Effort Reporting Overview & FAQs

The ER is designed to cover the employee's base MSU salary for activities including: instruction, research, public service, outreach, and administration. Payment for these activities is considered Institutional Base Salary or IBS^*.

To clarify what is included in IBS, please see the following payroll types:

INCLUDED IBS Components:

• Regular Pay
• Summer Pay
• Administrative Increment^**

EXCLUDEDfrom IBS and the effort report:

• Outside work for pay (e.g., consulting and other approved activities)
• Health Service Related Component (“HSRC” - medical service pay)
• Overload payments
• Miscellaneous pay
• One time Merit Pay
• Special Project Pay
• Fellowships
• Longevity pay
• Overtime pay
• Student hourly pay
• On call/temp pay
• Workers Comp

^* Institutional base salary (IBS) is the annual compensation paid by Michigan State University (MSU) for an employee's appointment (including regular pay, summer pay, guaranteed clinical pay and administrative supplements), whether that individual's time is spent on research, instruction, administration, or service. Institutional base salary excludes any income that an individual is permitted to earn outside of duties performed for MSU or other payments (e.g. overload payments, bonuses, additional pay, distinguished faculty supplements). IBS shall include salary paid from State funds, Grants or Contracts*, Gifts and Endowments, and other MSU funds.

When requesting faculty salary support from a Sponsor or committing unreimbursed effort (i.e. mandatory or voluntary committed cost share) on a Sponsored Program for research or other sponsored activities, the amount of salary requested or effort committed must be based on the individual's IBS.

^** An administrative increment is typically paid when an individual assumes additional responsibilities for MSU such as an acting department chair, or for some cases, a center director. Yes, the administrative increment is included on the effort report as a part of regular pay since MSU includes this increment in the base annual compensation that is set for an employee. For more information about administrative increments, visit: Salary, Appointment, and Faculty Status of Faculty Members Who Assume Administrative Responsibilities (msu.edu).

Log in to CGA's website portal page at link https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/Portal.aspx and under the “My Effort” section click on your name to bring up your effort report. If you're delegated to certify other's effort reports (mostly grads), you would click on their names in this section to bring up each effort report at a time.

Report the percentage of effort actually performed during the 6 month period in the red boxes. Then click on the “Certify” button at the bottom of the effort report. Please use whole numbers only and do NOT enter the percent sign. The system will not allow the Effort Report to be certified until the total effort reported for all red boxes equals 100%. Do NOT click on the "recertify" button unless you made a mistake and need to recertify.

You are certifying that you spent at least as much effort as reported in the red box (under the % Effort Worked column) on that project for the period. Auditors sampling the accuracy of the ER will begin their review with the person that certified the ER.

Complete the “% Effort Worked” column (red boxes) based upon how you actually spent your time. Please include any notes that might explain a shortage of effort on the sponsored account, i.e. Cost Redistribution, plans to make up the effort during the next period, etc. If the effort report is certified with a shortage of 5% or greater (“% effort worked” is less than the “Total Commitment”) your department effort report administrator will be notified of the shortage via email. If the shortage was reported in error, the individual who certified will have 14 calendar days to make changes and recertify the ER. If the shortage of effort also affects pay, your department effort report administrator will need to submit a cost redistribution in SAP to reduce the pay to equal the % effort worked. Effort in excess of pay will be shown as cost sharing, and will not require a cost redistribution.

No. Per federal regulations (UG 200.460), time spent writing new proposals is included in the overhead calculation and cannot be charged directly to federal projects. However, proposal efforts spent on non-competing renewals (for example, a 3 year award where each year's award is released once a satisfactory progress report is completed) are allowed. Time spent serving on general departmental committees (chairman search, tenure review, etc.) is also considered overhead and therefore not chargeable directly to a federal project. Efforts devoted to scheduled instruction are not normally chargeable to federal projects unless that instruction is part of the deliverables for that project. While the concept of buying faculty time out of instruction to perform research is reasonable well understood, the proper way to process the paperwork is to charge the correct proportion of faculty time to the research project and then use the departmental salary savings to hire someone else to perform the instructional duties.

