Time and Effort Reporting

Educational institutions conducting research, instruction, and other sponsored work under grants, contracts, and other agreements with the Federal government are required to comply with the costing principles described in Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR 200.430), which includes  the principles, criteria, and examples of how employee compensation for personal services rendered under sponsored agreements should be charged and subsequently documented.

Effort reporting is required to verify that the effort distribution in the HR Payroll system is a reasonable reflection of each individual's performance on the federally funded project.The report reflects activity applicable to the  sponsored agreement, general operations, and other indirect activities (including academic units), and includes the following components:

Time and Effort Certification

Faculty and university employees certify time and effort following each period on the San José State University academic calendar as follows:

• Fall semester (September – December)
• Winter and Spring semester (January – May)
• Summer Intersession (June – August)

Salaried and hourly employees and staff certify their effort each pay period via timesheets prior to receiving payment for the work performed. Costs share labor compensation should be included in the Time and Effort report.

Preparation

The report is prepared manually by analyzing and compiling data from the following sources:

• Direct Pay – Foundation payroll salary report and timesheets are used.
• Reimburse Time – General Ledger (GL) expense report and reimburse time logs that record and track all faculty release time by semester are used.
• University Faculty Salary Schedule – lists the percentage of assignment for the faculty that is used.
• Cost Share Report – if applicable and at intervals as specified and required by the sponsor.

Distribution

At the end of each academic calendar period, the Sponsored Programs manager prepares Time and Effort reports for all individuals who are required to certify time and effort. Each individual certifies that the report is a reasonable reflection of their actual performance on the federally funded project. The following table provides the estimated distribution schedule for each certification period.

* Time and Effort Reports should be distributed approximately 45 days following each period.
** Time and Effort Reports should be collected within 30-45 days following distribution.