Link to memo distributed May 30, 2024: FY25 Changes to the BSR [REVISED]

TO: L&S Chairs, Directors and Department Administrators

FROM: Eric M. Wilcots, Dean, College of Letters & Science

DATE: May 20, 2024

RE: FY25 Changes to the BSR [REVISED]

The College of Letters & Science continues to evaluate and optimize how the BSR should evolve to provide the greatest flexibility to allow departments to meet their mission while ensuring that the College remains financially sound.  As the growth in the undergraduate population has plateaued, the College must pivot some of our financial strategies to reflect our new steady state.  Over the past six years we have provided departments with substantial resources to meet the demand driven by the undergraduate enrollment expansion.  The BSR process must now recognize that, by and large, units have the resources they need to meet their curricular responsibilities. With these conditions in mind, we announce several significant changes to the BSR policies and procedures effective FY25.

The changes include:

• Conversion of Faculty Budget Savings to Ongoing Tally Sheet Base
• Adjustment of Staff Budgets from Ongoing Tally Sheet Base
• Review of STS Budgets to Reflect Long Term Needs
• Change to Year End 101 One-Time Balance Process

Conversion of Faculty Budget Savings to Ongoing Tally Sheet Base: 

At the end of this fiscal year, we will begin the process of converting faculty budget savings to ongoing tally sheet base.

Jennifer Klippel, Associate Dean for Innovative and Strategic Budgeting (ADISB), will review the last two years of savings and discuss with each department converting the lower of the two numbers to on-going tally sheet base.  If a department had faculty budget savings one year and faculty budget loss another year, no adjustment will be made until a clearer data pattern emerges.  If a department has had two years of faculty budget deficits, the lower of the two deficit numbers will be debited from the ongoing tally sheet and added to the faculty budget. 

Before converting these savings to ongoing base, the ADISB will reach out to each chair & department administrator (DAs) to confirm they are comfortable the proposed number reflects a sustainable savings amount or if they prefer to convert a lower number to provide greater security against running faculty budget deficits in future years.  After conversion of the savings to base, each year the faculty budget actual spending will be compared with the budget and any amount /- 5% of the new faculty budget will result in a base correction from the ongoing tally sheet. 

Adjustment of Staff Budgets from Ongoing Tally Sheet Base

At the end of FY24, we will begin the process of converting faculty budget savings to ongoing tally sheet base. 

Jennifer Klippel, Associate Dean for Innovative and Strategic Budgeting (ADISB), will review the last two years of faculty budget savings and discuss with each department the advisability of converting the lower of the FY23 or FY24 faculty budget savings to on-going tally sheet base. The department may elect to postpone the conversion to allow for time to provide a better pattern of savings. If a department had faculty budget savings in one fiscal year and a faculty budget loss in the other fiscal year, no adjustment will be made until a clearer data pattern emerges. If a department has had two fiscal years of faculty budget deficits, the lower of the two deficit numbers will be debited from the ongoing tally sheet and added to the faculty budget. 

Before converting these savings to ongoing base, the ADISB will reach out to each chair & department administrator (DA) to confirm they are comfortable that the proposed number reflects a sustainable savings amount, whether they prefer to convert a lower number, or if it is preferred to delay the conversion decision in order to obtain more data. After conversion of the savings to base, each year the faculty budget actual spending will be compared with the budget and any amount +/- 5% of the new faculty budget will result in a base correction from the ongoing tally sheet. 

Adjustment of Staff Budgets from Ongoing Tally Sheet Base

Adjustment of Staff Budgets from Ongoing Tally Sheet Base

Currently, many L&S departments are significantly overspending their staff budgets. Therefore, it is vital we right size these budgets with ongoing base resources from the tally sheet. As we approach the fiscal year-end, the ADISB will reach out to chairs and DAs in departments that appear to be ending the fiscal year over budget. The ADISB will share data for staff currently paid on fund 101 in the department. Departments will be given the opportunity to identify staff who are temporary hires, removing them from the base adjustment. In subsequent years after the initial correction, actual spending will be compared with the budget and any amount +/- 5% of the new staff budget will result in a base correction from the ongoing tally sheet. 