If you do not have an account number, add a note on the effort report that an account number has not yet been assigned for “Proposal #XXXXX” or “Project Title” and agency X but work was done on the project during this effort period. Also include the percent of effort worked during the effort report period with dates. Example: 10% effort on Project Title X, Agency X, which has not yet been assigned an account number, has been included in the certified unsponsored effort percent total (Other sponsored & non-sponsored activity) on the effort report.

If you know your account number but it is not listed on the effort report, you can add it by typing in the account number to the right of the “search by Account” which is below the section of sponsored projects. Then click on the green box "Add Effort on a Sponsored Project not listed above". This will add the account number and a box to the sponsored section of the effort report where you can record your time.

The difference may be related to rounding so please complete the numbers in the red boxes so they add up to 100.

The good news about the federal requirements for effort reporting is that the numbers you record in the red boxes don't have to be backed up by a shadow system that keeps detailed time records. As a professional, they expect that you will reasonably and accurately report your effort you devoted to the project(s). As a result, requests to change ERs are closely reviewed by CGA. However, mistakes do happen and corrections/recertification's for the first 14 calendar days after original certification date is possible in the system without the need for additional documentation. If the request to recertify the effort report is made after the 14 calendar day period (or after the certification period for an effort reporting cycle), an email or letter of justification from the individual who had certified the effort report (with a copy to the PI and chair) must be submitted to effortreporting@cga.msu.edu for CGA review and consideration.

The email/letter should include:

• For the restricted sponsored program account that was certified incorrectly, provide a detailed description of the activities performed on the sponsored program and how they benefited the project. (Include account number(s), effort report period, and percent of effort worked during the effort period.)
• How the error occurred (why the effort report was not completed correctly).
• Confirmation from the individual that certified effort report that they have reviewed numbers 1 through 8 of the Effort Reporting Overview and FAQs located on the CGA webpage (https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/147/EffortReportingOverviewFAQs).

• Principal Investigators (PIs): PIs should certify their own ERs.
• Non-PIs: Should also certify their own ERs, however it is acceptable to have the PI or Co-PI certify for them if they are familiar with all of their effort on sponsored programs - provided the individual concurs with the effort distribution.
• Graduate Students: Should be certified by the PI, Co-PI, or Faculty Advisor if the person is working on their projects. For graduate students working in multiple departments or for multiple PIs, one PI should take responsibility to certify the student's effort report, however it is important to communicate with the other departments/PIs to ensure the effort is properly reported.
• In those rare circumstances when the above guidelines cannot be met, a dean or chair may certify the ER, if they have suitable means of verification that the work was performed as indicated by the percentages reported. You may also get an email confirmation from the individual confirming their work percent performed for the period and then have the Chair or Dean certify the effort report and also add a note to the effort report that a confirmation email was received from the individual.

The employee should personally certify the ER, unless the employee is a grad student, in which case one of the PIs for whom the student is working should certify the ER and communicate with the other department.

Generally, no. In order to provide reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated the effort report must be certified by an individual with suitable means of verification that the work was performed. This means that the individual certifying the effort report needs to understand the individual's regular duties, as well as direct knowledge of the work performed (typically supported by some form of written documentation). Examples of written documentation include a detailed calendar, meeting notes, lab notes, time/attendance sheets, travel reports, or award work products (presentations, reports, events held, etc.). Effort administrators are typically not responsible for ensuring the individuals are working on a sponsored program as committed and generally do not have direct knowledge of the work performed. In the rare case that an Effort Administrator is the responsible individual with suitable means of verification, appropriate supporting documentation, as noted above, must be maintained.

If one of the above conditions (Who can certify) has been met, you will need to be set up as a delegate in order to certify the individual's effort report. Please note that the first PI listed on a restricted sponsored account will automatically have graduate students that are paid or cost shared on their restricted sponsored accounts show up on their portal page (My Effort section) for them to review and certify their effort reports. Your department may have also delegated other individuals for you to certify their effort reports, and they would be shown on the portal page. Please contact your Department Effort Reporting Administrator if you need to be set up as a delegate for another individual's effort report that is not listed. Once you are set up as a delegate for the individual, you will have access to their effort report and will complete it based on how the individual actually spent their effort.

