Effort for Trainees on Training Grants

Page Updated: January 23, 2020

If a trainee works on a training grant, does effort need to be certified? The short answer is no. But the long answer sheds light on some important subtleties.

If someone is receiving SALARY for services performed on a grant, the effort must be certified. If they're receiving a STIPEND, it's considered educational assistance (i.e. student aid). This would NOT need to be certified. And, in fact, WE DO NOT LOAD INTO ECRT any payroll transactions having the SFS account codes that are normally used for trainee effort. These are:

• 5712 - "Fellows & Scholars - Annual"
• 2720 - "Post Fellow/Schol/Trn - Annual"

SO: Compensation for trainees on training grants IS NOT LOADED INTO ECRT, and WILL NOT APPEAR ON AN EFFORT STATEMENT, and the corresponding effort does not need to be certified.

Two caveats:

• If a trainee has some additional compensation from another source, the effort corresponding to that OTHER compensation will appear on the statement, and must be certified. Trainees, as a class of people, are not exempt from certification by virtue of their position. We exclude TYPES OF COMPENSATION from the effort certification process, not TYPES OF PEOPLE.
• UW is unique in that graduate students here receive "stipends" (so we're told). Graduate student effort on a grant is different than trainee effort, and the payroll is set up with different account codes. So, not all "stipends" (as they're treated here at UW) are excluded from the effort certification process.
• To summarize: Compensation paid as a stipend to a trainee on a training grant is excluded from the effort certification process, and the corresponding effort does not need to be certified.