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NUMBER: 225

SUBJECT: FUNDING POSITIONS - REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES

AUTHORIZING BODY: PRESIDENT'S CABINET

RESPONSIBLE OFFICE: OFFICE OF BUDGET AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

DATE ISSUED: APRIL, 2002

LAST UPDATE:

RATIONALE: Oakland University implemented the "position control process" on April 2, 2001 to assure that all hiring and commitment of salary and benefits is accompanied with the appropriate resource allocation. Position control is an administrative process that is designed to properly account for employee position funding and to insure that hiring is accompanied by timely resource matching. The following points will guide our hiring/funding practices beginning April 2, 2001. This document supersedes the interim position control measures described in the President’s memorandum of March 22, 2001. The Office of Budget and Financial Planning (Budget Office) is responsible for assuring that these regulations and procedures are implemented and followed.

POLICY :

General Points

It is the intent of these regulations to insure that funding for new hires, replacements, reclassifications, upgrades, promotions and other personnel matters is allocated and attached to the position before any action is taken to administratively implement the hire or take a personnel action.
When raises are issued, the appropriate raise percentage for each vacant position will be added to the budget for that position to insure that positions remaining vacant for longer periods are appropriately increased.
When raises are issued, the appropriate raise percentage will be added to base funds remaining in each division’s permanent reallocation pool.
When a vacant position is filled after January 1^st in any fiscal year, and it is clearly understood that the salary offered will not otherwise be increased in the following fiscal year, the budget office will not increase the available funding for the position by the anticipated salary increase for that following year.
The rules below are applicable to positions funded by the general fund. It is expected that positions funded by grants, auxiliary and other funds will be funded at levels within the constraints of the applicable budgets but will not be subject to the controls noted below.
To effect these controls, the President and each Vice President will be provided with two divisional reallocation pool funds. One is for permanent base funding. These funds represent permanent savings that may be used by the division to cover base compensation related needs. A second fund is a temporary reallocation pool which will hold one-time savings from vacant positions and transfer funds back to departments to make payments for recruitment expenditures and temporary replacement costs, contingent upon approval by the Budget Office. Temporary replacement costs may exceed the hours or the salary rate of the previous incumbent, but the cost of the replacement may not exceed the salary savings from the vacancy. Fringes are granted based on the rate for casual employees. It is understood that these are one-time savings. Net base savings resulting after a position is filled will be transferred to the appropriate division vice president’s permanent reallocation pool.
Dollars allocated for faculty positions may not be used for or transferred to administrative positions. Dollars allocated for administrative positions may not be used for or transferred to faculty positions. Exceptions to this restriction may only be made by the President.
When an employee is moved to another position, the funding in the original position must stay with that position, not moved to the new position. If a transfer of funds to a new position is desired, that transfer must be approved by the President.

Faculty Position Funding Policies And Procedures Including Position Control

Funding Faculty Positions (Full time and visiting, not part time)

Faculty positions are established through allocations by the President and the Provost of either permanent base funding or annual one-time funding resources.
New faculty positions cannot be entered into the Banner HR or Finance systems until the Office of Budget and Financial Planning has verified that funding exists to support the position.
When a faculty position is vacated, the base salary budget for that position will be transferred to the Academic Affairs Permanent Reallocation Pool.
These savings may be used by the Provost with the President’s permission.
When a replacement is hired for an existing faculty position or a new faculty position is approved, the funds necessary to support that position will be transferred from the Academic Affairs Permanent Reallocation Pool.

Permanent, or Base Position Funding for Faculty Positions

On a permanent basis, if no change in salary results from the replacement/hire, no action is taken and the annual salary for that position is rolled forward for the next fiscal year in the respective department’s compensation budget.
On a permanent basis, if there are salary savings resulting from a replacement/ hire, the net savings will be held in the Provost’s base funding reallocation pool to be used to cover subsequent decisions to increase base funding for other positions.
On a permanent basis, if there is desire to increase base funding for a position, base funds must be identified before the employment offer may be made and this must be communicated to the Budget Office before the new hire can be entered into the Banner system. Generally this funding will come from the Provost’s base funding reallocation pool, unless the balance has been depleted.

One-Time and Temporary and Part Time Faculty Positions

Positions funded by one-time funds (rather than base budget funds) lapse at the end of a fiscal year unless one-time funds or permanent funds are identified to support that position in the upcoming fiscal year. If additional funding is not identified, termination of the current employee must be made as soon as available funding is exhausted.
Temporary and/or part time faculty hiring for the Fall and/or Winter terms is subject to the above conditions.

