Finance Policies

Overview:

The Faculty’s operating budget is primarily composed of university central funds and tuition revenue. On an annual basis, each Faculty prepares their budget for submission to the Budget Office and provides quarterly forecast reports. The Budget Office then consolidates the budgets submitted from faculties/units and reports to the Executive Committee, Board of Governors and Provincial Government.

Budget Allocation:

Units/Programs:

Zero-Based Budgeting is the budget model used for administrative units and undergraduate programs. This method of budgeting requires the justification of all expenses for the fiscal year. The approved budget will be allocated to each unit/program and then reviewed quarterly by the Associate Deans in consultation with Finance and the Dean. It is the budget holder’s responsibility to monitor the budget on a regular basis.

Variances must be justified during the quarterly review and no over expenditure is allowed.

Professional Masters:

Full-cost Budgeting was introduced to the Professional Masters Programs in FY17. Program budgets include the full cost which covers operations, teaching and administration. Teaching and administration costs are based on actuals for the year, then allocated by courses and number of students, respectively.

The Faculty receives tuition allocation at year-end1. If the Program generates a surplus after considering full cost, 2/3 of the surplus will be retained by the program (for reinvestment in the program and for participating faculty members) and 1/3 of the surplus will be retained by the Faculty for general operations.

Budget revisions will be required if preliminary tuition allocation2 is less than projected tuition revenue.

Again, Program budgets will be reviewed quarterly by the Associate Deans in consultation with Finance and the Dean. Variances must be justified by the Program and no over expenditure is allowed.

Research Centres:

Research Centres are expected to be self-sustaining3 units, meaning they are able to maintain their entire operation by independent effort. Both the annual operating budget and the 5 year plan are required for research centres. It is the responsibility of each Centre to monitor their respective budget on a regular basis. Any variances must be justified during the quarterly review with the Associate Deans in consultation with Finance and the Dean and no over expenditure is allowed.

Carry Forward:

Only self-sustained units/programs are eligible to retain an annual surplus to be carried forward to the following year. Funds carried forward must be reinvested in the units/programs within 1 to 2 years. Any funds accumulated for more than 2 years must have a definitive use and timeline with approval by the Dean.

Budget Communication:

All budgets are reviewed and approved by the Associate Deans in consultation with Finance and the Dean.

Appendix I: LFS Budget Communication Plan

Appendix II: LFS Budget Process Timeline

Notes:

1. UBC’s fiscal year ends on March 31st.
2. Enrollment Services runs a preliminary tuition calculation in October based on September’s
3. Self-sustained units/programs operate independently without funding from the Faculty or the

LFS Operating Budget Communication Plan

* Faculty represents Faculty of Land and Food Systems (Dean/Associate Deans/Finance).

** Q1 represents quarter one, same applies to Q2 and Q3.

Gifts for faculty and staff

Under special circumstances, such as weddings, baby showers, and the death of immediate family members, the Faculty may contribute funds or gifts to an individual or event, at the discretion of the Dean. The preferred method is tangible goods (i.e. flowers, chocolates etc.) which should be no more than $75 tax and delivery charge included.

Tokens of Appreciation Rules

1. Tokens of Appreciation offered to individuals such as visiting dignitaries, volunteers, members of the UBC Senates, members of the UBC Council of Senates, members of the UBC Board of Governors, or members of faculty or staff are meant as a symbolic gesture of respect. Such Tokens of Appreciation must not exceed $100 for reimbursement except with pre-approval by the Head of Unit.
   • Guidelines:
     • There are CRA rules in respect of giving gifts to donors who make donations to UBC. Individuals should confirm whether there are restrictions with Development and Alumni Engagement before making such gifts.
     • There is a long-standing tradition at UBC that members of faculty and staff voluntarily and spontaneously contribute personal funds toward gifts in honour of fellow members of faculty and staff. Nothing in these Rules is intended to discourage this tradition.
2. Notwithstanding Rule #1 above, UBC may have separate rules for Tokens of Appreciation offered as a formal courtesy prescribed by cultural heritage or established traditions (see UBC Indigenous Expense Guideline). If an individual is considering providing a Token of Appreciation in such instances, the individual must obtain approval from the Manager.
3. Tokens of Appreciation must not be used for honorarium or personal events (such as birthdays or other celebrations).
4. Gifts of alcohol or cannabis will not be reimbursed by UBC
5. The Head of Unit must ensure that information regarding Tokens of Appreciation which are near cash equivalents, including the amount, the date, and the purpose for such Tokens of Appreciation, is recorded, and that a list containing such information is submitted to UBC Payroll at the end of each calendar year.
   • Guidelines:
     • For employees, cash or near cash received is treated as taxable regular earnings, regardless of the value and must be reported to Payroll.
     • For non-employees, cash or near cash receipts totaling more than $500 from each payer in a calendar year must be reported as earnings on a T4A. As such, UBC needs to obtain information, such as SIN, each time a non-incorporated supplier is set up in Workday so that UBC will have the necessary information for reporting purposes, if applicable.
     • It is recommended that gift cards not be provided as Tokens of Appreciation. An alternative could be a book or UBC memorabilia (for example, a jersey or sweatshirt).

