[BFET] Time and Effort Questions/Answers - From BFET Training

[Michele Rockwell]

Hi all,

Way back at the October BFET training, some of you asked me some time and effort (T&E) questions that I couldn't answer on the spot.  I haven't forgotten.  It's just taken a while for schedules to line up so all appropriate parties could discuss.  At long last, here are the answers.


1.      Question: For some exempt or faculty that do the same duties for multiple programs, T&E is split based on the percentage of students they serve in each program.  For example, a faculty may teach the same class to a mix of WorkFirst and non- WorkFirst students.  The duties the faculty performs are the same for each type of students.  If 40% of the class is made up of WorkFirst students, and 60% non- WorkFirst students, the college reflects a 40%/60% split on T&E, and the college charges 40% of the faculty salary/benefits to WorkFirst.

The question is, can a college do the same thing for classified staff?  For example, a position who works at a front desk and "in-processes" all students.  Some are BFET students, and some are not.  But the duties of that position are the same regardless of the type of student.  Can the college show that X% of BFET students and Y% of non-BFET students came through the door and document their T&E hours according to that percent split of students?

Answer:  Yes, a classified individual may also split their hours based on percentages of students as long as this is done reasonably and consistently and you have backup documentation to support the split.  Also, remember that classified staff must still track their hours using the after-the-fact reporting method as this is the only acceptable method for classified staff.



2.      Question: Let's say a BFET staff is charged 70% to WRT as a match source and 30% to OG as a match source based on projected numbers of students for the quarter.  At the end of the quarter, the college realizes they actually had a 60% WRT and 40% OG students.  Since these are match sources and are state funding, and all are still contributing to BFET, does the college have to go back and adjust payroll charges?

Answer:  We recommend that you adjust payroll as match for federal grants must be treated with the same rules as federal funds.  However, since these are both state funding sources, it isn't necessarily required for you to adjust payroll based on T&E documentation.



3.      Question: Can you provide some clarification on 100% of time?  There is some confusion with whether or not work should reflect 100% of time or more than 100% of time when applicable.  For example, when a staff member works full-time in a staff position and also teaches part-time (25% of a full teaching load).  Her T&E should reflect the staff work and the teaching work, we all agree on that.  But should the total percent add up to 100% or 125%?

Answer:  If the individual has a separate contract for the part-time faculty work, track time and effort separately.  T&E documentation should be done for the staff work, which adds up to 100% of time.  The faculty work, if done under a separate contract, would have time and effort documented separately.

If the individual has one contract that covers both the staff work and the faculty work, T&E should all be documented together, and time should add up to 100% (even though the individual may be working more than 40 hours a week).



4.      Question: We don't require individuals to have a brief description of duties in their time and effort documentation to state how their work supports the grant.  Is that necessary?

Answer:  No, it is not necessary to include duties on T&E documentation.  Your position descriptions should have that information, and you would have already included that information in your grant narratives.  As long as individuals are still doing the duties in their position descriptions and what is written into grant narratives, there should not be a need for this detail on T&E documentation.


If you have any questions about these or other T&E scenarios, please let me know.

Thanks.
Michele
________________________________
Michele Rockwell | Contracts Specialist | Education Services Division | Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges | 1300 Quince ST SE | PO Box 42495 | Olympia, WA 98504 | p: 360-704-4343 | f: 360-704-4418 | mrockwell at sbctc.edu<mailto:mrockwell at sbctc.edu> | www.sbctc.edu<http://www.sbctc.edu/>

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