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.