Click here to view the university's expense guidelines. 

Course Fees Policy:  Students will not be charged any mandatory fees for LFS courses other than tuition fees and additional fees approved by the Board of Governors as listed in the Fees section of the Calendar. Students may be charged optional fees for optional activities (e.g., optional field trips – not required to meet course learning objectives and not required for exams/assignments/other assessments). Students can be expected to purchase textbooks, course packs, stationary, etc. Expenses for other materials, activities, or resources required to meet course learning objectives will be paid for from the Course Expenses Fund (see below).

1) Undergraduate Course Expenses Fund

• Expenses for materials, activities, or other resources required to meet course learning objectives will be paid for from the Course Expenses Fund. The annual budget for this fund will be 1% of tuition revenue from the previous year. Course-related photocopy costs will be charged to this fund; instructors are asked to limit photocopying as much as possible. Whenever possible, handouts or other materials should be provided to students online through Connect.
• All course expenses must be requested and approved prior to the start of each term. Budget requests are to be made using the “Undergraduate Course Expense Request Form”, which can be downloaded from the Finance page.
• Deadlines for submission:
  • Winter Term 1:  June 15
  • Winter Term 2:  October 15
  • Summer Courses:  March 15

• Eligible expenses: expendable laboratory supplies, field trip expenses, parking passes for non-UBC guest speakers, thank you gifts, other expenses that directly address course learning objectives
• Requests will be adjudicated by Associate Dean Academic, APBI, FNH and GRS Program Directors. Instructors will be notified of the results of the adjudication within one month of the submission deadline.

2) Undergraduate Teaching Equipment Fund

• Purchases of equipment or other items needed for teaching purposes and to be used over multiple years will be funded by an annual Teaching Equipment Fund.  Purchases that are used by several courses and/or programs will be given priority. The annual budget for this fund will be 0.75% of tuition revenue from the previous year.
• Submit application using the “Undergraduate Teaching Equipment Fund Request Form”
• Deadlines for submission:  June 15
• Eligible expenses:  equipment for teaching and learning purposes, including but not limited to laboratory equipment, audio-visual equipment
• Requests will be adjudicated by Associate Dean Academic, FNH and APBI Program Directors, Assistant Dean Learning Technologies, and Director of Finance

3) Undergraduate Course (Re) Development Fund

• Costs associated with development of new courses or substantial redevelopment of existing courses will be supported through an annual Course Development/Improvement Fund. The annual budget for this fund will be 0.5% of tuition revenue from the previous year.
• Submit application using the “Undergraduate Course Improvement/Re-development Fund Request Form”
• Deadlines for submission:  Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis
• Eligible expenses include (but are not limited to) development of multi-media materials, hiring Research Assistant to source and/or develop materials, honorarium for Sessional lecturers
• Requests will be adjudicated by Associate Dean Academic, Assistant Dean Learning Technologies, and FNH or APBI Program Director as appropriate

As per UBC Office of Research Services Overhead Policy:

“Overhead costs, also called indirect costs, are the costs of research absorbed by the institution, such as building operating costs and library services. A portion of these costs are recovered from research grants and distributed to central administrative units and faculties. The purpose of the overheads return is to enhance the research efforts of the faculty, and the funds are to be used only for research related needs.”

Distribution Procedures:

1. Out of the total overheads collected by the University, LFS will receive 75%. The Faculty will then return 50% of the Faculty portion back to the Principal Investigator (PI).
2. The return of overheads will be processed annually and will be received in March. The annual overheads return will include the 4^th Quarter’s overhead from last fiscal year and 1^st – 3^rd Quarter’s overhead from current fiscal year.

Example: John Smith’s overheads return for FY15/16 will consist of 4^th Quarter’s overheads from FY14/15 (Jan – Mar 2015) and 1^st – 3^rd Quarter’s overheads from FY15/16 (Apr – Dec 2015).

