Institutional Budget Procedures

Budget Administration

Budget administration is part of a cyclical process that follows the calendar established at the beginning of each fiscal year. The budget administration must support the mission of the university. It must also be in keeping with the university's goals and planning priorities. Each budgetary unit's request must have these parameters as its foundation. The requests should be reviewed by appropriate staff/faculty in each unit and submitted to the dean of the college/school or appropriate vice president. Budgets are reviewed by the division vice president for presentation to the president and university community.

Purpose

Budget administration is part of a cyclical process that follows the calendar established at the beginning of each fiscal year. The budget administration must support the mission of the university. It must also be in keeping with the university's goals and planning priorities. Each budgetary unit's request must have these parameters as its foundation. The requests should be reviewed by appropriate staff/faculty in each unit and submitted to the dean of the college/school or appropriate vice president. Budgets are reviewed by the division vice president for presentation to the president and university community.

Budget Administration Policy

The purpose of this policy is to delegate responsibility for the expenditure of funds allocated to the respective divisions by the president of the university to designated administrators. This means that each administrator identified below is responsible and accountable for budgetary and program management, as well as personnel performance for his or her statutory area.

The reason for this policy is to enable each division to administer its resources with a planned future in mind. Decisions will be based upon the university planning process and become a part of the program and budgetary plan. The president has overall responsibility for the plan. Each division vice president is responsible for using the personal and non-personal services resources allotted to the division to implement the university's program/budget plan.

Organization

Academic Affairs

The following include both personal services, operating expenditures and related activity from all budgets in each department.

College of Arts & Sciences

Approval: Department Chairperson

Responsible To: Dean – Arts & Sciences

• Art
• Artist-In-Residence
• Biology and Environmental Sciences
• Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy
• Communication
• English
• Government and Sociology
• History and Geography
• Philosophy and Liberal Studies
• Mathematics
• World Languages and Cultures
• Music
• Psychology
• Theatre

College of Business

Approval: Department Chairperson

Responsible To: Dean – Business & Technology

• Accounting
• Information Systems & Computer Science
• Economics & Finance
• Management, Marketing & Logistics

College of Education

Approval: Department Chairperson

Responsible To: Dean – Education

• Teacher Education
• Professional Learning & Education
• Advanced Graduate Education

College of Health Sciences

Approval: Department Chairperson

Responsible to: Dean - Health Sciences

• School of Health & Human Performance
• School of Nursing
• Health & Wellness Services
  
  

Inna Dillard Russell Library and Instructional Technology Center

Approval: Department Chairperson

Responsible To: Director - Library & Instructional Technology

• Library
• Instructional Technology Center

Student Affairs

The following include personal services, operating expenditures and related activity from all accounts in each department:

Finance and Administration

The following include personal services, operating expenditures and related activity from all accounts in each department:

President

The following include personal services, operating expenditures and related activity from all accounts in each department:

University Advancement & Alumni Affairs

Budget Administration Procedures

The following budgetary practices have been approved by the president of the university for implementation by all division heads.

• The vice presidents are the budgetary officers for their respective divisions and, as such, distribute appropriate budgetary information to each statutory area identified above to initiate each fiscal year, as well as, amend information during the fiscal year.
• The head of each statutory area is accountable to the university official listed above as identified in the "Responsible To" column. This accountability includes, but is not limited to, proper expenditure of the division's budgetary allocation and for the exercise of prudent decision-making in the expenditure of funds in order for the budget allocation to cover the needs for the fiscal year.
• No funds from any source shall be added to, transferred between, or reduced from budgetary areas without the approval and written authorization of the budgetary authority.
• No other budgetary area shall be created to hold funds for expenditures in a previously described area without the approval and written authorization of the budgetary authority.
• All original budgets shall be initiated by the head of the statutory area. Amendment requests may be made by e-mail provided that they have been forwarded and approved by the appropriate officials prior to submission to the budget office.
• Deans and non-academic department heads shall have the authority to recommend to their respective division vice president that budgeted funds be transferred between departments within their respective college, school, or area. In this regard, the deans and/or non-academic department heads shall monitor the monthly expenditure reports for each department for which they are accountable to ensure control of expenditures during the fiscal year.
• All requests for additional funds for any budgetary areas shall be made only by the head of the statutory area to the university official listed above as "Responsible To". All funds received from any source shall be budgeted to the proper account before expenditures may be made. No funds shall be received or expended in any other manner. The head of each statutory area shall be held directly responsible for the implementation of this provision.
• All purchase requests shall require budget approval prior to any commitment of institutional funds. The requests shall identify, by departmental number, the budget to be charged.
• All budget requests for the subsequent fiscal year shall be made at the proper time that will be announced by the president and the divisional vice presidents. All requests must be supported by sufficient information to justify the request. From time to time, a plan for a budget reduction or redirection of funds may also be requested.

