1. Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ECRT) System Training J. Lilia Treviño Project Effort Reporting Specialist Office of Research Administration

2. ECRT Roles / Rights Assigned to each user: Supporting Individuals: All users  View effort card (report discrepancies) Secondary (College) Effort Coordinators: Selected by PI’s  Review, Enter and Save the Certified Effort %’s for PI’s to certify Primary Individuals (Principal Investigator, project director, co-investigator, or co-project director on a sponsored proposal):  Edit/Review certified effort to ensure accuracy and Certify their own effort and the effort of any supporting individuals that work on their projects Office of Research Administration

3. ECRT Roles / Rights Continue: Primary Effort Coordinator: Myself (J. Lilia Trevino)  Process Effort Cards  Reopen Effort Cards (post payroll adjustments) Central Administrators: Dr. Wendy A. Lawrence- Fowler, Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Projects and myself (J. Lilia Trevino)  Responsible for Managing the Users, Departments, Adding/Changing Roles and Rights System Administrators: Dr. Wendy A. Lawrence- Fowler, Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Projects and Roy Rodriguez (IT)  Responsible for Monitoring the system Office of Research Administration

4. Purpose The purpose of this course is to familiarize Primary Individuals (PI’s), Secondary Effort Coordinators (SEC), and Supporting Individuals (SI’s) with the University’s new Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ECRT) system, in order to comply with federal regulations and UTPA’s policies and procedures that govern effort on sponsored projects. Office of Research Administration

5. Objectives After Completing this course, you will be able to: Understand the concept of time and effort Appreciate the importance of time and effort reporting and certification Understand the process by which time and effort is reported and certified at UTPA Office of Research Administration

6. Time and Effort Certification Office of Research Administration DescriptionBefore: Paper Time and Effort Interim/Certification After: ECRT Method of distributionPaper – basedWeb – based Frequency of distribution Interims – Monthly Certifications- Semester basis View – Monthly Certify – Semi-annually Supporting Individualsn/aView effort card only Pre-Review Periodn/a10 days prior to certification CertifyPI’s Certification Period30 days

7. ECRT Activities Schedule Office of Research Administration Payroll Reporting PeriodPre-Review PeriodCertification Period 1-Sep-0828-Feb-0930-Mar-0910-Apr-0915-Apr-0915-May-09 1-Mar-0931-Aug-0928-Sep-099-Oct-0914-Oct-0913-Nov-09 1-Sep-0928-Feb-1029-Mar-109-Apr-1014-Apr-1014-May-10 1-Mar-1031-Aug-1027-Sep-108-Oct-1013-Oct-1012-Nov-10 1-Sep-1028-Feb-1128-Mar-118-Apr-1113-Apr-1113-May-11 1-Mar-1131-Aug-113-Oct-1114-Oct-0119-Oct-1118-Nov-11 1-Sep-1129-Feb-122-Apr-1213-Apr-1218-Apr-1218-May-12 1-Mar-1231-Aug-121-Oct-1212-Oct-1217-Oct-1216-Nov-12

8. Requirements for Time & Effort Reporting & Certification

9. Compliance External funding for sponsored projects often times comes with strings attached  Accepting federal funds means compliance with applicable cost principles (OMB A-21, OMB A-110)  Universities receiving sponsored research dollars should have appropriate systems, policies and procedures in place to properly document all commitments, including effort Research & Sponsored Projects (HOP 4.10.4) University Payroll Distribution Confirmation for Grants, Contracts and Other Agreements (HOP 4.10.5) (under review) Cost Sharing Policy (HOP 4.10.6) (new) Cost Transfer Policy on Sponsored Research (HOP 4.10.7) (new) Office of Research Administration

10. Government focus…… Areas government focus in audits/investigations related to effort reporting:  Salary charges  Over-commitments  Salary cost transfers and cost sharing  Integration with systems that report time and effort  Roles and Responsibilities Who ensures appropriate salary is charged? Who ensures level of commitment is reasonable? Who certifies the time and effort reports? Office of Research Administration

11. Why is there so much emphasis on time and effort reporting? Office of Research Administration

12. So what is effort? Effort is the amount of time spent on any activity expressed as a percentage of Total Institutional Activities for which an Individual is compensated by UTPA. Effort includes:  Sponsored Programs (e.g. grants and contracts)  Non-Sponsored Research  Teaching  Administrative Duties  Other Institutional Activities Office of Research Administration

13. What is effort certification? A means of confirming: The percentages of Effort spent in support of each sponsored project and all other institutional activities for a given period of time. Requires that both effort paid by the sponsor and effort paid by the institution be confirmed. Each Individual’s Effort Certification must account for total certified effort of 100% Payroll distribution and Effort Certification are not the same thing. (Payroll – allocation of individual’s salary & Effort – allocation of individual’s effort) Office of Research Administration

