Academic Budget and Planning

The Division of Academic Affairs encompasses nine colleges and schools, University Studies, International and English Language programs, and major academic and student support functions including Student Affairs, the Library, the Registrar, Advising and Career Services, the Office of Academic Innovation, the Learning Center, the Office of International Affairs, and others. These units constitute about two-thirds of the University’s General Fund budget. The division also includes large auxiliary units like University Housing and Residence Life and the Student Health and Counseling Center, as well as many support services funded from student fees.

The role of Academic Budget and Planning is to lead the process of making budget allocation decisions across the units that make up Academic Affairs, design resource strategies that provide the foundation for fiscal health at PSU, empower units to build their programs, provide strong managerial incentives, coordinate resources, and implement major institutional strategies.

We do this several ways including:

• Support the University’s financial sustainability efforts. Allocating resources within the division and implementing institutional financial strategies. See IPEB process and Principled Decision Making Framework
• Developing models to guide resource allocation. See Academic Budget Model
• Advising the Provost, Deans, and Vice Provosts on fiscal strategies
• Conducting strategic analysis and planning
   

Academic Affairs Request Process

Effective August 2026

FY 2026-27 is an important year to ensure our financial sustainability while continuing to prioritize our students and delivery of our Future in Focus in the midst of many leadership and structural changes.  To support this ongoing work, and to allow time for Provost Williams to realign academic resources with the strategic visions, the following changes are being made to the Academic Affairs Hiring Request Process:

General Funds and Other E&G (i.e., online fee, course fees, F&A) funded positions

Tenure-related and NTTF-CA eligible instructional positions

Decisions on recruitment of all tenure-related and NTTF-CA eligible positions are on hold until Spring 2027.  

NTTF-Instructional Fixed-Term Faculty Positions

One-year fixed-term instructional faculty positions that meet immediate instructional needs, and are funded within available resources, can be submitted in PeopleAdmin for approval. 

Academic Professional, Classified and Un-Un Positions

Recruiting of vacant and new positions is paused until December 31, 2026.

For Department Chair/Equivalent, Associate Dean, or Assistant Dean positions, renewals or current employees that are being newly appointed into current positions should follow the search waiver guidelines the OAA process for appointment and will move forward in PeopleAdmin.

Adjunct Instructional and Graduate Assistant positions

Positions that meet immediate instructional needs and are funded within available resources can proceed as normal.

Positions that have been approved in PeopleAdmin can continue. 

Exception Process

It is recognized that there may need to be limited exceptions due to multiple vacancies that may impact our ability to serve our students, support our faculty, or negatively impact the service the unit provides. 

• Requests should align with the following priority areas:
  • Enrollment Stabilizations: Does the position support an increase in enrollment or help stabilize enrollment? Will there be a negative impact on enrollment if the hiring of the position is delayed or not hired? 
  • Persistence, Retention and Graduation: Does the position positively impact, at scale, retention and graduation rates? Will there be a negative impact on retention and graduation if the hiring of the position is delayed or not hired?
  • Clear Pathways: Does this position impact academic programs or non-academic initiatives that serve students and improve the college success rate? Will there be a negative impact on students if hiring of the position is delayed or not hired? 
  • Operations and Compliance: How does this position impact operational needs and support to students and/or faculty? Will there be increased barriers to the services provided if there is a delay in hiring this position? Does delaying or not hiring the position create a compliance risk?
• Requests for exceptions should begin with a conversation between the Deans/Dean equivalent, Vice Provosts, as applicable, and the Provost and the Vice Provost for Academic Budget and Planning. Following the conversation, the Provost will advise if a formal request should be made in writing. 
• The request should detail the following:
  • Detailed description of why it is not possible to wait to fill the position. The description should be tailored for your area and should include details on the impact of the services provided and the priorities outlined abocv. If the request is tied to areas that have compliance requirements or standard ratios for the services provided (i.e. Advising), those details should be included in the request.
  • Detailed description of alternatives explored and why they would not work in this situation. Alternatives could be the use of adjuncts, wage agreements, overloads, pausing a service, etc.
  • Organization chart, if applicable.

Restricted/Grant funds, Foundation funds, State Targeted Funds, Designated Operations and Auxiliaries (i.e. Housing, SHAC, Helen Gordon, Student Fee Funded Areas) funded positions.