Budget Preparation

General Principles

The proposed annual operating budget of the university is approved and adopted by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia upon the recommendation of the chancellor in consultation with the president. The processes of budget preparation and revision are designed to assure broad and responsible participation in budgetary planning and decision making, combined with careful review of budget requests by university officers and the president.

Budgetary decision-making at Georgia College is guided by the following principles:

1. Budgetary decision-making is governed by the mission of the university. Hence, budgetary planning procedures are organized through the president and the president's staff.
2. Budgetary planning must provide for the integration of planning to spend and planning to fund. The budget for each division of the university must provide for a balance of revenue and expense.
3. Budget priorities for each division of the university must reflect the values of the university and must be consistent with the objectives of university planning.

Budget Planning Cycle

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves the proposed annual operating budgets for all funds at the June meeting. The board reviews the proposed budgets for the coming fiscal year in terms of prospective revenues and expenditures.

The annual cycle of budget preparation and decision-making involves the following major stages.

1. Budget Request Procedure:
   1. Each budget unit prepares its budget request for the next fiscal year and submits it to their respective supervisors by a due date determined by their division vice president.
   2. Each division vice president prepares a consolidated budget request for their respective division for submission to the president and president's staff by a date set by the president.
   3. Each college dean and division vice president presents budget requests to campus community for input.
   4. The president and president's staff prepare a consolidated university budget request which is presented by the president to the chancellor (and/or his staff) on a date set by the chancellor and his staff. This date is usually in January or February.
2. Budget Allocation Procedure:
   1. Revenue forecasts are projected and presented to the president and president's cabinet for prioritized allocations from internal revenue sources.
   2. Georgia College receives its budget allocation for the next fiscal year following the April Board of Regents meeting.
   3. The president convenes the president's staff to allocate any new funding and make any adjustments to the continuation budget that may be needed. (April)
   4. Each vice president allocates any new funding and makes any needed adjustments to their respective budget units. (April)
   5. Budgetary unit heads allocate funds and prepare salary recommendations and operating budgets and submit their recommendations to their respective deans/director/department head. (April)
   6. Deans/Directors/Department Heads submit their recommendations to their respective division vice president. (April)
   7. Recommendations are submitted to the institutional Budget Office where the budget staff prepares the consolidated proposed budget request for submission to the Board of Regent's budget office. (April)
   8. Board of Regents staff consolidates University System budgets for presentation to and approval by the Board of Regents. (June)
   9. Implementation of new budget – July 1.

The university's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends on June 30. The fiscal year differs from the academic year, which begins in August and ends in May. Summer session revenue and related expenses are split depending on which respective fiscal year the summer term relates to.

Budget Revisions

The Board of Regents may approve revisions to the current year's budget(s) from time to time. Such requests are received by the deans/directors/department heads who forward them to their division vice president for implementation. They are then forwarded to the Budget Office for inclusion in the next available amendment. The Budget Office shall have the authority to ensure that any additional funding received meets approved System and university guidelines and shall return any requested implementation request to the appropriate dean, director, and/or department head when guidelines are not met, setting forth the reasons.

Budget Amendment Requests

After the original budget has been approved and the departments have been notified of appropriations, circumstances occasionally develop in which demands in one expenditure area becomes greater than originally anticipated. When this occurs, the department must either reduce planned expenditures in the affected area or transfer budgeted funds from another expenditure area where the need is not so great.

Procedure

When additional funds are needed in a departmental budget, a request for budget amendment is to be processed. The request may be made through e-mail or memo by an appropriate expenditure authority. The request must bear justification and have the approval of the appropriate budgetary authority. In the event a request is rejected or requires additional information and/or documentation, the Budget Office will notify the appropriate budgetary authority in order to inform them of the reason for the disapproval or request the needed additional information.

Budget amendments made in one fiscal year lapse at the end of that fiscal year, unless originally requested as permanent.

Budget Reports

Sound budgetary management is the responsibility of each department. The department head within each college and non-academic division is responsible to his/her dean and/or division vice president for maintaining budget control. In order for the university to maintain financial solvency, it is essential that each department operates within its budget.

To assist the department in the management of its budget, online budget progress reports are available to each departmental budget unit. These reports show the status of budget funds. Each department should review these reports closely and report any apparent errors or omissions to the Budget Office.