Effort Certification and NIH Salary Cap
Effort certification is the process of verifying committed effort on a sponsored activity meets deliverables.
Effort certification is mandatory for all employees who receive payment from a sponsored project, either by the employee or the project PI.
Records should reflect the total activity for employee compensation, encompassing both federal and other compensated activities. The total percentage of effort should not exceed 100% of the Institutional Base Salary. To comply with this requirement, the University has established a system for reporting the percentage of time (i.e., effort) that employees devote to federally sponsored projects.
EFFORT CERTIFICATION RESETS
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- E-mail an explanation for the reset, along with back-up documentation supporting the original effort certification, to spa@uthsc.edu
- If the employee cannot certify their own effort, their immediate supervisor or departmental administrator must certify.
- Employee can give permission to their immediate supervisor or their departmental administrator by email, indicating the percentage of their effort spent on a particular project.
- The employee must sign a printed copy of their effort report prior to certification.
OSP highly encourages monthly certification. Submit effort through DASH or via the web.
At a minimum, submit effort certification once for the entire semester or within 30 days after the grant or contract end date.
NIH SALARY CAP
Awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are subject to a salary rate cap. The salary rate cap is set by NIH and is adjusted periodically. For the current salary rate cap, visit http://www.grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.htm.
Salary charges above the rate cap may not be charged to NIH awards; however, it is important that the effort expended working on NIH awards should be accurately stated. Salary above the rate cap should be moved to a discretionary fund using the cost sharing cost element.
Use the NIH Salary Cap Worksheet to determine the appropriate salary to budget. Complete this worksheet for individuals over the NIH Salary Cap and submit with the Cost Transfer Explanation Form.
- The NIH Salary Cap is based on a 12-month appointment.
- The salary cap applies to the total institutional base salary for an individual.
- Remove salary that is over the cap to a non-sponsored account.
- Add new grants and contracts to the spreadsheet.
Departments will receive notification from the OSP of any sponsored project salaries exceeding the NIH salary cap. Corrections must be processed within 30 days of notification.