Effort Coordinator Training University of Kansas Summer 2016
Agenda 1. Effort Reporting Overview 2. Effort Workflow and Basic Information 3. Effort Coordinator: Pre-Review 4. PI/Self-Certifier: Certification Process 5. Effort Coordinator: Post-Review 6. Additional Functionality/Reports
Effort Reporting Overview
Background on Effort Certification 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) requires that KU have internal controls in place to ensure time expended on sponsored projects is certified. KU applies Uniform Guidance requirements to all sponsored projects, regardless of the funding source. Therefore, effort must be certified for all individuals who receive salary support from a sponsored project or who expend effort on a sponsored project (even if they do not receive salary support from the sponsor). Effort certification is the primary means of verifying that: Effort supported (paid) by the project has been performed as promised, and Effort expended in support of a project but not paid by the project (cost sharing) has been performed as promised.
What is Effort? Effort is the portion of time spent on a given professional activity and expressed as a percentage of the total 100% professional activity for which an individual is employed by KU. Important points: The government recognizes that it is a reasonable estimate. Total effort must equal 100% per effort report. Effort is not based on a standard (e.g., 40-hour) work week, instead based on whatever was worked. 100% Effort considers all professional activities related to the individual s appointment (teaching, research, service). Effort is expressed as a percentage distribution of total effort, and each percentage must reasonably agree with actual effort devoted to each activity in relation to the employee s total effort. Effort does not include outside activities (e.g., external consulting, additional pay) or voluntary uncommitted cost share (work done on project that was not committed to sponsor)
Effort Certification at KU All individuals with effort committed to a sponsored project (both paid with sponsor funding and committed cost share) are required to have a completed effort report, per federal regulations and university policy. KU is implementing ecrt to ensure all certification can be completed electronically and that records of effort certification is available. Our first Effort Certification period will begin July 3, 2016 for the following two reporting periods: December 20, 2015-June 4, 2016 for Faculty and Staff January 3, 2016-June 4, 2016 for Graduate Students System Capabilities: Log in with KU Online ID anywhere you have internet access Certification reports will look similar to previous forms, for ease of use Ecrt will indicate any report that needs the certifier s review and approval
Changes in Effort Certification at KU Who Certifies? Effort reports must be certified by the employee that performed the work or the award/project PI for graduate students PIs are responsible for certify their own effort and the effort of graduate students on their projects, as well as ensuring the faculty and staff on their awards have certified during the certification period. Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students will all have twice annual certification periods of 60 calendar days
Changes in Effort Certification at KU What is Recertification? After effort is certified, if an Retroactive Fund Adjustment (RFA) is processed that exceeds 5% change (and $100) per line, the changed effort will need to be recertification. Certifiers will have 30 calendar days from the time the effort card is reopened by the Effort Coordinator to recertify effort.
Changes in Effort Certification at KU What Happens if Certifiers Fail to Certify During the Certification/Recertification Period? Failure to certify in the 60 calendar-day effort certification period or recertify during the 30 day recertification period can result in -Pre-Award not submitting proposals for those who have not certified -Post Award not setting up awards (NCEs, continuations, etc.) for those who have not certified Emails will be sent to remind certifiers that they have outstanding effort tasks during the certification period SSC/Research Center Effort Coordinators and KU Office of Research will be monitoring certification and will reach out to those who are at risk of noncompliance
Effort Certification Responsibilities Faculty, and Staff Members Understand federal requirements related to effort Certify effort statements to accurately reflect effort during the effort reporting period Review, initiate corrections if necessary, and electronically certify their individual effort certifications Communicate significant effort changes (over 5% and more than $100) to their effort coordinator(s) Recertify, if effort changes (over 5% and more than $100) are made after a statement has been certified On federal projects, obtain prior approval if disengaged from the project for more than three consecutive months, or effort is reduced more than 25% from the budgeted awarded plan Additional PI Responsibilities Certify effort statements of graduate students to accurately reflect their effort during effort period Ensure other faculty and staff appointed to their sponsored projects certify within the (re)certification period(s)
Effort Certification Responsibilities Effort Coordinators Understand federal requirements related to effort Monitor effort commitments, salary charges, and cost sharing on all applicable awards Follow up with faculty, staff, and payroll coordinators to make adjustments as necessary Communicate to the central sponsored programs office any changes that require sponsor notification and/or approval Review salary charges with faculty and staff, and post any salary distribution updates and/or corrections in a timely manner Check effort certifications for accuracy during the review period Monitor that effort certifications are completed within 60 calendar days after release to the certifier and recertifications are completed with 30 calendars after release to the certifier.
