current PeopleSoft salary distribution. However, data from the most
recent effort report form completed by the faculty member will also be displayed in blue on the
worksheet. Also displayed on the worksheet are sponsored projects that were on the most recently
completed effort report form, but that are not on the current worksheet. These can be imported to the
effort worksheet as necessary.
 On-Line Effort Certification: E-mail to Dept.
 Admin.
Please use the attached spreadsheet and any other information you may have to prepare the
effort report worksheets. Once you are satisfied that the worksheet is accurate, click on the
“Update” button.

Please then route the form to the affected faculty member for his/her certification.   You can
route the form in one of two ways:

           1. electronically by clicking the “Ready to Certify” button; or
           2. via hard-copy by clicking the “Printable” button, printing the form, and asking the
           faculty member to review and sign the hard copy form. You would then go back to
           their on-line form and click the “Certified by Paper” button. You would keep a copy
           of the signed form for your records and send the original to Grants Accounting c/o
           Paul Frey.

If you see errors (e.g., sponsored projects that should not be listed or effort percentages that are
not correct), please feel free to make adjustments. The form allows you to delete sponsored
projects that may be displayed in error or to change the listed percent effort. Please feel free
to contact me or Patrick Coburn (pxc5@case.edu) if you have a question about how to use the
form.

These forms need to be reviewed and signed (either electronically or on paper) by the faculty in
your department no later than October 27, 2006. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. If
you have any questions or concerns about this process or about the content of the forms, please
do not hesitate to contact me directly.
 Sample PeopleSoft Payroll Spreadsheet
                                                                                   Total
DeptID   EmplID        Name       OprID    SpeedType   SpeedType 2    Amount      Amount     Percent


19____   1000001   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx1     INS109002    INS109002     20,516.00   20,516.00    100.00%



19____   1000002   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx2     CON017453    RES426578     34,701.00   34,701.00    100.00%



19____   1000003   XXXXX, XXX    xxx3     CON047100    RES420349     20,516.00   30,774.00     66.67%



19____   1000003   XXXXX, XXX    xxx3     CON047357    RES425450     10,258.00   30,774.00     33.33%



19____   1000004   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx4     CON046511    RES423451     22,036.00   22,036.00    100.00%



19____   1000005   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx5     CON028470    RES428157     5,711.00    22,844.00     25.00%



19____   1000005   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx5     CON061040    RES421277     5,711.00    22,844.00     25.00%



19____   1000005   XXXXX, XXXX   xxx5     END566700    END566700     11,422.00   22,844.00     50.00%
On-Line Effort Certification Website
On-Line Effort Certification Website
On-Line Effort Certification Website
On-Line Effort Certification Website
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Definitions
On-Line Effort Certification Definitions
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification Form
On-Line Effort Certification: E-mail to Faculty
Subject: Effort Certification Form for the period: January 1, 2006 – June 30, 2006

On-Line Effort Certification Form

Case has recently changed its procedures for effort certification. Each faculty member involved with
sponsored projects must now certify his or her own effort for specific reporting periods. The purpose of
this e-mail is to notify you that an On-Line Effort Certification Form has been prepared by your
Department Administrator for you to review and certify. The form contains information about your
effort for the January 1- June 30, 2006 period. Please go to the following URL to access your effort
certification form:
https://addison.ra.cwru.edu/spiderweb/

Enter your Case ID and password. Under the Compliance section, select Effort Reporting. This will
bring up the latest Effort Certification Form for you to review and certify. If you have any questions
about the data reported on the form, please contact your Department Administrator. Please do not
make any changes without first consulting your Department Administrator. Please complete your
review and certification no later than October 27, 2006. More information about Effort Reporting
including those to contact with questions can be found at the following URL:

http://addison.ra.cwru.edu/research/effort/index.cfm

If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please contact your Department Administrator.
Next Steps

• Finalize the revised effort report worksheet and process
• Post additional educational materials in newsletter and on
websites
• Beginning September 18, 2006, request effort certification for
Spring 2006 and January 1-June 30, 2006 (to be completed by
October 27, 2006)
• Grants Accounting will continue to work with departments to
reconcile or resolve discrepancies between charged effort and
certified effort as they arise
• Office of Sponsored Projects Administration and SOM Office
of Research Administration are available for assistance in
answering questions or providing additional training