Home TEARS Frequently Asked Questions

TEARS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is an effort report?

An effort report is the official document used by the University to document all effort, whether treated as direct or F&A, for sponsored agreements. This document is required by OMB Circular A-21 section J (10).

Why do I have to certify an effort report?

As a recipient of Federal contract and grant funds NCSU must comply with OMB Circular A-21. Because cost sharing is not identifiable in the financial accounting system, these costs are identified in TEARS. The effort report confirms how effort was spent on projects. The reports generated based on the effort report also are used in the development of the F&A cost rates.

Who receives an effort report?

Employees subject to effort reporting requirements are those who:

A. Work on sponsored projects for which the sponsor reimburses the University.

B. Work on sponsored projects but whose time on the project is funded by the University. The University's contribution to the cost of the project is referred to as cost sharing.

C. Work in the Colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Natural Resources and are funded from certain federal appropriations.

What is a summer effort report? What do the percentages represent?

OMB Circular A-21 requires that charges for work performed by faculty members on sponsored agreements during the summer months or other period, not included in the base salary period, be documented. This is done using a statement signed by the employee, principal investigator, or responsible official(s) using suitable means of verification that the work was performed. To comply with this Federal requirement, we issue a separate summer effort report to capture and document effort expended on sponsored agreements not included in the base salary for 9-month employees. These summer effort reports only include direct salary charges applied to sponsored agreements (ledger 5 accounts) for effort performed during the period 5/16 through 8/15.

The percentages represent only the amount of time spent working on sponsored awards during this time period. Any other work performed during this period will not be represented on the effort report.

I did a cost sharing set up in TEARS yesterday. Why is it not showing up in my monthly cost sharing report?

TEARS monthly cost sharing reports are updated monthly after payroll has been loaded into PS Labor. The reports may not have been updated yet to reflect cost sharing set ups created or corrected in the current month.

TEARS monthly reports are usually updated the following working day after all month end reporting has been loaded to Financials and PS Labor. The jobs to update TEARS usually take an entire day to complete so TEARS should reflect any activity performed by the fifth working day.

What is the difference in a "from" account and a "to" account?

The "from" account or "funding account" is the project that is actually funding the cost sharing. The "to" account is the ledger 5 project that is actually being worked on by the individual.

What do I need to do to my cost sharing setups if an employee changes from a nine-month employee to twelve-month employee (or vice versa)?

The setups need to be deleted and reentered. When you go into the system to create the new cost sharing record, the employee's record should reflect the new employee type. If the record is not recreated, it will not show up on the employee's effort report.

What happens if I do not certify my effort report?

If you do not certify your effort report, you will not be in compliance with OMB Circular A-21. The University is then at risk of losing existing and future funding from sponsoring agencies.

Who can certify effort reports?

Because our system is web-based, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can certify their own effort report. Deans, Department Heads and designees can certify for others in unusual circumstances. One person should never certify for the entire unit. Whoever certifies the effort report is responsible for the submission or omission of any information in the report.

What is a survey period?

Survey periods are the federally approved time periods for which employee effort must be certified. Survey periods consist of multiple months and are intended to generally coincide with the University's Fiscal year and summer period. Employee classifications (9-month EPA, 12-month EPA or SPA) determine the survey periods applicable to their effort reports.

Survey periods, based on employee classification, are as follows:
a. 12-month EPA and SPA employees:
Fiscal year - 07/01 through 06/30
b. 9-month EPA employees:
Academic year - 08/16 through 05/15
(Because 9-month contract EPA employees are reimbursed for their academic year work over the 12-month fiscal year (i.e., they receive 12 monthly payroll checks instead of 9), effort percentages for the Fiscal year effort report include regular payroll charges for months not indicated by the survey period. Payroll charges for the months of May through August are included in the Fiscal year effort report.)

Supplemental summer period - 05/16 through 08/15
(Supplemental payments to faculty incurred in the University's payroll system from May through September and identified by earnings code 605 are included on special effort reports that are prepared for 9-month EPA faculty who work on contracts and grants during the summer months.)

What do the percentages on my effort report refer to?

The cost sharing set up is for the period of time the cost sharing is anticipated to occur. The effort report is for an entire survey period based on whether the employee is a 12-month or a 9-month employee. The percentage indicates the percentage of time of the entire survey period for the specified categories on the effort report.

If the survey period on the record is a short survey period (i.e. less than the full survey period), then the system will perform a calculation to equate the short period to the equivalent of its percentage of the total survey period.

When the system calculates the cost sharing percentage for the effort, it is being calculated based on the cost sharing set up percentage from the set up form multiplied by proportionate number of days the cost sharing set up represents of the entire survey period.

What is the difference between the percentages on the CS setup vs. the effort report?

The percentages used on the Cost Sharing Setup is the percentage of time the employee believes he/she will cost share his/her effort during the period indicated. This period may be less than a full survey period. If the set up is for a period of time less than a full survey period, the percentages will be converted to the percentage of the full survey period on the actual effort report.

The percentages shown on the effort report should reasonably approximate how much an employee actually worked during a full survey period. The survey period will vary depending on whether the employee is a 9-month or 12-month employee.

How do I determine CS Set Up percentages?

Cost sharing should be documented when the Principal Investigators and other University employees spend a significant amount of time on sponsored projects that is not reimbursed by the sponsor. What is considered significant is ultimately left up to the judgment of the Principal Investigator.

The significance of time (unless specifically committed to in the award) spent on any given project should be based upon the facts/circumstances/prior commitments of that project and is ultimately the PI's decision when judgment is called for.

When do I need to do a cost sharing set up?

Cost sharing should be entered at the beginning of an award and updated as needed.
The TEARS Cost Sharing Set-Up Form must be used to establish cost sharing percentages in the effort reporting system for:
1. Employees working on sponsored projects but whose time in the project is funded by a non-sponsored project.
2. Cost sharing performed in order to maintain committed levels of effort on sponsored projects.
3. Cost sharing performed in order to meet committed dollar amounts or % of award amounts.
4. Any award where there will be direct charges associated with an individual (travel, tuition, etc.) To determine if exceptions to "Post-Award Cost Sharing" have been met, go to http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/research/contracts_grants/RUL505.00.8.php

The purpose of the TEARS Cost Sharing Set Up Form is to establish cost sharing percentages in the system before effort reports are printed so that the anticipated percentages are reflected on the effort reports. Additionally, cost sharing set up forms must be in the system in order for the cost sharing reports (monthly or otherwise) to be accurate.
An after-the-fact memo must document cost sharing by EPA 9-month faculty during a summer period and bi-weekly paid employees. After-the-fact memos documenting cost sharing must be submitted to the Office of Contracts and Grants.

What is cost sharing (as it relates to labor/effort)?

"Cost sharing" is the portion of total project costs not borne by the sponsoring agency. It is the realization that all of the project costs may not be absorbed by a single funding source.