Effort Certification Responsibilities Effort Coordinators Primary Effort Coordinator Each HR department is assigned a single primary effort coordinator, this employee will receive the tasks for the HR department Leave notes in the effort reports within the HR department Update the certified effort to correctly reflect the effort expended during the reporting period Effort Coordinator Assigned to specific HR departments Leave notes in the effort report within the HR department Update the certified effort to correctly reflect the effort expended during the reporting period
Effort Certification Responsibilities Office of Research Answer questions from Effort Coordinators and Certifiers Develop and implement effort reporting policies and procedures. Develop educational programs for all employees involved in the effort certification process. Ensure that the effort system produces accurate effort statements in a timely manner. Monitor system to ensure compliance. Monitor the effort process for timely submission and report findings to departments.
ecrt Workflow and Basic Information
ecrt System Overview PeopleSoft Payroll Data Management and Other Reports PeopleSoft People Data PeopleSoft Project Data ecrt Effort Certification Form PeopleSoft Sponsor Data
ecrt Effort Certification Workflow
ECRT Basic Information System Navigation Use the following URL to navigate to the Production Environment: https://ecrt.ku.edu Use your KU Username and Password to sign into the system.
ECRT Basic Information Home Page The Home Page serves as an entry point to all system functions and provides links to a variety of resources to assist users with effort reporting. The new home page presents the Effort Coordinator with up to 3 tabs of information, depending on their access.
The Statements Awaiting Certification tab contains statements that include lines that the Effort Coordinator is responsible for certifying. As an Effort Coordinator, you will only be able to certify YOUR OWN effort statement (if applicable). If you do not have an effort statement this list will be empty.
The Associated Certifier tab displays any statement related the logged on Effort Coordinator (as long as the EC is the department assigned primary reviewer) that is in a Not Certified status. This is a list of any statement that the Effort Coordinator has a connection to that needs to be certified. As statements are certified they will drop off the Effort Coordinator s Associated Certifiers list. Note that during Pre-Review, if all of the statements from prior periods have been certified, the Associated Certifiers tab will be empty. Current period statements can be accessed via the Department Dashboard page, which is discussed in the Pre-Review section of this document.
ECRT Basic Information Tabs The Menu Bar towards the top of the page contains links to other pages in the system to which the Effort Coordinator has access. These drop down menus can be accessed from any page in the system.
ECRT Basic Information Links Section Link Description Manage Certify Reports The list below includes a description of each of the pages that an Effort Coordinator is able to access within ecrt. Administration Look Up Department Dashboard Certify My Statements Reports Manage Users Allows the user to search for a person, project, or department within ecrt. Displays the department details including all the associated individuals and accounts. Displays the certification page for the individual logged into the system. Displays the standard reports menu, allowing the running or exporting of built in reports. Used to review demographic information about users, including check to see their department relationships, proxy relationships, and the role(s) to which they have been assigned.
ECRT Basic Information Online Help Most screens contain a help icon available in the upper right portion of the page. Clicking this button will bring up a separate window containing help on the portion of the system currently being worked in. This is a general help guide, if the Effort Coordinator has specific KU process questions, contact the Central Administrator at ecrt@ku.edu.
ECRT Basic Information Search Boxes At various points in the application, a data entry box is presented. The system will search on the character string that is entered, and return all items that include the string entered. The Effort Coordinator can then select from among the choices by clicking on a selected choice. All search boxes use this methodology. The user types in a minimum of three characters (letters or numbers) from the intended result, and then pauses for a few seconds. The program will query the database, and download a list of matches to the search text, which appears in box under the search box.
ECRT Basic Information Search Bar Note: Pressing the Enter/Return Key will not execute the search when there are multiple results. You must click the search icon. ecrt has a Search Bar that is available at the top of every page (if the Effort Coordinator has been given this right). The Effort Coordinator can search for a person (to go to their effort statement), account (to go to the account summary page), or department (to go to the department dashboard page). If the Effort Coordinator enters enough criteria that only one result exists, the system will automatically take the Effort Coordinator to the next page (no additional clicks are necessary). If multiple results exist, a message displays under the search bar and the Effort Coordinator can click the magnifying glass to see the potential results.
