Guidelines & Policies
The Georgia Tech Office of Budget Planning and Administration (the “Budget Office”) is required to follow an established set of guidelines and policies set forth by the State of Georgia, the Board of Regents, and the Institute. These guidelines require an annual operating budget be prepared for each budgetary unit of the Institute.

• General Policy
  The Board of Regents (BOR) annually allocates funds to each institution at its April meeting or next regular meeting following the approval of the appropriations act or as soon after as practical every year. The BOR approves the budgets of the institutions and Office of the Board of Regents at its regular May meeting each year, or as soon thereafter as practical.
  The Board of Regents is the only medium through which all formal requests are made for appropriations from the General Assembly and the Governor of Georgia.
• Operating Budgets
  Each institution in the University System prepares an Operating Budget for educational and general activities of the Institution for the fiscal year within the limit of funds allocated, plus estimated internal revenue. In addition, a budget is prepared forAuxiliary operations that are supported by fees and other revenues.
• Sources of Revenue
  There are five basic sources of revenue for the Institute Resident Instruction operating budget:1) State Appropriations; 2) Internal Revenue; 3) Sponsored Operations; 4) Departmental Sales and Services; and 5) Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) and the Georgia Tech Foundation (GTF).
  1. State Appropriation
     Annual allocation of funds from the Board of Regents' legislative appropriation, funded by the State of Georgia.
  2. Internal Revenue
     Derived primarily from tuition and fee income and recoveries of indirect costs from research conducted atGeorgia Tech. (Note: Direct cost is anything that is directly related to a sponsored project, such as salaries and work supplies. Indirectcost recovery refers to the funds used to pay for administrative and support costs of the Institute, such as administration, facilities, and the Library.)
     • Tuition and Student Fees
     • Gifts and Grants
     • Indirect Cost Recoveries
     • Sales and Services of Educational Departments
     • Other Sources
  3. Sponsored Operations
     Revenues from sponsor reimbursement of direct costs of sponsored research, instruction and other sponsored institutional activities.
  4. Departmental Sales and Services
     Revenues collected on behalf of a specific program to be used solely for that program, such as students are charged a computer fee to be used to maintain the computer facilities they use and colleges charge fees for non-credit courses offered to businesses and the community.
  5. GTRC and GTF
     Limited resources are available from the Georgia Tech Research Corporation and from the unrestricted (not designated for specific purposes) endowment of the Georgia Tech Foundation.
• Distinctions in Sources of Revenue
  Sponsored operations and departmental sales and services revenues are collected to support a specific project or program and therefore are limited in their use to that project or program alone. GTF funds are generally used to support students, faculty and staff in non-research activities. GTRC funds are generally allocated to students, faculty and staff for research purposes. State appropriations and internal revenue, on the other hand, can be used for any part of the Resident Instruction program, including state-funded research activities.

   

  Separate processes are used to allocate the funds from the different sources. Resident Instruction funding is usually placed in a unit's budget and forms the base budget for the next year. Additional money added to the base is called "new workload" funds. Generally, the base plus new workload forms the base for the following fiscal year. Funds from the Foundation and the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, on the other hand, are more likely to be treated as one-time grants.

The budget for each department or project should be amended to reflect the current estimate of expenditures and income (if applicable) for the fiscal year. The following list shows some, but not all types of transactions that would require a budget amendment:

1. Establish a budget amount or change the amount budgeted for non-personal services expenditures, such as travel, operating supplies and expense, and equipment.
2. Establish a budget amount or change the amount budgeted for anticipated income (revenue and departmental sales and services) for the fiscal year.
3. Establish or change the amount budgeted for a vacant position.
4. Make an approved increase or decrease to your original budget amount.

Capital projects, generally those costing more than $1 million, are funded from various sources. These sources, which include State of Georgia, Board of Regents, Georgia Tech Foundation, and campus funds, usually dictate who has administration of the project.

The State of Georgia funds the construction of buildings and the Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission (GSFIC) coordinates the project and disburses the funds.

The Board of Regents (BOR) receives an allocation from the state legislature referred to as Major Repair and Rehabilitation (MRR) funds. The MRR Fund is generally used for projects costing less than $1 million. The Board of Regents allocates these funds to the various units of the University System. These funds may be funneled through GSFIC if they are bond funds. The administration of the project may be handled by GSFIC or Georgia Tech depending on the type of project.

