Beginning in FY07-08, faculty, staff and administrators involved in the effort certification process will need to complete an on-line training module covering Effort Certification.  It is anticipated that the training module will be released in the first quarter of the fiscal year. 

Effort Certification on sponsored programs is a significant compliance risk facing the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) as well as all other institutions of the University of Texas System (UT System).  As a result, UT System implemented governing policy in the form of UTS163 – Guidance on Effort Reporting Policies. (A full copy of UTS163 is available at http://www.utsystem.edu/policy/ov/uts163.html).

One requirement of UTS163 is the establishment of an education and training program on Effort Certification.  To meet this requirement UT Austin has designed an Effort Certification Training module to provide the following:

• An introduction to Effort and Effort Certification
• An understanding of the importance of Effort certification
• An understanding of Committed Effort
• Effort Certification examples

All individuals serving in the capacity of Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator on sponsored programs are required to take the Effort Certification Training module. 

In addition, all individuals who have access to UT Austin’s on-line Effort Certification System (ECS) as a Precertifier, Final Certifier or any other authorized role will also be required to take the training module.

The module should take between 30-45 minutes to complete and once started must be completed.  Upon conclusion of the module, each individual must take a mandatory test comprised of 12 questions.  A passing grade of 75% will be required in order to receive credit for completion of this module.

Upon release of the module, you will receive a notification with instructions and a URL address to access the training module.  The module will be hosted on the Compliance Training System administered by the Office of Institutional Compliance.

Should you have questions or issues with the Effort Certification Training module once it is released, please contact the Office of Sponsored Projects - Contracts and Grants at 471-6231 and ask for the Effort Certification Training Coordinator.