3. A minimum amount of $1,000 will apply to the return to each PI. If the annual overheads received by the Faculty for the PI is less than $1,000, no return is given.

Example: The Faculty received $800 of overhead for John Smith. Since it’s less
than the minimum amount of $1,000, so the $400 (50% of $800) will not
be returned to John Smith.

4. If any of the PI’s research grants is in a deficit position, the overhead returned to PI will be applied initially against the research deficit. The remaining balance can be used for other research related expenditures.
5. The overheads distribution will be done annually and no carry forward will be allowed.

The above guideline will take effect as of October 1, 2014 and research overheads will be calculated and distributed after that date.

* Overhead can be waived by the Dean if the total grant value is less than $5,000.

Additional Resources:

 For more information about UBC research overheads please check ORS website: https://research.ubc.ca/support-resources/indirect-costs-budgeting-finance.

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to faculty and staff when work computer is retained for personal use after employee’s resignation or retirement.

Qualified computers:

• Laptop, desktop or computer related devices were paid from University’s fund (including general operating, research, specific purposes and endowment funds).
• The option of repurchasing work computer for personal use is only open to resigned or retired faculty and staff members.
• All UBC data must be cleared from the device by LFS Learning Centre before personal possession.

Employee’s responsibilities:

• Find the original book value of the device acquired and the PG/Speed Chart where it was paid from.
• Search for five quotes with current market price for the same brand and same model for the device acquired. (Quotes can be obtained from online sources like: eBay, Amazon, Craigslist etc.)
• Trade in value is not considered as it doesn’t represent an equitable market price.
• Bring all five quotes to LFS Learning Centre for IT professional’s assessment.
• A personal cheque with an average amount of the five quotes should be submitted to LFS Finance along with all support document mentioned above.

Purpose:

 The purpose of this policy is to outline the principles of inventory management for LFS Wine Library to ensure appropriate inventory control/record keeping of all wines housed in the Wine Library (Rm 10 and 10A, FNH Building).

Procedures:

1. Receipt of Wine

Wines donated to the Wine Library should be received and recorded by LFS Development Office in order to issue proper tax receipt to the donor.

Any wine purchase will require justification and approval by the Wine Research Centre Director and the Dean or their designate.

2. Usage of Wine

Wines used for research purposes will require that the Principal Investigator (Researcher) of the research project receive approval from the Wine Research Centre Director. If the Wine Research Centre Director is the requestor, the request will require approval from the Associate Dean Research or Dean.

Wines used for teaching purposes will require that the course instructor receive approval from the Wine Research Centre Director. If the Wine Research Centre Director is the requestor, the request will require approval from the Associate Dean Academic or Dean.

Wines used for fundraising and other faculty hosted events will require approval from both the Wine Research Centre Director and the Dean or their designate. Donors should not be invited to events where their donated wines will be consumed.

Allowable usage of the wines:

*Alcohol cost must not exceed 35% of the total cost of food and beverage served in the event.

3. Recordkeeping

The WRC Administrative Manager is responsible for the recordkeeping of all wines received and used. When the WRC Administrative Manager is not available, the Senior Finance Manager will act as the substitute.

Each record should contain information of the bottle including:

• Wine Name
• Vintage
• Colour
• Bottle Size
• Market Value
• Quantity
• Section Located
• Date Received/Used
• Purpose
• Reference number

4. Valuation of Wine

All wines will be valued by a professional wine appraisers. The appraiser will change every 3 years.

Should any potential or perceived Conflict of Interest issues arise with the wine appraiser, an alternate appraiser will be consulted.

The wine inventory valuation will be reported to UBC Risk Management Services annually for insurance purposes.

5. Physical Control

Wines received will be positioned in the Wine Library by the Wine Research Centre Director accompanied by the WRC Administrative Manager. In the absence of the WRC Administrative Manager, the Senior Finance Manager will act as the substitute.

Wines used for research/teaching/faculty hosted events will be taken out from the Wine Library by the WRC Administrative Manager accompanied by the requestor of the wine. In the absence of the WRC Administrative Manager, the Senior Finance Manager will act as the substitute.

Anyone entering the Wine Library must complete the access log for room 10 and 10A. The access log will be reconciled against the UBC Security Access Report on a quarterly basis and approved by the Dean.

An inventory count will be performed annually by the WRC Administrative Manager and the Senior Finance Manager.

Forms:

Appendix I: Wine Usage Request

Appendix II: Incoming Wine Record

Appendix III: Wine Library Access Log