Time and Effort Reporting Reminder

As a federal funding recipient, Ohio University must document and track how employees distribute their time on sponsored projects. This record-keeping aligns with federal regulations under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance (Part 200) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Uniform Guidance provides that records must reasonably reflect 100% of the activities for which an employee is compensated by the University. Any individual who performed work on a federally funded project or serves as the project’s principal investigator must certify effort, unless in their absence, this task is delegated to a designee.  Uniform Guidance requires that the designee have a suitable means to verify the distribution of effort for the individual who performed work on a federal award. The effort certification is what documents this compliance requirement.

Ohio University’s reporting periods for effort certification are:

• Fall Semester: August 16 – December 31
• Spring Semester: January 1 – May 15
• Summer Semester: May 16 – August 15

The next Effort Certification period is for Spring Semester 2026 and will be sent to departments starting August 17th.

An Effort Reporting dashboard is available on the Finance dashboard, under the Grants tab, in OBI. This can be used to view the payroll details included in the Effort Certification.

Questions? Contact the Grants Accounting Office at financecustomercare@ohio.edu