Requirements and Procedures for Sponsored Projects/Mandatory Investigator & Staff Training

As an enhancement to the University of Florida’s good practices in sponsored project accounting operations, and to further appropriate stewardship of contracts and grants for all Sponsors, effective March 3, 2014, the University implemented new sponsored training requirements.

Note: courses are found online, by navigating in myUFL > Main Menu > My Self Service > Training and Development > Request Training Enrollment.  Search by course numbers (RSH220, RSH230 or RSH260) to enroll.

  • Training for investigators, department chairs, deans and center/institute directors: Two courses are required: Effort Fundamentals (RSH220) and Cost Principles (RSH260).  The cost principles training requirement has been in effect since January, 2013.  Investigators have a deadline to complete; those who have not successfully completed the course will have Notice of Award actions on their sponsored projects withheld until the course is completed.
  • Training for staff: The following trainings are required for grant management staff.  Access to grants transactions and information within myUFL; reporting tools like myinvestiGator will be removed if the training is not completed.
    • All UF employees who facilitate the development of sponsored project budgets, charging of costs, distribution or allocation of payroll, reporting, or any other fiscal activity for sponsored funds arerequired to complete RSH260: Cost Principles.
    • All grant management staff, including those who facilitate the development of sponsored project budgets, distribution or allocation of payroll, reporting, or effort reporting for sponsored funds are required to complete RSH220: Effort Fundamentals and RSH230: Effort Management.

In addition, there are three procedural changes in effect:

  1. Uncertified Effort Reports: Effort reports not certified more than 150 days after the certification period opens will have spending on all active projects suspended and salary charges on federal programs affected by the delinquent effort reports removed.
  2. Equipment purchased near the end of the grant: Purchase orders for equipment submitted within 120 days of the end of the grant period will require justification, review and approval by Contracts & Grants prior to purchase.
  3. Cost transfers on to sponsored projects: Outside of extraordinary circumstances, any labor cost transfer requested after effort certification will not be approved; any non-labor cost transfer requested 90 days after the charge was originally posted will not be approved.

Questions: Please contact Stephanie Gray, Director, Division of Sponsored Programs at (352) 273-4062 or slgray@ufl.edu.

Visit the website: https://my.research.ufl.edu/ProgramDevelopment/FundingOpportunities/ArticleDetail.aspx?id=35587