The Georgia Tech Foundation (GTF) funds various capital projects on campus. GTF retains administration of some of the projects and the facilities office/plant operations administers the remainder. These GTF projects require prior approval from the Board of Regents.

Some projects are funded by resources held by Georgia Tech, i.e. discretionary endowment funds and Auxiliary Enterprises reserve funds. These projects are controlled by Georgia Tech personnel after receiving Board of Regents approval.

Commitment Accounting Requirements - General
Georgia Tech departments are required to:

• Review and reconcile salary and fringe benefit data in a timely manner,
• Establish position funding for filled positons,
• Submit, review, and approve transactions in a timely manner.

If a department is awaiting funding from internal or external awards, salary and fringe benefits must be allocated to the undesignated driver worktag, or another discretionary funding source. Departments should not allocate salary and fringe benefits from delayed funds to the suspense worktag for their Department, or another grant.

Change Position Funding (CPF)
When salary and fringe benefit distribution for a future pay period needs to be updated, Departments must follow the requirements outlined below to execute a CPF transaction.

Express Direct Retro (EDR)

If the salary and fringe benefit distribution for a prior pay period within the current fiscal year needs to be corrected, Departments must follow the requirements outlined below to execute an EDR transaction.

Late EDR - Special Documentation Requirements and Limitations for Externally-funded Sponsored Awards and Cost Share

Per 2CFR §200.431, EDR salary distribution changes that add salary charges to externally-fundedsponsored awards and cost share worktags must be accompanied by a written (or system-recorded) justification statement at an appropriate level of detail. Specific reasons for the transfer must be provided in the explanation. Cost transfer requests of this type that are not properly documented with an acceptable justification statement will be moved to the unit's sponsored undesignated worktag number by the Commitment Accounting central office and must be reallocated off of undesignated by the end of the fiscal year.  

EDR salary cost transfers to externally-funded sponsored projects beyond 90 days of the original expense posting will not be allowed under normal circumstances. Exceptions to the 90 day limit must be approved by the Commitment Accounting Manager (Institute Budget Planning and Administration Office) , Sr. Director of Grants and Contracts Accounting (Grants and Contracts Accounting Office), and Vice President for Research Administration (Georgia Tech Research Corporation). Exceptions will be considered when:

• Initial or continued sponsor funding is delayed beyond 90 days after the effective date, and the transfer is requested within the reporting period of the sponsored award (typically 60-90 days after the expiration date of the award).
• The terms and conditions of the sponsored agreement provide for acceptance and payment of the expenses covered by the proposed cost transfer and appropriate supporting documentation is provided.
• Other exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Senior Director of Grants and Contracts, and/or the Vice President for Research.

When a request doesn’t meet the one of the exceptions above, the Vice President of Finance and Planning (Administration and Finance Office) may also be required to approve the over 90 days EDR request.

Transfers between grants associated with the same sponsored award and sponsored gifts not identified as cost share projects funded by the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech Research Corporation are not subject to special documentation requirements or the 90 day limitation.

Invalid Funding / Suspense

Departments must run and review the Invalid Funding Report daily and correct entries found on the report prior to payroll processing for the pay period. In order to correct the invalid funding entries, a change position funding transaction must be submitted and approved.

Failure to correct invalid funding entries before the payroll is processed for the period will cause the allocations to post to a suspense worktag. If suspense transactions are not corrected in a timely manner, the transactions will be transferred to departmental undesignated driver worktags or cost overrun.

Major Categories of Fees.  Georgia Tech levies the following two major types of fees:

• Other Elective Fees and Special Charges – fees and charges that are paid selectively by students;
• Mandatory Fees – fees that are assessed to all students, all undergraduate students, or all full-time undergraduate students on one or more campuses. These fees are NOT governed by this policy.  See the following Institute policy: Mandatory Student Fee and Budget Review. 

Review and Approval Process.  Approval by the President of Georgia Tech is required for all elective fees and special charges per the Board of Regents (BOR) policy but Georgia Tech must annually report to the Chancellor any new fees or adjustments to existing fees. All fee changes are implemented in the following academic year, beginning with the fall semester. The following are four exceptions to the president’s autonomous approval authority:

Fees for All Students in a Grade Level – approval by the BOR, following the same approval process as for mandatory student fees, of any fee or special charge that is required to be paid by any subgroup of students categorized solely by grade level or previous credit hours earned, such as a fee that applies to all freshman (no fees in this category currently in place at Georgia Tech);.

