Effort-reporting compliance at higher education institutions was examined to discern best practices from those that would recommend their effort-reporting process. Data were derived from a survey of effort administrators--the research administrators responsible for the effort-reporting compliance program at their respective higher education institutions. The research was conducted in the fall of 2012, before the implementation of the OMB (2013) Uniform Guidance. Data were separated into two focus groups for greater applicability: Doctoral/Research Universities (DRUs) and Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs). These effort administrators were generally confident about their institution's compliance with current effort-reporting regulations and believed that, even aside from the regulations, they properly documented compensation costs charged to sponsoring agencies. These data provide information on best practices in effort-reporting compliance for these two types of higher education institutions and expand the body of knowledge in the field of research administration. Data derived from this study can also be used as a baseline from which to compare future studies on effort-reporting compliance after the implementation of the OMB (2013) Uniform Guidance.