Required Training
Student Augmentation Effort Guidance
Resources
The most significant cost to sponsored programs is salaries, wages, and related fringe benefits, therefore, ensuring proper management of these funds is a priority for the University of Florida. To ensure compliance with the Federal government’s effort management requirements, the University of Florida established an Effort Reporting Policy and related Directives & Procedures.
Guidance for entering effort commitments in UFIRST and myUFL is available is found in the UF Commitment Entry Guidelines. For more information about the University’s management of effort, visit the Effort Certification webpage.
University faculty and support staff engaged in sponsored activities are required to receive training in effort management and certification. Both courses can be accessed in the University’s online training system, myTraining.
Grant regulations at 2 CFR 200.430 recognize that faculty duties (research, teaching, service, and administration) in an Institute of Higher Education are often intermingled in an academic setting.
Many programs encourage students to seek funding as demonstration of their scientific progress. If funded, the award is considered “student augmentation” if it is primarily for the benefit of the student; if the student leaves the lab or University, the funds do not remain with the UF faculty mentor for general furtherance of their program. Doctoral dissertation programs and undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowships fall into this category.
Effort Reporting Directives & Procedures indicate no committed effort is required from the faculty mentor on student augmentation awards. UFIRST effort commitment entry will follow the UF Commitment Entry Guidelines.
If the faculty mentor has substantial involvement, including responsibility for the conduct of any of the research (performing analysis, project design, or project implementation), the award may not meet the definition of student augmentation.
Some indicators of whether the project is student augmentation or research are listed below:
| Student Augmentation | Research Project |
|---|---|
| Faculty PI mentoring student | Faculty PI performing analysis |
| Faculty PI overseeing project | Faculty PI responsible for project design |
| Faculty PI advising student/ fellow | Faculty PI involved in project implementation |
| Faculty PI tangentially involved | Faculty PI ultimately responsible for the project |
Last updated 11/4/24