ECRT Basic Information Look Up Page When the Effort Coordinator has multiple results in the search, the Look Up page will display and filter the results based on category (person, account, or department). The Effort Coordinator can click on the requested result, or continue to enter criteria until only one result is left and the system will automatically take the Effort Coordinator to the next page. The Effort Coordinator can navigate directly to the look up page using the Look Up link in the Manage tab of the Navigation Bar.
ECRT Basic Information Left Navigation Bar The Left Navigation Bar will be populated with links that provide access to Policy and Procedure documents as well as training materials for specific roles.
Effort Statement Statuses Process Flow
Effort Statement Statuses Process Flow-Recertification
Effort Coordinator: Pre-Review
What is Pre-Review? As an Effort Coordinator, you can access ecrt at ANY TIME to review effort statements that have been updated during the most recent (daily) data loads. It is in the Effort Coordinator s best interest to be proactive in monitoring effort statements as the Effort Coordinator will need to coordinate necessary adjustments in the source system, when corrections are needed. Pre-Review is a designated period for the Effort Coordinator to review the biannual effort statements AFTER the designated effort period has ended but BEFORE they are released for certification.
Department Dashboard Home Page When the Effort Coordinator starts his/her pre-review process the Effort Coordinator should ask: Do I know specific statements that I want to review or do I want a list of everyone in my department that I can work through? If the Effort Coordinator has specific individuals the Effort Coordinator wants to review, use the Search Bar to easily navigate to their statements. But if the Effort Coordinator wants to see a list of everyone in his/her department, use the Department Dashboard. The Associated Certifier tab will not populate with statements until AFTER the Certification Period has started.
Department Dashboard The Department Dashboard presents information that an Effort Coordinator needs to manage the effort certification process, divided into three tabs: People, Award and Account, and Department Information. The People tab is where the EC will spend the most time. The Certification Summary Chart gives the number of statements in each status for a certification period. The EC can select a different period with the drop down menus. Every effort statement in the system is tagged with a particular status, which changes as it moves through the certification process.
Department Dashboard Managing Department Certifiers Below the summary chart is a list of all of the individuals associated to the department divided into three groups those employees that have Sponsored Activity, those that have only been paid from Non-Sponsored accounts that do not require certification, and Terminated individuals (individuals who have left the institution). Expand each of the three lists to see details about the individuals, including their employee type, role, employee ID, and a link to their most recent effort statements. The action column can be used to navigate to the individual s Manage Users page (using the Magnifying Glass icon) or to send the individual an email (using the Pen/Envelope icon).
Department Dashboard Managing Department Certifiers When the Effort Coordinator hovers over a statement icon in the Statements column, a pop-up window gives the Effort Coordinator details of the dates and status of the statement. Click the link in the pop-up to go to that statement or click any other area inside the pop-up to close the window. The Effort Coordinator can right-click on the statement icon and click Open in a New Tab to use an additional window to perform the Effort Coordinator s review. This is helpful as it allows the Effort Coordinator to keep the department dashboard page populated while working on the selected statements.
Pre-Review Certification Page An individual s certification page is made up of 3 windows. The top left window is this Work List this will list the name of any individual who the Effort Coordinator is responsible for certifying.
Effort Certification Certification Page The top right window populates with information specific to that individual. In addition to some basic information on the individual, the top left window displays effort statements divided into three lists: Requiring Certification, In Progress, and Recently Completed.
Effort Certification Certification Page The system will automatically display the most recent open statement of the individual. If the Effort Coordinator wants to display more than one statement (the statement from the last period to compare against this year s current statement) the Effort Coordinator can simply hold down Control and click multiple statements in the upper right window, and each will display in the window below.
Effort Certification Certification Page When selecting multiple effort statements, the Effort Coordinator can access the additional statements by scrolling to the bottom of the screen. When a new statement is loading a message will appear at the bottom of the screen (Please wait for the next statement to load )
Effort Certification Certification Page During Pre-Review the Effort Coordinator should focus on confirming that the individual s statement accurately reflects the work that was performed for the period. If the Payroll or Cost Share Columns need to be updated: Review payroll distribution for the individual and process an RFA to correct the distribution. If this RFA will not be processed in time for the certification period, adjust the percentages on the effort statement and save the statement. Leave a note to document the change that the Effort Coordinator has made.