ERs are required two times per year. The effort reporting periods are: Effort Period 1 = January 1 – June 30, and Effort Period 2 = July 1 – December 31.

For the January – June 30 period, referred to as Effort Period 1 202x, an email will be sent to the Departmental Effort Reporting Administrators in early September, so they can review the department's effort reports and process any necessary payroll changes. PI's and other individuals will be sent an e-mail in October notifying them their ER's are ready for completion. First period ERs must be completed by 12/31. For the July – December 31 period, referred to as Effort Period 2 202x, an email will be sent to the Departmental Effort Reporting Administrators in early February, so they can review the department's effort reports and process any necessary payroll changes. PIs and other individuals will be sent an e-mail in March notifying them their ERs are ready for completion. Second period ERs must be completed by 6/30.

Salaries and/or cost sharing commitments that do not have the proper supporting documentation, i.e. a completed ER, will be removed from the account. CGA will work with the department to transfer the salaries to the continuation account listed in MSU's financial system for the sponsored program, unless an alternative unrestricted account is provided by the department.

Yes. The red boxes on all ERs should total 100% regardless of percent employment or percent of the period worked. If a person only worked two weeks of an effort period, the red boxes should still total 100% (based on the distribution of those two weeks). Please feel free to add a note at the bottom of the ER, indicating the period worked, if appropriate.

Generally, no. You should calculate the effort percent based on the time it took to perform the duties for which you were paid. If, for example, an individual can fulfill his/her obligation to the University in a 40-hour work week, the ER needs to be completed, adding up to 100%, based on the distribution of those 40 hours. If an individual needs an 80-hour work week to fulfill his/her obligation, the ER needs to be completed, adding up to 100%, based on the distribution of those 80 hours. The federal government does not recognize the concept of donated effort if it is considered part of your university assignment. For example, a 100% federally paid faculty member cannot "donate" time to teach a class. Rather, the effort report must reasonable cover all of the duties that are expected of your position.

ERs are generated ONLY if you are paid or cost shared on a federal or State of MI account(s). For federal and State of MI accounts/projects we need to know - by account/project - how much time was spent on each project. Since federal regulations specify that the ER must account for total/100% of your effort, a residual group of account(s) must be included. "Total Unsponsored" represents the pay from that group of account(s) that don't require ERs. The phrase appears on the ER when there are one or more non-ER accounts.

Cost sharing, sometimes referred to as match, is a commitment made in the proposal or award to put forth effort on a project but not to charge the project a like amount of salary. Cost sharing that is required by the funding agency is listed on the ER in the “Cost Sharing” Or “Target Effort” column. Please click on the percentage listed in the column to see whether the % is required cost sharing or Target Effort (PI Commitment).

For principal investigator(s) and co-investigators funded by federal and State dollars, federal regulations require prior approval for a 25% reduction, or three month absence, in time devoted to a project. The way MSU monitors this requirement is to setup a type of project commitment called Total Effort. Total Effort is calculated based on what was committed to in the proposal/negotiated final approved budget. If a lesser percentage of effort was worked than what was budgeted, please certify the actual effort worked. A notification to the agency about the reduction may be necessary. Please refer to your award terms, or contact CGA, if unsure.

When a defined amount of pay or effort is not included in the budget, PI effort of 1% is set up for federal and State sponsored RC accounts. This 1% will show on the effort report under the "Cost sharing or Target Effort" column of the effort report if PIs are not paid on the RC account. The 1% can be adjusted to reflect actual effort worked.

