01/25/2021
By Steve O'Riordan

The spending controls and approval process instituted in the last year will continue with the spring term and until further notice. The controls originally outlined in the Chancellor’s message to the campus community on June 25, are due to the university facing ongoing significant budget pressures for this fiscal year. As a reminder we will be maintaining the strict budget controls and approval processes implemented in FY20.
Department managers must ensure that spending is only for mission-critical program support, defined as:

  1. Our campus-based and online learning programs
  2. The academic success, health, well-being and safety of our students, including those learning on campus and remotely and those students in our residence halls
  3. Efforts to attract, enroll and retain students
  4. Targeted efforts to generate significant external revenues (e.g., research, sponsorships, gifts)
  5. The maintenance of critical campus operations and functions including emergency management, health and life safety.

In addition, the following controls are in place until further notice:

  1. All travel is suspended except for pre-approved grant-related travel. 
  2. Nonessential purchases cannot be made, including ordering food for meetings or reimbursements for catering or restaurant expenses for business purposes. 
  3. All expense reimbursements should be limited to mission-critical expenditures regardless of amount. They will be reviewed by department approvers and their vice chancellors or designees prior to reimbursement through payroll.
  4. BuyWays purchases should be limited to mission-critical expenditures regardless of amount. All purchases above $500 will require a vice chancellor or designee’s approval.
  5. Bank Card purchases should be limited to mission-critical expenditures regardless of amount. The limits for all Bank Cards will remain at $500 per transaction and/or $1,000 per cycle (billing month).
  6. Mission-critical Information Technology and other equipment purchases should be requisitioned normally through BuyWays and not purchased using the Bank Card or through business expense reimbursement.

Business Expense Review

  • The responsibility for reviewing and approving expense reports still falls on the expense manager of the department and it is imperative that this review and approval be restricted to mission-critical purchases. As a secondary step, all vice chancellors will be provided with a report of approved expense reports from their respective areas to ensure only mission-critical purchases are being approved by the expense managers.
  • Sales tax will not be approved for any business or travel reimbursement. To avoid personally incurring sales tax or any other unallowable expense, managers and university community members should be utilizing the BuyWays requisition system for all purchases. This will avoid a sales tax issue and proceed through the proper pre-purchase approval of mission critical items.
  • Sponsored contracts and grants will not be restricted but should be expended thoughtfully to meet the project goals and deliverables regardless of amount.
  • Only essential mission-critical spending will be allowed from discretionary funds including RIF, GPS department funds and unrestricted departmental gift funds.
  • Please review existing purchase orders, contracts and other planned spending and work with Financial Services staff to eliminate all non-essential commitments and encumbrances.
  • Finally, the university will continue to monitor and review all full-time and part-time personnel costs and requests through the Essential Hiring Committee.

Thank you for supporting these controls and doing your part to ensure our limited university resources are focused on the success and well-being of our campus community. Should you have any questions, please contact University Controller Brent Morgan via email at Brent_Morgan@uml.edu.