Recruiting of open and new positions can continue as long as there is available funding and appropriate end dates for limited duration funding. Requests should be discussed between the relevant Vice Provost or Dean prior to submission.

PeopleAdmin Review Process

PeopleAdmin workflow requires all major and minor modifications to receive Provost Approval to ensure there are sufficient resources to support the hiring request. This approval has been delegated to the Vice Provost for Academic Budget and Planning (VPABP). Specifics on the review process is as follows:

• The Academic Affairs Hiring Form is no longer required. This may be reintroduced during VPABP absences. 
• Review for General and Other E&G funded Areas (i.e. online fee, course fees, F&A):  Following the exception request between the relevant Vice Provost or Dean and the Provost, the Provost will confirm that the position can move forward. 
• Review for Restricted funds, Foundation funds, State Targeted Funds, Designated Operations and Auxiliaries (i.e. Housing, SHAC, Helen Gordon, Student Fee Funded Areas) funded positions:  It is assumed that the relevant Vice Provost or Dean has confirmed their support for the position. The relevant Vice Provost or Dean may have their own review requirements prior to the PeopleAdmin submission process.
• Comments should be added to either the initial request field or the fund builder section in PeopleAdmin in order to address any potential questions regarding funds available to support the request. If funding does not appear available for the position, questions will be sent to the initiator and the Senior Fiscal Officer.

Integrated Planning of Enrollment and Budget (IPEB)

The Integrated Planning of Enrollment and Budget (IPEB) is the annual process that is used by the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) to support strategic enrollment management, unit level strategic planning and resource allocation in a transparent and efficient manner. The IPEB process is reviewed and agreed between the Faculty Senate Budget Committee, Provost and the Office of Academic Budget and Planning.  This process requires input and collaborations from the following groups:

• College, School and Academic Support unit leadership and fiscal officers
• Faculty Senate Budget Committee (FSBC)
• Enrollment Forecast Review Team (EFRT), which includes Enrollment Management, Graduate School, Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP), Budget Office, and Student Success
• Academic Leadership Team
• University Budget Office

The IPEB Process requires the following materials to be prepared by the College, School and Academic Support units (if applicable). The Principled Decision Making Framework and the Faculty Senate Budget Committee (FSBC) Budget Principles are useful references to support decisions and preparation of the materials.
 

The Principled Decision Making Framework provides a framework and discussion guide that can be used consistently across academic and academic support units to support decision making with the goal of partnership, equity, accountability and awareness. Discussions should be opportunity based, and consider what we want/need to accomplish and how we use our resources to have a thriving school/college/department, rather than deficit based that focuses solely on budget.  Utilization and engagement with this framework may take various forms with the below steps occurring across multiple time periods, consistent with PSU’s policies and collective bargaining agreements.

Academic Budget Model

Several years of operating under PSU’s Performance-Based Budgeting (PBB) model showed some of what worked well and what could work better with this model. Provost Jeffords and the Academic Leadership Team decided to launch a project to refine the model to guide budget allocation decisions within Academic Affairs so that it is both more responsive to the performance objectives that define PBB and that the definition of performance be expanded to encompass more dimensions of a unit’s contribution to PSU’s fiscal health. This would include contributions to student success, cooperation and collaboration, and the University’s research and service missions.

In academic year 19-20, a working group was convened to develop a model for resource allocation within Academic Affairs that would integrate multiple factors and balance responsiveness and stability in connecting funding to underlying activity. A final report was issued in June 2021 that details the result of this work. The budget model is used as a tool to inform budget scenarios during the IPEB process but does not determine final allocations.

Our goal in allocating resources is to create a sustainable academic enterprise that serves current and future students. The foundation for this is a strong faculty bolstered by effective support services, which requires balanced investments. 

Once the units (e.g., the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) receive their allocation, they make the decisions on how to allocate those resources to departments (e.g., History) and to particular uses (e.g., faculty salaries, office supplies, etc.).  Any budget funds not used by the end of the year are “carried over” and held in management reserves controlled by the college or major unit, encouraging each budget unit to take a multi-year approach to managing resources.

In addition to making the decision on allocations to the units, the Office of the Provost monitors the alignment between plans and actual activity during the year, coordinates initiatives between units, encourages consistent fiscal and managerial practices, and provides funding to advance institutional objectives.