Budget Overview - UMass Amherst Provost's Office

Provost's Office > Administrative Info: Financial > Budget Overview

Financial Sources

The Amherst campus is funded from multiple sources, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ annual legislative (state) appropriation, student fees, various fee-for-service revenues, grants and contracts, and several overhead return sources. In addition, money from gifts, interest on endowments, and patent royalties are beginning to play a larger role. (NOTE: While there is a tuition charge to students, most tuition revenues are returned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.)

Accounting Practices

The University follows the practices of "fund accounting" as defined by national accounting standards, whereby money is grouped into funds according to general origin. Each fund type is accounted for separately, following separate policies and procedures. A main feature of fund accounting is the rule that money from one fund type cannot be mixed with another fund type (thus reducing the arena for error or expenditure abuse). Fund accounting is used mostly by public agencies and not-for-profit organizations, organizations in which money is more commonly targeted to a specific purpose, for instance, by law or donor intent.

For the most part, Vice Chancellors of Executive Areas on campus are responsible for how, operationally, they manage the funds that come to their respective area, as long as University policies and procedures are followed. Communications about these are issued by the campus Budget Office to each executive area, and from there distributed to lower organizational levels according to the separate budget management practices followed by each Vice Chancellor.

Organizational Groupings for Academic Missions

The Academic Affairs Executive Area (one of 5 executive units) is headed by the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor. It includes nine Colleges and Schools, the Library, the Graduate School, Commonwealth College, the Research area, and Outreach unit, and various graduate and undergraduate support services, instructional programs and academic administrative offices.

Fiscal Year

The University, as a state public agency, follows the state’s fiscal year (FY), July 1 to June 30th, for most fund types, except grants and contracts (each of which has a unique begin and end date.)

Other Operational Facts

Financial managers and their business and bookkeeping support staff follow campus-wide procedures for obtaining money within each distinct fund type, and for processing both personnel and non-personnel expenditures. Either paper or electronic procedures are in place, depending on type of transaction. Except for certain state appropriated funds, the same expenditure procedures work for all of the different fund types (personnel appointment forms, purchase orders, contracts).

There are central campus service offices which issue policies and procedural instructions, including: Budget (http://www.umass.edu/af/budget/) , Human Resources (http://www.umass.edu/humres/) , Controller's (www.umass.edu/aco) , Procurement (www.umass.edu/procurement) , and Bursar's (www.umass.edu/bursar) offices. See the web Home Page for the Administration and Finance Executive Area (www.umass.edu/af) , and each of these Offices for the latest information.

The following links contain more detailed information about the most important budget allocations and other fund types available in the Academic Affairs Executive Area, and their respective operational procedures.

Operating Budget

Revenue Based Funds

Grants and Contracts

Research Trust Funds (RTF)

Gifts

		Budget Overview
		Provost's Office > Administrative Info: Financial > Budget Overview Financial Sources The Amherst campus is funded from multiple sources, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ annual legislative (state) appropriation, student fees, various fee-for-service revenues, grants and contracts, and several overhead return sources. In addition, money from gifts, interest on endowments, and patent royalties are beginning to play a larger role. (NOTE: While there is a tuition charge to students, most tuition revenues are returned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.) Accounting Practices The University follows the practices of "fund accounting" as defined by national accounting standards, whereby money is grouped into funds according to general origin. Each fund type is accounted for separately, following separate policies and procedures. A main feature of fund accounting is the rule that money from one fund type cannot be mixed with another fund type (thus reducing the arena for error or expenditure abuse). Fund accounting is used mostly by public agencies and not-for-profit organizations, organizations in which money is more commonly targeted to a specific purpose, for instance, by law or donor intent. For the most part, Vice Chancellors of Executive Areas on campus are responsible for how, operationally, they manage the funds that come to their respective area, as long as University policies and procedures are followed. Communications about these are issued by the campus Budget Office to each executive area, and from there distributed to lower organizational levels according to the separate budget management practices followed by each Vice Chancellor. Organizational Groupings for Academic Missions The Academic Affairs Executive Area (one of 5 executive units) is headed by the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor. It includes nine Colleges and Schools, the Library, the Graduate School, Commonwealth College, the Research area, and Outreach unit, and various graduate and undergraduate support services, instructional programs and academic administrative offices. Fiscal Year The University, as a state public agency, follows the state’s fiscal year (FY), July 1 to June 30th, for most fund types, except grants and contracts (each of which has a unique begin and end date.) Other Operational Facts Financial managers and their business and bookkeeping support staff follow campus-wide procedures for obtaining money within each distinct fund type, and for processing both personnel and non-personnel expenditures. Either paper or electronic procedures are in place, depending on type of transaction. Except for certain state appropriated funds, the same expenditure procedures work for all of the different fund types (personnel appointment forms, purchase orders, contracts). There are central campus service offices which issue policies and procedural instructions, including: Budget (http://www.umass.edu/af/budget/) , Human Resources (http://www.umass.edu/humres/) , Controller's (www.umass.edu/aco) , Procurement (www.umass.edu/procurement) , and Bursar's (www.umass.edu/bursar) offices. See the web Home Page for the Administration and Finance Executive Area (www.umass.edu/af) , and each of these Offices for the latest information. The following links contain more detailed information about the most important budget allocations and other fund types available in the Academic Affairs Executive Area, and their respective operational procedures. Operating Budget Revenue Based Funds Grants and Contracts Research Trust Funds (RTF) Gifts
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