BUDGET MANAGEMENT

Dean's Office contacts: Linda Nelson, Sue Barnhart, Karen Agy

Departments are expected to operate within their biennial support budget allocations. These allocations are intended to cover hourly services (01-80), honoraria (02), contractual services (03), travel (04), supplies (05), and recharges (21). All units receive monthly reports which review the percentage spent and encumbered in each category and the balance. Careful monitoring of these reports should allow for a zero-balance account at the end of the biennium. Units will be held responsible for overexpenditures, which will result in a temporary reduction in their operations budget or will be charged against their reserve recapture entitlement in the following biennium. This applies to 06-04xx, 09-04xx, 02-04xx, and 10-04xx budgets.

Each department is allocated a separate computing support budget. This budget number begins with 02- (or in some instances with 09-), to distinguish it from the regular departmental support budget beginning with 06-. The computing support budget is to be used for supplies, software, maintenance, insurance, etc. for existing equipment. It should not be used to purchase computing equipment (unit cost $2,000 or more) without prior approval. A separate allocation is made for equipment purchase every year.

The Dean’s Office administers various budgets that support special awards and programs in the College, such as the Scholarly Exchange Program and Curriculum Development awards. The funds associated with these programs are generally transferred directly to an appropriate budget (specified in the award letter) within a unit. Related payroll changes and purchase of goods and services are processed by the unit and must be funded by this specific budget. If a compelling reason exists to transfer the funds to another budget, contact Karen Agy in the Dean’s Office as soon as the award letter is received. (Note that the transfer of funds to budgets not of the same fund type is not permitted; i.e., awards made from discretionary funds may not be transferred to state budgets, etc.) The award recipient should consult with the unit administrator before preparing the fiscal report which must be submitted to the Dean’s Office at the conclusion of the project.

Junior Faculty Development awards are also supported by the College. These awards may be taken either as summer salary or as research support. There is a specific form that must be completed and submitted prior to expending the award (see Request for Junior Faculty Development Award form). If the award is taken as research support, a temporary budget revision will be completed by the Dean’s Office to move the funds to the unit's state budget. If the award is taken as summer salary, then the individual should be placed on the unit's state budget for one month during the summer. The actual salary expended will charge directly to the Dean’s Reserve and will not affect the unit's budget balance.