POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Mid- to late-September
Based on fall semester enrollments and forecasts of major expenditure categories (e.g., salaries, benefits, utilities, construction/renovation), the VP Finance prepares a summary-level preliminary operating budget for the fiscal year beginning the following July 1st. Policy: projections of tuition revenue in the preliminary budget are to be based on a level of enrollment that is no greater than the forecasted enrollment in the current year.
October
The Administrative Cabinet reviews the preliminary operating budget and makes final decisions with respect to the major budget parameters (including tuition and room & board rate increases) it wishes to recommend to the University’s Board of Trustees.
November
The proposed operating budget parameters are presented to the Board of Trustees at their fall meeting. The Board of Trustees approves (or changes) the budget parameters.
November to January
University departments, using the budget parameters approved by the Board of Trustees, prepare detailed operating budgets for their areas of responsibility.
February
The Administrative Cabinet reviews a compilation of the detailed budgets and makes adjustments where necessary.
March
The detailed proposed operating budget is presented to the Board of Trustees at their spring meeting. The Board of Trustees approves the detailed budget.
July 1st
The new fiscal year begins and the approved operating budget goes into effect.
MEMORANDUM
December 15, 2005
To: All Preparers of Department Budget Requests
From: George Latter, Vice President for Finance & Administrative Services
Subject: 2006-2007 Budget Requests
Attached are your 2006-07 budget request forms. The summary page is a computer-generated form listing budgeted and actual expenses for 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05, the budget for the current year (2005-2006), the actual amounts expended to date in the current year, and spaces for you to enter your requested 2006-07 department budget (July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007).
Check the budget review program in CARS for the most up-to-date current-year information. (Note: Departmental charges, e.g., Bookstore, Reprographics, Motor Pool, Post Office, etc., through November 2005 are included in current year actuals. However, JPMorgan purchasing card transactions are only posted through October 2005.)
Pages 2 through 7 are provided to assist you in preparing your budget requests by letting you itemize specific expenses.
Instructions for Preparation and Approval of Budget
Recognizing that changes in operating expenses are not consistent from one department to another, rather than providing across-the-board increases in department budgets in 2006-07, the University has set aside a pool of funds to be used where significant departmental operating cost increases have occurred. All departments will be permitted to increase their postage budgets by 5% in 2006-07 due to the increases in postal rates that will take place in January 2006. Beyond that, because the pool of new funds is limited, departments should look to their existing budgets and reallocate money from lower-priority to higher-priority needs before requesting budget increases.
You have two options for completing your budget request form:
Option 1: Enter the total for each account from pages 2 through 7 on the appropriate line on the summary page in the column headed “06-07 Requested”. Then submit this form (along with completed pages 2 through 7, if used) to your administrative supervisor for approval by the deadline he/she has set.
Option 2: We can provide your budget request form as an Excel spreadsheet. In order to receive your information in this format, please contact Jim Bergherm at x2429 or jbergher@pointloma.edu. After you have finished entering your requested 2006-07 budget, please: 1) submit the completed spreadsheet to your administrative supervisor for approval; and 2) e-mail the completed spreadsheet to Jim Bergherm.
Requested budgets will be reviewed and adjusted (as necessary) by the Administrative Cabinet and the total University budget will be presented to the Board of Trustees at its March 2006 meeting.
Additional Instructions/Guidelines
Department Credits –
Departments which have equipment or supplies that are used by other departments on campus, and for which a usage fee is charged, should budget the estimated amount of these charged-out fees as department credits. The most frequent example of this is with copy machines that are "owned" by a particular department and are used from time to time by other departments. Please note: departments "owning" copy machines should be sure to budget as expenses all costs of maintaining the copy machine. This would include maintenance contracts, paper, toner, etc.
Student Wages –
On page 2 you will find space for projecting your student wages expense. The minimum wage is $6.75 per hour. With some exceptions, the minimum wage is the starting rate paid to students.
In addition, to help retain students on the job, a policy has been adopted that will allow for wage increases, in increments of twenty-five cents per hour, based on the number of hours a student has been working on the same job. The first increase will occur after the first 450 hours on the same job, the second after 900 hours, and the third after 1,350 hours on the same job. Change of job, by student choice, will result in a reversion to the original base wage for that particular job.
Workshops/Seminars/Conferences –
This account should include only the registration fees associated with attending workshops, conferences, and seminars. Departments that sponsor workshops and seminars should budget the costs of organizing and presenting the workshop in the expense accounts describing the particular type of expense incurred. For example, postage expenses should be budgeted in a postage account, printing in a printing account, food in a meals account, etc. This will facilitate analysis of the costs of sponsoring a workshop and keep these costs separate and apart from the costs of attending a workshop or seminar.
Equipment –
You have two options when budgeting for departmental equipment purchases. You may budget for equipment purchases in your own department budget, provided the item to be purchased is less than $1,000 and you have budget money that is not allocated for other expenses. PLEASE NOTE: Purchases of all computer hardware and software, printers, fax machines, and copiers must be approved in advance by Information Technology Services. Alternatively, you may request departmental equipment purchases out of the University’s general equipment budget. A limited amount of funds are allotted for general equipment purchases each year. Contact your administrative supervisor for additional information.
Repair and maintenance of equipment already purchased should be classified in account 6724.
Rental of equipment should be budgeted in account 6728.
If you have any questions regarding the budget process, please see your administrative supervisor or call me at x 2317.