Fees for Students in a Specific Degree Program – approval by the BOR of an elective fee or special charge required for all students in a specific degree program or in a specific course, with the exception of laboratory fees and supplemental course material fees;

Housing and Food Service Fees – approval by the USG chief fiscal officer of housing fees for on-campus facilities and fees paid by students who choose a campus food service plan.

General Guidelines for Review of Elective Fees.  Increases in all elective fees should be kept moderate and gradual. Fees approved under this policy must be reviewed by the Bursar's Office to determine the most appropriate way to assess and collect these fees; all approved fees must be administered and collected directly by the Bursar’s Office. Elective fees and special charges are reviewed on an annual basis to determine use, effectiveness, and appropriateness for continuation.

Services Funded through Fees.  Departments and schools are expected to cover normal instructional costs within their General Operations budgets, and elective fees and special charges should be needed only in exceptional situations. The financial needs of the department or school must be weighed against the impact of the fees on students and the cost of administering the fees (assessment and collection costs). The purpose of assessing an elective fee is to fund specific, unique costs that are the result of an educational choice made by the student. Fees must be used to augment, rather than replace, general budgeted funds for departmental instructional costs.

The following are examples of what may be funded through elective fees and special charges:

• Cost of providing course materials to be consumed, retained or used by the student;
• Special costs associated with the use of Institute-owned tools and equipment for non-mandatory, special supplemental academic programs or educational experiences that directly benefit students;
• Cost of other materials, equipment, or services necessary to provide a special supplemental educational experience or program of direct benefit to the student;
• Salary and fringe benefit cost of laboratory assistants for the time spent in a specific lab for which lab fees are charged;
• Doctoral binding fees and transcript fees.

This policy specifically excludes the following cost items to be paid through elective fees:

• Salaries, wages, and employee benefits of faculty involved in course instruction;
• Instructional equipment located and utilized in classrooms and labs primarily during scheduled periods of instruction;
• Reproduction of copyrighted materials or course syllabi.

Some grants and/or contracts awarded to the Institute are considered “firm fixed price” contracts. For these types of contracts, a unit will produce a product for a pre-set price. (Most other grants and contracts are based on reimbursement of actual expenditures.) If a product is delivered and not all the sponsor funds have been utilized, the department may request the remaining funds.

Georgia Tech allocates 30% of the Resident Instruction F&A (facilities and admin) indirect cost recoveries generated by academic units back to those units. This includes all colleges. Depending on actual performance, a unit may generate additional or reduced budget allocations each fiscal year. Incentive allocations are approved by executive staff, subject to availability of funds. The allocation is made to the college level (not the department level), and funds are distributed at the discretion of each dean.

The Georgia Institute of Technology Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee (“Committee”) is created to implement the provisions of Board of Regents Policy 7.3.2.1 and thereby to ensure student input on changes to mandatory student fees. The Committee shall make recommendations to the President on changes to existing mandatory student fees or on any new mandatory fees. Fees considered by the Committee shall exclude elective fees that are paid by the students who choose to receive specific services. “Mandatory student fees” are defined in the Board of Regents' Policy manual as follows: “… fees that are assessed to all students, all undergraduate students, or all full-time undergraduate students on one or more campuses of a USG institution.”

Committee Members

The Committee shall be composed of twelve voting members selected as follows:

• Eight students appointed by the Graduate and Undergraduate Presidents of the Student Government Associations (SGA);
• Two faculty members appointed by the Provost;
• The Executive Director, Institute Budget Planning and Administration (IBPA), or his/her appointee (permanent member of Committee);
• One additional staff member appointed by the Executive Vice President, Administration and Finance (EVP A&F).

The two faculty members and the second staff member shall serve two year terms. The Committee is co-chaired by one of the eight student members appointed by the SGA Presidents and by the Executive Director, IBPA or his/her appointee. The IBPA Office provides staff assistance to the Committee and submits the required documentation to the BOR in support of Georgia Tech’s fee recommendations.