Administrative/Professional, Individual Contract and Clerical/Technical Position Funding Practices And Procedures Including Position Control

Funding AP and CT Positions

A/P, IC and C/T positions are created by resource allocations from the President or a division vice president.
The University Human Resources Department will not make offers to candidates that exceed the budget for that position. They will return such position requests to the requesting department to resolve any funding issues.
Funding associated with reclassifications and upgrades is the responsibility of the department in which the employee works and must be resolved before a reclassification or an upgrade can be implemented.
The appointment of an A/P, IC or C/T cannot be entered into the Banner system until the position funding has been identified to the Budget Office.
When an A/P, IC or C/T position is vacated during the fiscal year, the salary remaining in that position’s budget will be removed by the Budget Office and placed in a temporary division reallocation pool. The affected division may be authorized to use this temporary reallocation pool for the cost of a temporary replacement for the vacant position or for recruitment costs to fill the vacant position based on approval by the Budget Office. No other divisional use of the funds in this pool is allowed.
When an A/P, IC or C/T position is filled, funding required to support that position for the balance of the fiscal year will be transferred from the temporary division reallocation pool to the departmental budget where the position resides.
Funds remaining in the temporary division reallocation pool after temporary employee costs, recruitment costs and replacement costs are paid revert to the university for reallocation to other uses (university salary savings fund). For that reason, it is important that the department contact the Budget Office to request these costs be paid from the temporary division reallocation pool. This must be done within 30 days after the position is filled.
There will be a single "University Wide Salary Savings- One Time Fund". This fund will be the recipient of all staff net salary savings resulting from position vacancies. Transfers to this fund will be made from each division’s Temporary Division Reallocation Pool once a position has been filled and the net savings for the period of vacancy has been determined. Also at year end, all funds remaining in each division’s Temporary Division Reallocation Pools for vacant positions will be transferred to the University Wide Salary Savings- One Time Fund. This fund will be controlled by the President. Savings may be used for university purposes at the President discretion.
Casual employees are paid from the wage budget rather than the salary budget. When a casual employee is hired, the department is expected to have sufficient funds in the wage budget to cover the projected cost of the casual employee for the current fiscal year. If budget funds are not sufficient, the department must expedite a budget transfer to cover the shortage. Budget dollars can be transferred from a department’s controllable operating accounts such as Supplies & Services, Equipment, Telephone or Travel.
A department may redefine a vacant position based on changing departmental needs. No approvals for this change will be needed as long as the redefined position will be paid at or below the current identified funding. Presidential approval will be needed if the redefined position is to be paid at a higher rate than the current identified funding. Also the source of funds to pay the increment must be identified by the department. The Budget Office will then verify the incremental funding source.

Permanent, or Base Funding of Positions

On a permanent basis, if no increase in salary results from a replacement, no action is taken and the annual salary for that position is rolled forward for the next fiscal year.
On a permanent basis, if there are salary savings resulting from a replacement hire, the net savings will be held in the division’s permanent reallocation pool to be used to cover subsequent decisions to increase base funding for other positions or new positions.
On a permanent basis, if there is desire to increase base funding for a position, base funds must be identified before an employment offer may be made and this must be communicated to, and verified by, the Budget Office before the new hire can be entered into the Banner system. Generally this funding will come from the division’s permanent reallocation pool, unless the pool has been depleted. If the division’s permanent funding reallocation pool is depleted, the division is responsible to identify funding prior to hiring.

One-Time Funded Positions

Positions funded by one-time funds (rather than base budget funds) lapse at the end of a fiscal year (or depletion of funds, whichever comes first) unless one-time funds or permanent funds are identified to support that position in the upcoming fiscal year. This identification of funding must occur 60 days prior to the end date for the position.
Employees hired with one-time funds should be informed that if no additional source of funding is identified to continue funding their position, their employment will be terminated effective 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the period covered by the funding.

Special Rules for Clerical Positions

As a general rule, clerical-technical positions covered by collective bargaining agreement are funded at the C step for each respective grade, C1 through C10.
As a result of past agreements, a number of clerical-technical employees may be paid more than the established rate for the C step. Special rules are applicable for these circumstances only.
When a vacant position funded at the standard C rate is filled with an existing clerical employee that is entitled to be paid above the C rate for the salary grade, additional general fund funding will be provided up to the level to be paid to the employee.
Conversely, when a vacant position formerly held by a clerical employee paid at a rate greater than the C rate, is filled by an employee to be paid at the C rate or lower, the funding differential between the standard C rate and the current excess rate will be deducted from the department’s salary budget.
It is the intent of this section to fund a position based on the incumbent holding the position as long as that is the only reason for the differential from the standard C rate. Increases granted to an employee as a result of reclassifications, upgrades, etc. are subject to the rules originally noted.
No clerical positions will be funded at a rate lower than the standard C rate nor higher than the maximum rate for the salary grade.

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