Effort Certification Saving Changes and Leaving Notes Click on the Notes icon at the bottom of the statement to leave a note. After the Effort Coordinator enters text and clicks Save Note, the note can be viewed by expanding the Notes section.
Effort Certification Certification Page If a statement is missing a grant, you can select the Add Chart String link. Enter the chart string, click submit, and the page will refresh. The individual will be able to certify effort on that chart string.
Certifier: Certification Process
Effort Certification Home Page When a certifier logs into ecrt, the only tab that displays is the Statements Awaiting Certification tab. This is a list of all statements the certifier needs to certify. As the certifier completes these certifications, the list will update to reflect only outstanding statements.
Effort Certification Effort Statement Summary Clicking on any of the links will take the individual to the certification page. The certifier s outstanding effort statements are displayed below. If the Effort Coordinator has done prep work during Pre-Review, the statement should be set up and ready to certify.
Effort Certification Effort Statement Summary The Certify button will only display when at least one of the Certify checkboxes have been checked. To complete the certification, the certifier should review the percentages and adjust the Certified Effort Column if needed. A certifier will receive an error message if they attempt to certify at greater or less than 100% total. When the certifier is ready, click Certify.
Effort Certification Effort Statement Summary The Certify button will only display when at least one of the Certify checkboxes have been checked. In the case only a single line is certified, the statement will remain in the state of Not Certified, Not Processed. Upon clicking the Certify button, the attestation statement will appear and display a message in red stating not all lines have been certified. The statement will remain open for the certifier to finish up the effort statement.
Effort Certification Certifying Effort The certifier is then presented with a pop up that lists the details of the statements they are certifying along with an attestation statement. Once all lines are certified, no warning will appear in the attestation. After a final review of the information and the attestation statement, the certifier will click the I Agree button under the message. After this, the certifier is returned to the certification page, where the Work List should be refreshed.
Effort Certification Certifying Effort The certifier is taken back to the certification page. The statement status has changed to Certified, Processed, which means the effort statement was certified with variance below the 5% (per line) threshold. To confirm that the certifier is done, check the list on the Home Page.
Effort Certification Certifying Effort There are zero Not Certified statements in the statements awaiting certification tab. The only statement that may display is the certifier s own statement for the future period this will be certified during the next certification period. The certifier can log out after confirming all Not Certified statements have been removed from the Statements Awaiting Certification tab.
PI: Certification of Students
Certifying for Students When a PI logs into ecrt, the Statements Awaiting Certification tab will include their own statement(s) as well as the statements of any Students who work on the PI s awards.
Certifying for Students The PI can navigate to the certification page by clicking on any of the links in the home page. Once on the certification page, the Work List will populate with the names of individuals who have statements the PI can certify. The PI can review and certify each statement individually by clicking on each name in the Work List. They can also select the View All icon to display and certify ALL of their statements at the same time (please note: View All will display up to 25 certifications at a time).
Certifying for Students When certifying multiple statements at the same time, scroll down on the page to see the next statement. Review each statement and check the checkboxes when the appropriate effort has been entered. When the PI has checked all the boxes on all the statements the PI wishes to certify click the Certify Checked button when certifying, Clicking the individual Certify button on a particular statement will only certify that statement.
Certifying for Students The Attestation Statement page will display with a list of all of the users the PI is certifying. Reference the Certified Lines column to confirm the PI has checked all of the lines on each statement. Select I Agree to complete the certification.
Certifying for Students In the case the PI has not certified all lines he/she is responsible for, the attestation page will display a message in the Certified Lines column. If not all lines were certified, the students will remain in the Work List and be accessible by the PI for certification at a later date.
Certifying for Students The Effort Certification page will refresh. Names of individuals who had all lines certified will drop off the Work List. If the PI did not certify all the lines the PI has access to, the name will remain on the PI s Work List. Note a PI will always see his/her own name in the Work List which allows him/her to access all of his/her statements. To confirm that they are done, check the Statements Awaiting Certification tab on the Home Page. When all student certifications are complete, their names will no longer appear on the Work Lis, and the PI is done certifying students.
Certifying for Students There are zero Not Certified statements in the statements awaiting certification tab. The only statement that may display is the PI s own statement for the future period this will be certified during the next certification period. The PI can log out after visually confirming all Not Certified statements have been removed from the Statements Awaiting Certification tab.
