Policy
Original Issuance Date: November 1994
Last Revision Date: December 18, 2025
1. Policy Purpose
This policy provides direction regarding budget monitoring within the systemwide financial system and the need to adjust institutional Annual Operating Budgets during the fiscal year.
2. Responsible UW System Officer
Senior Associate Vice President for Finance
3. Scope
This policy affects any individual who executes, manages, and approves budget amendments including chief business officers, budget directors, and controllers.
4. Background
At the beginning of each fiscal year, the approved UW System Annual Operating budget is loaded into the systemwide financial system. During the fiscal year, institutions often find it necessary to adjust their Annual Operating Budget due to unanticipated savings or shifting of institutional priorities. These budget amendments may be to budget accounts, cost centers, or driver worktags. Budget amendments are processed to affect a change for the current fiscal year only. It is expected that institutions will make all permanent budget adjustments through the Annual Budget process.
In addition, funding for some programs is budgeted on a systemwide basis and allocated to the institutions during the fiscal year via budget amendments. Budget amendments are also prepared for supplemental funding and/or spending authority approved by the Department of Administration (DOA). This policy applies to any changes made to the Board of Regents approved Annual Operating Budget.
5. Definitions
Annual Appropriations (Annual): An authorization that is expendable only up to the amount appropriated by the Legislature and only for the fiscal year for which it is appropriated. Amounts appropriated but unexpended or unencumbered generally lapse to the fund from which they are appropriated at the end of each fiscal year.
Annual Operating Budget: The UW System budget is based upon the State’s biennial budget signed by the Governor and annually approved by the Board of Regents.
Biennial Appropriations (Biennial): An appropriation that is expendable only during the biennium for which appropriated by the Legislature. The amounts appropriated for each fiscal year represent the most reliable estimates of the amounts that will be expended in each fiscal year. For accounting purposes, the appropriation for the first year of a biennium is the sum of the expenditures for that fiscal year plus the encumbrances at the close of that year. The appropriation for the second year is the unexpended and unencumbered balance of the appropriation at the end of the first fiscal year. Amounts appropriated but unexpended or unencumbered at the end of a biennium lapse to the fund from which they are appropriated.
Block Grants: The consolidation of General Purpose Revenue (GPR) appropriations into one GPR “block grant” to fund general program operations and one GPR debt service appropriation.
Budget Categories: The major revenue categories utilized in the Annual Operating Budget, including:
- General Purpose Revenue (GPR): General purpose revenues consist of general taxes, miscellaneous receipts and revenues collected by state agencies that are deposited into the general fund and are available for appropriation by the legislature.
- Program Revenue (PR): Program revenues consist of revenues that are deposited into the general fund and are credited by law to an appropriation to finance a specified program or state agency.
- PR_SPNS – Program revenues related to sponsored funds (FD0133 and FD0232)
- Segregated Funds (SEG): Segregated fund revenues are revenues, which by law, are deposited into funds other than the general fund and are available for the purposes for which such funds are created.
- Program Revenue-State (PR-S): State revenues are moneys received from the state government which may be deposited as program revenues in the general fund.
- Program Revenue-Federal (PR-F): Federal revenues are moneys received from the federal government which may be deposited as program revenues in the general fund or as segregated revenues in the segregated fund to finance specific purposes.
- PR-F_SPNS – Federal revenues related to sponsored funds (FD0142, FD0143, FD0144)
Continuing Appropriations (Continuing): An appropriation that is expendable until fully depleted or repealed by subsequent action of the Legislature. The appropriation for any fiscal year consists of the ending balance from the previous fiscal year plus the revenues received or the new appropriation authority granted in the current fiscal year. Specific dollar amounts appearing in any type of appropriation listing or schedule only represent the most reliable estimates of the amounts to be expended or encumbered during any given fiscal year and are not considered as limiting.
Function Codes: University expenditures are recorded by functions established by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) for higher education operating activity. The NACUBO function codes are Student Services, Institutional Support, Instruction, Hospital, Research, Public Service, Academic Support, Physical Plant, Auxiliary Enterprises and Financial Aid. UW System institutions use an additional function code, Farm Operations, that is not defined by NACUBO.
Prior Year Encumbrances: The purchase order carryover encumbrance balance recorded in the systemwide financial system and certified by each institution as part of the prior year end closing.
Sum Sufficient Appropriations (Sum Sufficient): An authorization which is expendable from the indicated source of funds in the amounts necessary or sufficient to accomplish the purpose for which provided. The amounts appropriated represent the most reliable estimate of the amounts that will be needed for the stated purpose.