Please keep in mind that due to the current limitation on staff hiring, many vacancies will remain open. Recognizing current position control limitations, the significant change in duties for many administrative roles posed by the migration to Workday, and the current staff budget constraints across the college, we will engage in conversations about each unit's administration needs and how we meet them in the context of the College's strategic staffing initiative. 

Review of STS Budgets to Reflect Long Term Needs

At the end of FY24, we will begin the process of truing up STS budgets to reflect long term needs using resources from the ongoing tally sheet base.

We recognize that many departments have been overspending STS budget utilizing their one-time funds. With the coming changes to the BSR to reflect the goal of a more all-encompassing base budget across all staff types on 101, it is important we also evaluate whether STS base budget dollars are adequate to fund longer term STS costs. We realize these costs do vary year to year and often will be covered by savings on the faculty budget if someone is on sabbatical or unpaid leave. However, if a department’s STS budget is insufficient to cover costs for STS in a given year beyond faculty budget savings and the amount of ongoing funds available on the tally sheet, STS costs will need to be moved off of 101 onto the 150 one-time funding to avoid a fringe benefit penalty. Given this, as adjustments are made to the faculty and staff budgets each department will likely need to evaluate whether to delay the conversion of faculty budget savings to base until STS spending stabilizes to the current STS budget and/or transfer some ongoing funds to STS budget to ensure sufficient resources are there to cover STS costs each year.

Change to Year End 101 One-Time Balance Process

Beginning with the FY24 year-end close out process, one-time balances will no longer be maintained on fund 101 and will be converted to 150 funding.

The roll out of the new campus budget approach and the implementation of the Workday system will necessitate simplification of budgetary oversight and controls. In preparation for these changes, L&S is eliminating the current process of carrying over unspent 101 funding or spending deficits into the next fiscal year as totaled in the one-time column of the BSR tally sheet. Positive and negative balances from the 101 one-time tally sheet will be brought forward to a new one-time 150 project. As a result, the tally sheet caps are being eliminated and there will not be a sweep of one-time funds at the end of FY24. Departments that have a negative balance in the one-time 150 account at the end of a fiscal year will not be authorized for faculty or renewable staff hires in the coming year until the deficit is resolved. The ADISB will continue to provide fall and spring forecasts to departments to facilitate annual fiscal planning as well as conduct check-ins around longer-term strategy.

The objective of the new 150 funds is to allow for greater flexibility to meet many aspects of the departmental mission. Note that these funds are one-time, therefore they cannot be used to support ongoing renewable staff salaries, raises or hires. In addition, while details are still being worked out at the campus level, our understanding is the forthcoming limits on administrative staff hiring will make it more challenging to have additional non-instructional FTE on 101 funding, including temporary hires. It is also not yet clear if departments may utilize the 150 resources for temporary salary spending or whether the same FTE limitation will apply on 150 funding as they do on 101 and 131 funding.

All staffing requests for permanent and temporary staff on all funding sources must go through the strategic staffing process in L&S, which will migrate to the position management process across campus once Workday goes live in FY26. Beginning with the close of fiscal year FY25, departments will be charged a fringe penalty equal to the RSP staff fringe rate for overspending their fund 101 total BSR budget.

Departments are required to get approval from L&S Teaching and Learning and L&S HR for STS and graduate assistant hires on the one-time 150 funds. In addition, departments must coordinate with and get approval from Chris Bruhn for remodeling projects using the one-time 150 funds. Email approval from the AAD and ADISB must be obtained for individual expenses in excess of $10,000 for salary + fringe or S&E using the one- time 150 funds. Departments may request this approval at any time during the fiscal year.

Please note that as conversations concerning the campus budget approach continue to evolve, there may be a need to make further changes to the BSR in the months ahead.