For direct information from the Office of Research regarding effort reporting, please check out UCF Research & Commercialization | Compliance
What is ECRT and why do I have to certify?
Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ECRT) is a web-based system used by UCF to allow faculty to certify their working time for the semester. Effort certification is required by UCF policy as well as federal law and is often required by grant agencies for both sponsored and non-sponsored awards. By certifying your time, you are confirming that you have worked the amount of time that you reported during the semester.
Does everyone need to certify? Can someone certify for me?
All A&P, USPS, Post Doc, Adjunct Faculty and contracted employees who work on sponsored research (even if they are unpaid) must certify their effort within 90 days of the end of a semester. A PI must also certify the effort of their researchers.
Certification needs to be done by the individual faculty member; they can have a designee certify for them if they cannot certify for themselves due to mitigating circumstances. A department chair can certify for a faculty member IF the faculty member has been terminated or has left the university.
Any effort that falls under the following categories should not be certified:
- Dual Compensation
- Equipment Projects
- Dissertations
- Student Augmentation. (Projects that are meant to increase a demographic of student in the field.)
How do I calculate my effort?
Please refer to these Conversion Tables to help calculate your effort.
How often do I have to certify and how will I know when it’s time?
Effort needs to be certified every semester, within a 30 day period.
Faculty should be notified by their department administrator when it is time to certify their effort. The ECRT system will also send out automated notifications once certification has opened. In addition, the dates for the ECRT windows can be checked in our calendar section. If faculty have an account with an online calendar service, they can subscribe to our calendar and get an alert when it is time to certify.
Need additional training or have questions?
Please contact COS Post-Award for assistance. If you would like group or one-on-one training with Office of Research-Compliance, we will make the arrangements.