14. Keep in mind… Effort is NOT defined as a percent of a 40 hour workweek or any other standard workweek, nor is it defined by the percent FTE of an academic or staff appointment. An individual’s total Effort must equal 100%. For example, if an individual averages 60 hours per week during the reporting period and spends an average of 15 hours on a Sponsored Program that represents 25% Effort and the other 45 hours, allocated to other institutional activities, represents 75% Effort. Office of Research Administration

15. How do we calculate effort? Certified Effort % for Sponsored Activity + Certified Effort % for Non Sponsored Activity Sum of UTPA Activities (100% total effort) Office of Research Administration

16. Why do we report effort? Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Section J.10 (Compensation for Personal Services)  Time and Effort reporting requirements The system must be incorporated into the official records of the institution Certification which encompasses both sponsored and all other activities on an integrated basis (i.e. 100% effort) After-the-fact confirmation of or determination so that costs distributed represent actual costs Certification by an individual with suitable means of verification that the work was performed Office of Research Administration

17. Who certifies effort? It is the responsibility of every Primary Individual (PI) to certify his/her own Effort Certification report as well as reports for all Supporting Individuals who have expended Effort on his/her Sponsored Programs. (UTS163 Guidance on Effort Reporting and Certification Policies) Office of Research Administration

18. What happens if a PI does not certify? Failure to certify during the certification period is failure to comply with UT Pan American, UT System, and federal policy. This can result in having all sponsored projects frozen until the certification is complete. (HOP 4.10.5 University Payroll Distribution Confirmation for Grants, Contracts and Other Agreements – under review) Office of Research Administration

19. ECRT Version 2.3.3

20. Effort Card Functionality  The ability or option to……………. display the payroll reporting period in the title of the effort card view certification frequency above the demographic data on effort card display a due date above the demographic data on the effort card Office of Research Administration

21. Additional Effort Card Functionality Office of Research Administration  The ability or option to……………. display an icon to identify a closed Grant / Award on the effort card show the institution’s name at the top of the effort card PDF highlight the category totals on the effort card Instead of Save, Certify and Cancel buttons  Save to Complete Later (Save Effort Card)  Certify (Certify Effort Card)  Do Nothing (Cancel Changes)

22. ECRT cycle begins

23. Email: 10 day Pre-Review Period Subject: Effort cards are now available for the 10 day Pre-Review Period The Time and Effort Certification reports for the first 6-month cycle are now available for preparation and review in the online Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ECRT) system. You are receiving this e-mail because you have been identified as the Secondary (College) Effort Coordinator for your department/area. In order to access ECRT you must have successfully completed these preliminary steps:  The Special ECRT hands-on Training Session and  Cleared by the ECRT Primary Effort Coordinator If you have met these requirements, please access ECRT through the Office of Research Administration’s website at: http://www.utpa.edu/ora and then from the Menu Bar select “Time & Effort”. After you select our home institution, “The University of Texas-Pan American”, you can log on by entering your username and password.http://www.utpa.edu/ora You may now begin the pre-review of effort cards for individuals in your department/area. The 10 day Pre-Review Period will be from March 29, 2010 through April 9, 2010. The Primary Individuals (PI’s) will be able to access the effort cards for their review and certification for 30 days beginning on April 14, 2010. If you have any questions or need extra assistance, please send an email to effortcert@utpa.edu or contact your ECRT Primary Effort Coordinator at 956/318-8991.effortcert@utpa.edu Office of Research Administration College Effort Coordinators

24. Email: T&E Certification Reports 6-month cycle now available The Time and Effort Certification reports for the first 6-month cycle are now available for review and certification in the Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ECRT) system. You are receiving this notice because you are a: Supporting Individual (SI): Expended Effort on Sponsored Programs, you can only view your effort card and report any discrepancies Primary Individual (PI): Required to certify your own time and effort certification report as well as the reports for all Supporting Individuals who have expended Effort on your Sponsored Programs. Certifications must be completed within 30 days of today, to meet University of Texas System regulations. Time and Effort Certification reports will be available April 14, 2010 – May 14, 2010. Your certification(s) may be completed by logging into ECRT through the Office of Research Administration’s website at: http://www.utpa.edu/ora and then from the Menu Bar select “Time & Effort”. After you select our home institution, “The University of Texas-Pan American”, you can log on by entering your username and password.http://www.utpa.edu/ora Time and Effort Certification occurs semi-annually at UTPA, for the months of September – February and March – August. If you have any questions or issues logging into the system or regarding your Time and Effort Certification Reports, please send an email to effortcert@utpa.edu or contact your ECRT Primary Effort Coordinator at 956/318-8991.effortcert@utpa.edu Office of Research Administration PI’s & SI’s

25. ECRT Navigation – Login Screens Office of Research Administration In order to access the ECRT Login Page, go to our UTPA home page at www.utpa.edu and click on Research Administration.

