Effort Report Training

As a researcher at Case Western Reserve University, you should turn to Spiderweb for assistance with effort reporting processes. This service houses all effort reporting information, including information on grants, contracts, regulatory protocols and the like. 

Effort Reporting Process in Spiderweb

1. Log into Spiderweb with your CWRU network ID. 
2. From the left side menu, select the link “Effort Reporting.”
3. Confirm that the reporting period displayed is the current period.
   1. If the reporting period is not correct, use the dropdown menu to select the correct timeframe and select the “Go” button.  
4. You will see a list of departments/divisions to which you are listed as the administrator. Select a department/division link to obtain a list of employees who are based in that department/division for whom Spiderweb has automatically generated effort certification reports. 
   1. If there are employees on the list who you think should not have to certify—for example, the person did not work on any sponsored projects during the reporting period in question or the employee left CWRU prior to the start of the reporting period—they can be removed by the Office of Research Administration team. Send an email with the employee name, department/division, and reason to effort@case.edu for review. 
5. Select each name who you’d like to review the report. The reports are pre-populated based on the PeopleSoft HCM salary distribution. Review and edit as needed to reflect, as accurately and reasonably as possible, the employee’s effort for the reporting period. It is strongly recommended that effort reports are compared with the HCM data available in the data lake at data.case.edu in the HCM-Human Resources folder. If you do not have access to this folder please email effort@case.edu and to facilitate access. 
   1.  When completed, select the “update” button at the bottom of the page.  
      1. A few notes on reviewing the reports:
         1. If edits are made to the report, be sure to include a brief explanation in the comment box at the bottom of the page.
         2. Students certify separate reports for each department where they have provided research effort. Each department will be responsible for only the time/effort that the student provided in their department.
         3. In addition to the pre-populated salary distribution percentages, historical data from the most recent effort report certification will be displayed. 
            1. Effort certified on the previous report will appear in blue if that percentage differs from the current report.
            2. Any sponsored projects that were previously reported but not part of the pre-populated data from HCM will display under the current projects.
6. Once reviewed and edited, the report is ready to be released to the employee:
   1. To release the report for electronic signature (preferred method), select the “ready to certify” button at the bottom of the page. This will send an email to the employee notifying them the report is ready for review and certification.
      1. To release the report for a paper certification, select the “printable” button, pdf version of the report will be generated. Print the report, print the name of the certifier on the paper copy and have the certifier review and sign. Upon completion, return to the employee's report and select the “certified by paper” button at the bottom of the screen. You will be prompted to upload the scanned report, ensuring the pdf is readable. The original copy of the signed form should be kept in your records.