Effort Coordinator: Post-Review
Processing Tasks Home Page The Primary Effort Coordinator will receive Processing Tasks when effort statements certified with a variance of 5% or greater on any single line of the statement. The Effort Task column will display on the Effort Coordinator s Home Page. An email will be sent to the Effort Coordinator on days where an Effort Task has been created for the Effort Coordinator s review. To review a task, click the link in the email.
Managing Effort Tasks Processing Certifications When reviewing a task, the Effort Coordinator must determine the appropriate next step by selecting one of the buttons presented: 1. Cancel this takes the EC out of the task and leaves it for a later time. 2. RFA Needed if the EC agrees with the certification an RFA must be processed to align certified effort and computed effort within 5%. Selecting this button means the certification is correct an that the EC will be processing an RFA as a result. 3. Do Not Process this rejected the certification and sends it back to the individual to recertify. The EC will have the ability to send an email and customize the text in order to provide instructions/details.
Managing Effort Tasks Processing Certifications After the Effort Coordinator has reviewed the task and selected the appropriate button, they will be taken back to the Home Page. The task will be removed from their list. If there are no more tasks then the Effort Tasks tab will disappear.
Managing Effort Tasks Processing Certifications The Effort Coordinator has the ability to review the Historical statements list on an individual s certification page.
Reports
Running Reports in ecrt Select Reports from the menu bar to navigate to the Reports page in ecrt. There are three windows on the top half of the screen. Category, Reports and Description. Begin by selecting a Category from the left-most box. Then select a report from the middle box. Once a report is selected the right-most box will display the description. After the report is selected, enter in the criteria in the parameters tab on the bottom-half of the screen.
Certification Payroll Report The Certification Payroll Report can be run by person or department and will show the payroll transaction detail within the date range specified. It summarizes these entries in two formats -- by account or by pay period. Use the buttons highlighted below to change the format the first example is of Account View.
Certification Payroll Report An example of Pay Period view of the Payroll Report.
Sponsored Project Employee Summary Report The Sponsored Project Employee Summary (SPES) report lists all of the employees and amounts associated with payroll, cost share, and/or certified effort for a specific period.
Certification Status Report The Certification Status Report allows the Effort Coordinator to search for a status of a certification statement for a specified group of PIs. The report shows the current status for each PI of a specific employee type for a period of performance
Additional Tools for the Effort Coordinator
Department Dashboard Sending Emails to Users with Outstanding Certifications The top of the People tab of the Department Dashboard page has a Certification Summary Chart that provides a summary of the effort statement statuses in the Effort Coordinator s department for a selected period. If the Effort Coordinator would like to send an email to everyone who has a statement in a specific status, select the pen/envelope icon next to the status. A window will be provided for the Effort Coordinator to customize the subject and body of the message.
Department Dashboard Switching Primary Effort Coordinators On the Department Information tab of the Department Dashboard page, the Effort Coordinators of the Department are listed. To switch the Primary Designation, select the yellow highlighter icon. When the Primary designation is switched, all outstanding tasks are switched to the new Primary Coordinator.
Department Dashboard Account and Award Tab The Award and Account tab on the Department Dashboard lists all of the sponsored funds and other funding sources associated to this department. Sponsored grants include details about the sponsor and PI. The Effort Coordinator can run the SPES report by clicking on the icon in the SPES column this provides a summary of all individuals paid from the grant, along with the percentage of effort they certified. Clicking on the link in the Name column will open the Account Summary page.
Department Dashboard Account Summary Screen The account summary page lists general information about the award including Name, Account Number, Sponsor Number, Sponsor Name, Sponsor Award Number, and PI. The middle section lists the department that the account is assigned to. The bottom of the screen displays a list of all people with payroll charges on the selected account. (The label Certifier Name is misleading.) Note that people from more than one home department may be linked to a specific account, and that the list includes all individuals paid from this project.
Effort Certification Show Dollar Value The $ Value link on the effort statement will switch the view of the effort statement to show the total dollars associated with each account.
Effort Certification Run Payroll Report Clicking the yellow dollar button will run a payroll report and open up a new tab to display the report. This report can be run for any account line in an effort statement.
Effort Certification Printing an Effort Statement If the Effort Coordinator would like to print a paper version of the effort statement, select the Effort statement PDF Icon from the top left section of the effort statement. Please note: All certification should occur in ecrt; when printing a paper effort report, refer to data handling classification guidelines for proper handling and storage. These are auditable documents.
Questions? Email: ecrt@ku.edu Website: http://research.ku.edu/effort-reporting