26. ECRT Navigation – Login Screens Office of Research Administration This will take you to the ORA web page and then from the Menu Bar select “Time & Effort”.

27. Time and Effort Home (under construction) Office of Research Administration

28. ECRT Navigation – Login Screens Office of Research Administration Choose ”The University of Texas-Pan American” from the Institution drop-down list and click.

29. ECRT Navigation – Login Screens Office of Research Administration Enter your and in the User name and Password fields. Then click

30. Prepare Effort Cards Secondary (College) Effort Coordinators

31. ECRT Navigation – Welcome to ECRT Office of Research Administration Check this area for useful internal and external links as well as training material. Read important information. Click Continue to access ECRT

32. Department Dashboard Office of Research Administration These links are available for Secondary (College) Effort Coordinators. PI’s submit a request to me with the name of the individual they want to assign the role of Secondary (College) Effort Coordinator and I enter it in ECRT. The links that you can see are limited by security rights within the system – depending on the role that you have.

33. Department Dashboard Office of Research Administration Check departmental status here.

34. Department Dashboard, Continues…… Office of Research Administration Other CEC will be added here. If you click on the + sign, it will expand and list the individuals for that particular selection.

35. View Reports Office of Research Administration Select View Reports and compare any given report to your departmental records.

36. View Reports Office of Research Administration Certification Payroll Report: For a query about an individual, the report will show the amount of money that was charged to each Oracle Project during each pay period within the certification period, the total amounts charged to each Oracle Project during the period, and the percent of total pay during the period for each Oracle Project. The Default Format shows the breakdown by Oracle Project. The Alternate Format shows the breakdown by pay period. To run the payroll report for a Department, the user will enter the employee type but will enter a Department name instead of an individual’s name. This Report will also appear on your effort card for quick selection.

37. View Reports – Certifier Salary Activity Report Office of Research Administration Certifier Salary Activity Report: This report will produce a list of all individuals charging a certifier’s Oracle Projects and their activities. Select a given PI and a starting month. The report will show the associated certifiers for that PI along with 12 months of payroll activity starting with the month that you selected.

38. View Reports – SPES (Sponsored Project Employee Summary) Report Office of Research Administration SPES – The Sponsored Project Employee Summary Report: This report allows certifiers and Effort Coordinators to review the employees that were paid from the grant, verify the accuracy of the charges, and make changes, if necessary. The dollar amounts should be reflected on the PDF view.

39. View Reports - SPES (Sponsored Project Employee Summary) Report Office of Research Administration

40. Prepare your Effort Card – (CEC) Office of Research Administration The user will select “Certify / View My Effort”. Either from the drop down menu under the “Certification” menu box or by clicking on the link that is located below the Certification section of “The Effort Lifecycle” wheel.

41. Prepare your Effort Card Office of Research Administration Secondary Effort Coordinators prepare effort cards for PI’s by entering the certified effort %’s, checking off the certify checkbox for the non sponsored activity, and by clicking the button. Sort by months or by projects.

42. Examples – Cost Share Cost Share from Project Cost Share to Project Office of Research Administration

43. View the Researchers and Support Staff of a PI Office of Research Administration This link will help you identify all of the individuals that ECRT shows under the PI selected.

44. View the Researchers and Support Staff of a PI Office of Research Administration Not Certified, Not Processed Enter part of PI’s name and select from database Certified, Processed

45. Manage Users Office of Research Administration Please review them individually to see which role is active. If a PI role is assigned then that PI will have to certify his/her own effort card.

46. Manage Users for Supporting Individuals Office of Research Administration Click on the ecrt icon to View Effort Card If a user has a PI role, then they certify their own effort card. Enter name and submit

47. View/Prepare Effort Card –for Supporting Individuals Office of Research Administration After the reports have been reviewed and compared to your departmental records, then enter a whole number as the Certified Effort %, check off the certify checkboxes for NS activity and Save so PI can complete later. 1 2 3

48. Save Effort Notes Office of Research Administration

49. Prepare Effort Cards – Group View Office of Research Administration To prepare the effort cards for the Supporting Individuals/Staff select from the drop down menu under Effort Certification or from the Certification section of the wheel.

50. Prepare Effort Cards – Group View Office of Research Administration In case you want to see this particular effort card, click on the “View Effort Card” icon. You can see certain reports and enter effort notes if needed. Enter a whole number as the Certified Effort %, check off the certify checkboxes for NS activity and Save All so PI can certify later.

51. Are there any Questions?? effortcert@utpa.edu J. Lilia Treviño, Project Effort Reporting Specialist Office of Research Administration, REIN 1.106J Office: 956/318-8991 Fax: 956/381-2940 E-mail: liliah@utpa.eduliliah@utpa.edu