In addition, there shall be non-voting, ex officio members of the Committee as follows, unless these individuals are appointed as part of the twelve voting members. The ex-officio student Committee members shall be the Presidents of the Graduate and Undergraduate Student Government Associations, the Editor of The Technique, the Vice President for Finance and Chair of the Joint Finance Committee, and any other students appointed by the Student Government Association Presidents. Ex-officio faculty and staff Committee members shall be the Vice President for Student Life, the Vice President for Campus Services, and up to two faculty or staff appointed by the Provost or Executive Vice President, Administration and Finance.  Ex-officio members may fully participate in all business of the Committee except that they shall not have voting privileges. 

Fees Reviewed by Committee

Below are the fees for which the Committee provides recommendations to the President, along with the organizations that provide recommendations to the Committee:

• Technology Fee – Technology Fee Committee (for recommendations on total fee amount only and not on projects to be funded)
• Transportation Fee – Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee
• Student Health Fee – Student Health Advisory Committee
• Student Activity Fee – Student Government Association
• CRC (Campus Recreation Center) Operations Fee – CRC Advisory Committee
• Student Center Operations Fee – Student Center Advisory Board
• Athletic Fee – Georgia Tech Athletic Association
• Recreation Fee – covers debt service on Campus Recreation Center (fixed fee for term of lease on CRC).

In addition to input from the advisory organizations listed, the SGA is encouraged to solicit input on mandatory fees from students through other means, including surveys and town hall meetings. Excluded from the Committee’s review are any “general purpose fees” approved by the BOR, as stated in BOR policy 7.3.2.1. Other offices or student organizations also may propose new fees to the Committee. It would be up to the Committee Co-Chairs and the SGA presidents whether such proposals are to be considered.

Committee Operations

The Committee is responsible for reviewing proposals for rate changes to current mandatory student fees and any newly proposed mandatory fees, and to review budgets funded from the fees. Following its review and votes on the fees, the Committee provides its recommendations to the Georgia Tech president, who submits the requests to the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia for review and final consideration by the Board of Regents. The Georgia Tech president’s recommendations to the Chancellor may differ from the Committee’s recommendations.

The following guidelines shall govern voting by the MSFAC:

1. The Committee votes on all mandatory fees, whether changes are proposed or not, and on proposals to add any new fees or to reduce existing fees.
2. Where a staff Committee member works in a program funded through a fee, he or she must recuse him/herself from the vote on that particular fee.
3. When a Committee member is absent from a meeting, a substitute may be requested for that member, subject to approval of the co-chairs.
4. In no case shall the number of voting student members at a meeting fall below one-half of the total voting Committee members.

The Committee meeting schedule must provide recommendations to the President in sufficient time for submission of proposals to the Chancellor in accordance with the BOR calendar. Accordingly, the Committee should strive to complete its review and prepare a preliminary recommendation prior to the end of the fall semester. The staff chair will coordinate with BOR staff to ensure that fee recommendations are made on a timely basis. Submitting organizations are responsible for preparing the forms required by the BOR and by Georgia Tech to support fee submissions, with the assistance of the Office of Institute Budget Planning and Administration.

For each mandatory fee program the submission shall include the following documents for review by the Committee.  These shall be available to the members in advance of committee meetings. 

• Overview of the fee, including the following: (a) current and proposed fee levels, (b) the previous year’s revenue generated, (c) the fee review/advisory organization, and (d) the current uses of the revenue’
• All required BOR forms, including the fee request form, financial data form, and detail of revenue projection’
• Presentation that includes the following:
  • Detailed description of services provided, including utilization data
  • Budget summary for the current and following fiscal year
  • Fee increase request, if appropriate, with a description of how the students will benefit from the increase and the impact if the increase is not approved
  • If there was a fee increase for the current year, how the new funding is being used, compared to the proposal to the prior year’s Committee
  • How the program has either generated cost savings or additional revenue outside of the student fee and, if requested by the Committee, how the program would absorb a reduction in the student fee;
  • Evidence of students’ satisfaction in the services provided by the unit.

The President of Georgia Tech, within the constraints established by the Board of Regents, ultimately determines Georgia Tech’s internal budget allocations within the constraints imposed by sponsoring organizations, donors, and the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia. Georgia Tech's internal budget process requires all campus units to develop requests on the basis of the Strategic Plan of Georgia Tech and their own strategic plans. Institute executive staff receive input from the college deans and directors of other units and also from committees that make recommendations on fees for the coming year.