Salary cap limits the rate of pay at which salaries can be directly charged to sponsored projects. Our largest funder with a salary cap is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To see the NIH salary cap rates visit: Salary Cap Summary (FY 1990 – Present). In order to ensure compliance with this regulation, the percentage of total salary charged to an NIH account needs to be accompanied by companion cost sharing at a ratio that base salary exceeds the cap. The formula is: \( X + X \left( \frac{\text{Total MSU Salary}}{\text{Salary Cap}} \right) - 1 \) , where \( \left( X \right ) \) is the percentage of salary charged to the project.

For example, if a 12-month (AN) faculty member with a base MSU salary of $250,000 submitted a proposal in which the PI planned to devote 50% of their effort to the project, the award would have been made for $94,800 (50% × $189,600) plus fringes and F&A, and not $125,000 (50% × $250,000) because of the salary cap. The Effort Report will show pay of 38% ($94,800 ÷ $250,000) plus companion cost sharing of 12% for a total commitment of 50%.

Potential problems arise if the salary is charged to the project at 50% ($125,000 in above example) or if the Effort Report is not adjusted for the companion cost sharing. If we simply showed the payroll percentage on the Effort Report at 38%, and the PI reports 38%, then the Effort Report would only support $72,048 in salary (38% × $189,600), instead of the $94,800 that was charged, i.e. $22,752 of salary would need to be removed from the project.

ERs are a federal requirement that we extend to State of Michigan projects because many State projects have a federal component. We also turn on effort reports for projects that have cost sharing because effort reporting is the easiest way to document those commitments. ERs are also not required for federal fixed price accounts as they are evaluated based on performance milestones. If you have a federal or State project that you believe should have effort reports, please send an e-mail to effortreporting@cga.msu.edu or awards@cga.msu.edu and we will verify how the account is setup.

Maternity and Extended Disability Leave: If an employee's salary was charged to a restricted sponsored program before they went on leave (and the salary was in line with their effort), then the maternity and extended disability leave pay may continue to be charged to the sponsored program. However, cost share cannot be reported during the leave period. Complete the effort report based on how you worked before you went on leave. Do not report any effort on cost sharing commitments. If the individual who the effort report belongs to wants to add a note to the effort report regarding the leave, they could, but it is not required. The note could indicate that they were on leave during the effort period and include the dates of the leave and that they were working on the projects listed on the effort report before they went on leave.

Sabbatical Leave: If you are paid on the sponsored project(s) and put forth effort while on sabbatical leave, you should report your effort spent on the project(s). Required federal cost share should not be reported on the effort report, however voluntary cost share may be reported. It is not necessary to include a note on your ER indicating you were on sabbatical leave.

The payroll and cost sharing numbers on the ER are hyperlinked. You can click on the hyperlinked percentages to see which payrolls and cost sharing commitments have been included. This payroll information has been harvested out of the SAP system and can provide you with a tool to verify salary and cost sharing commitments for your project.

First, complete the ER based upon how the effort was actually performed. Then, check with your business office so that they can process the necessary payroll adjustments (Cost Redistribution) to resolve the difference. When changes are necessary, please add a note on the effort report. Also, a cost redistribution in SAP will not be approved unless the proposed change is supported by the ER.

Please send an email to effortreporting@cga.msu.edu with the correct title. The title listed pulls from KR and may need to be updated through that system.

No. HSRC activities and payments are not guaranteed and therefore are not (currently) considered part of what MSU considers Institutional Base Salary (IBS). As a result, effort and payment for HSRC activities should be excluded from the Effort report.

Click on the hyperlinked numbers on your "My Effort Detail" page to see the details.

For Annual (AN) appointments – To calculate the percentage paid on an account, divide the total account pay into the total pay on all accounts for the period. Total account pay can be found by clicking on the pay percentage listed for that account. Total pay on all accounts for the period can be found by clicking on the Total Academic/Annual or Summer pay percentages reported below the Total Unsponsored line of the ER.

For Academic (AY) appointments – To calculate the percentage paid on an account for the academic year, divide the total AY account pay by the total pay on all accounts for the period. To calculate the percentage paid on an account for summer, divide the total summer account pay by the total pay on all accounts for the period.

To calculate the total number of summer months paid on the effort report, divide the total summer pay for the effort period into the FTE monthly salary.