E-900.5 Grant Effort Reporting

The College requires that all salaries and wages charged to grant-funded projects be certified, consistent with federal requirements outlined in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

1. The Grants Office (GO) and Business Office are responsible for distributing, collecting, and retaining all Employee effort- Grant Effort Reports (GERs). Individually reported data will be made available only to authorized Employees and auditors.

2. Employees whose time is committed to a grant project shall complete GERs. GERs are required for Employees who are compensated in part or in full by grant funds awarded by federal agencies or other funding sources that require such documentation. The reports are required regardless of whether such time is paid directly by the grant or is an unpaid contribution (i.e., cost match or in-kind contribution). Exceptions to the GER requirement may be made in cases where alternate documentation of time and effort exists if that documentation is acceptable to the funder.

3. GER is a process to verify that salary and wages charged to a grant are reasonable and reflect actual work performed, based on 100% of time expended by Employees involved in grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. This is done using an electronic system process which is supported by internal controls (Grants Office (GO) and Business Office)

4. Budgets and payroll distributions estimate how much effort is anticipated to be expended; time and effort GERs confirm the charges made to the grant. Therefore, the College uses an "after-the-fact effort" reporting system. This indicates that the distribution of salaries and wages will be supported by GERs signed by the Employee and a knowledgeable supervisor (the Employee's supervisor or the grant manager) after the work has been completed.

5. The federal government can impose severe penalties and funding disallowance for missing, inaccurate, incomplete, or untimely effort reporting. The College expects Employees to complete and submit GERs on time.

6. GER Compliance Management is done monthly. Employees electronically submit GERs by the 5th of the month for grant-funded activity within the preceding month. Employees agree to maintain supporting documentation (examples: emails, calendars, or work logs). Grant managers submit their electronic approval of Employee GERs by the 15th of that month. It is electronically signed and considered a legal document in which a grant manager attests to the accuracy of the effort spent on grants. The grant managers ensure that submissions are completed and electronically submitted on time.