The following factors enter into decisions about resource allocations to colleges and other units:

• Revenue projections, including the level of expected state funding and tuition and fee and other revenue
• Budget requests from the units
• Expected impact of requests on Georgia Tech’s overall strategic plan and on individual unit plans
• Committee recommendations

The process begins in the fall with a review by executive staff and division heads of performance metrics that are to be used to help determine budget allocations. The process also involves the review of mandatory and elective fee increase requests from Auxiliary and other units funded through student fees and development of tuition recommendations to be provided to the BOR. In the first half of the fiscal year, units are required to prepare budget requests for the following fiscal year. Budget proposals address funding above base budgets and, if required, reallocations or reductions. Requests include the assignment of unit specific priorities and an explanation of how the requests address their strategic plans. 

• Departments are allowed to “pre-budget” up to but not exceeding the total actual revenue earned in the prior fiscal year. Actuals information is provided by the Bursar’s Office. The 5% administrative overhead retained by the Institute should not be included in the department’s budget. It is the responsibility of units to submit a budget amendment in September to receive their early allocations.
• The Bursar’s Office will report to units the actual Fall and Spring differentials and studies abroad revenue earned. Fall totals will be reported no later than the first work day of December, and Spring totals no later than the first work day of May. Units will be required to adjust any pre-budgeted September amount to the actual differentials/study abroad revenues earned in the current fiscal year. For departments that chose not to take advantage of the “pre-budget” opportunity in September, the current year actual revenue amount must all be budgeted no later than the May budget amendment. Board of Regents policy requires that available allocations must be expended during the same fiscal year that the revenues are earned.
  • When students are enrolled in dual degree programs with differentials, both programs will receive a portion of the total differential paid. The distribution is determined by the ratio of differentials to each other between two programs. A template for calculating the split of such differentials is available on the Budget Office website (See Appendix A for a sample).
  • Summer semester revenues: Units receive 60% of the upcoming summer revenue in the current fiscal year. The remaining 40% will be budgeted for the following fiscal year. This split coincides with requirements for reporting Summer tuition & fees from all sources to the Board of Regents. If desired, a carry-forward of the current year’s 60% may be requested via e-mail to the unit’s assigned budget analyst, no later than May 31. For purposes of estimating the 60%, the maximum allowed carry-forward is 60% of the PRIOR summer’s revenue. A ‘true up’ opportunity is provided in the next fiscal year after Summer semester ends and information about actual revenue earned is provided by the Bursar’s Office in September (See Appendix B for an example of budgeting adjustments).

Units should contact their assigned analysts with any questions or concerns regarding the procedure. To look up the contact information for the analyst assigned to a division/department, go to "Institute Budget Planning & Administration Staff" and click on the link “Budget Analyst Assignments” below the list of Budget Development & Management staff.

General Operations Funds
At the beginning of each fiscal year, an expense budget is established for General Operations funded projects. These budgets are funded by the following revenue streams: State Appropriations, Indirect Cost Recoveries, Tuition, and Other General. During the year the Institute may allocate additional budget authority to units, depending on need and funding availability. At year end budgets should equal expenditures plus encumbrances (total expenses). When a college or other division’s spending exceeds or is less than the final amended budget, either an adjustment must be made to balance the total Institute budget or a documented carry forward plan must be in place.

Departmental Sales Funds
Please refer to the DSS policy for DSS carry forward requirements and request forms; http://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/business-finance/departmental-sales-and-services-dss  

Operating Deficits
Audit guidelines state that Institutions shall not overspend their Board of Regents approved budget authority, nor will expenses exceed revenues. When budgets are overspent or expenses exceed revenues, an operating deficit is created. Before the fiscal year can be closed, the operating deficits must be corrected. To help facilitate more effective management of the Institute’s budget as a whole, divisions will be responsible for any year end deficits that are not previously approved by the administration.

Surplus
A division may request the return of surplus funds at year-end for use in the next fiscal year, often referred to as a “carry forward of funds.” To meet the needs of the division, the Office of Institute Budget Planning and Administration (“Budget Office”) must manage the carry forward in the year of close and in the following year as well. Because of the restrictive state rules governing carrying forward funds and year-end closing, surplus/carry forward arrangements must be documented and reviewed to ensure proper accounting and budgeting methods have been followed. This policy establishes carry forward guidelines to ensure that all requirements are met.