Systemwide Financial System: Accounting system used by UW System institutions to account for all transactions including assets, liabilities, fund equity, revenues, expenditures, and budget amendments.
6. Policy Statement
At the beginning of each fiscal year, each institution’s final approved Annual Operating Budget is loaded into the systemwide financial system. Institutions enter their Prior Year Encumbrance data into the systemwide financial system. The institution must initiate the appropriate budget amendment action according to SYS 308.A, Budget Amendment Process. Institutions are also responsible for monitoring their budgets. If, during the fiscal year, an institution determines it may be in an overdraft status in a GPR appropriation or GPR salaries budget account by fiscal year end, the institution must initiate the appropriate shift of expenditures to other funding sources. There should be no overdrafts on final, year-end GPR reports.
If it is determined that net institutional appropriation totals and/or budget account levels need to be adjusted, these can be entered by the institutions according to the Appropriation Structure. Budget amendments between different block grants are not allowed. However, budget amendments between funds within a specific block grant are allowable.
Auxiliary Operations, PR-Continuing, PR-F-Continuing, and SEG-Continuing budget increases/decreases may be entered by staff at UW institutions. Changes on SEG-Annual funding require prior UW System Administration approval. Increases for all other appropriations must be approved and entered by UW System Administration.
A. DOA Allotment Lines
UW budget activity should reconcile to DOA budget activity. DOA uses the following allotment lines:
| DOA Account | DOA Allotment Description |
| A000000 | Unallocated Reserve |
| A000001 | Permanent/Project Salaries |
| A000002 | LTE/Miscellaneous Salaries |
| A000003 | Fringe Benefits |
| A000004 | Supplies and Services/ Permanent Property |
| A000005 | Debt Service |
| A000006 | Local Assistance/Aids to Indiv and Org |
| A000007 | Special Purpose |
While the UW System no longer budgets by DOA budget category, all UW accounts used for budget amendments are mapped to one of the DOA allotment lines.
B. Intra-institutional Budget Amendments
Intra-institutional budget account shifts may be entered by staff at institutions, with the exception of GPR Salaries or Fringe Benefits. Institutions are not authorized to increase GPR Salaries or Fringe Benefits over their Annual Operating Budget balance.
All intra-institutional amendments involving program shifts must be entered by the institutions into the systemwide financial system. Institutions are expected to meet departmental needs for budget increases/decreases and account shifts through use of campus-wide clearing departments.
C. Inter-institutional Budget Amendments
Inter-institutional budget amendment requests require UW System Administration (UWSA) approval and must include detailed reasoning for the amendment and/or award letter and a completed budget transfer request form with the appropriate coding and the name of the individual responsible for the funding at the institutional level. Once approved, the budget amendment will be entered by UWSA staff into the systemwide financial system.
D. GPR Revenue Budget Amendments
When processing expense budget amendments involving GPR funds across cost centers, a corresponding revenue adjustment must also be submitted to reallocate revenue between those cost centers. This reallocation should utilize ledger account 4051 (Tuition-Based GPR Revenue). The purpose of this revenue adjustment is to ensure alignment between budgeted GPR revenue and associated budgeted GPR expenditures. Institutions may choose to include the revenue lines on the same budget amendment as the expense budget amendment or complete the revenue budget amendment during their month-end close process.
E. Reconciliation/Monitoring
UWSA shall ensure full use of all GPR appropriations and will reconcile the appropriation budget accounts contained in the systemwide financial system with those of the State of Wisconsin accounting system. If necessary, allotment transfer requests will be initiated on a periodic basis, according to the reconciliation and projected trends in expenditure patterns.
Systemwide budget status and amendment activity will also by monitored by UWSA using the systemwide financial system. While most budget amendments are not required to be submitted for prior approval, such movements will be monitored through monthly reconciliations by UWSA. If an apparent problem exists, UWSA will notify the appropriate institution(s). Institutions are expected to take any necessary corrective action in a timely manner.
7. Related Documents
SYS 308.A, Budget Amendment Process
Appropriation Structure
Amendment Type Details
Function Code and Definition Listing
UW System Annual Operating Budgets
8. Policy History
Revision 4: December 18, 2025
Revision 3: November 11, 2022
Revision 2: March 22, 2022
Revision 1: December 12, 1996
First Approved: November 1994
9. Scheduled Review
December 2030