The Finance team (formerly the SoE budget, financial management, and administrative support programs and the WCER client services and procurement teams) handles core financial processes for the School of Education. Our mission is to serve as responsible stewards of university funds by providing support and training to our departments in budgeting, procurement, reporting, and various financial tools. We aim to create a sound financial environment that encourages academic progress, accurate information, and monetary decisions that adhere to policy.
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Budget & Finance Core Services
- Budget Planning & Forecasting
- Develop annual budgets in collaboration with departments
- Use tools like Adaptive Planning for scenario analysis and forecasting
- Align financial planning with strategic goals and academic priorities
- Financial Reporting & Analysis
- Provide regular budget-to-actual reports
- Quarterly financial check-ins
- Support data-driven decision-making with dashboards and financial visualizations
- Assist with program-level financial reviews and audit
3. Revenue & Fund Management
- Ensure fund 101 budgets are being fully utilized
- Oversee fund balances for tuition-based and revenue-generating programs (e.g., Fund 131 and Fund 136)
- WFAA fund management & compliance
- Apply appropriate overhead assessments and ensure fiscal responsibility
4. Personnel Budgeting
- Manage salary budgets and vacancy savings
- Coordinate course release funding and faculty buy-outs
- Ensure strategic use of professorship and chair endowments
5. Year-End & Compliance Activities
- Provide timelines and guidance for fiscal year-end processing
- Ensure departments meet deadlines for financial transactions and reporting
- Strategic & Collaborative Support
6.Training & Consultation
- Offer workshops and one-on-one support for department staff
- Help departments navigate financial systems and policy change
7. Policy Implementation
- Communicate updates to financial policies and procedures
- Ensure departmental compliance with university and system-wide regulations
8. Collaborative Budgeting
- Facilitate cross-departmental planning and resource sharing
- Support strategic initiatives through financial modeling and analysis
SoE Academic Dept. Fiscal Point of Contact
Overview: Each Department is assigned a fiscal point of contact who serve as their primary resource for budgetary guidance, financial planning and related financial inquires. We can assist with work efforts such as budget development, expense tracking and financial reporting. Below you will find the fiscal point of contact for each unit.
Dept. Name | Fiscal Point of Contact
Art: Kweku Brewoo
Counseling Psych: Ahna Holliday
Curriculum & Instruction: Luciano Tello/Ravi Rajani
Dance: Ahna Holliday
Ed Psych: Alisa Gradney/Ravi Rajani
Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis: Alisa Gradney/Ravi Rajani
Educational Policy Studies: Ahna Holliday
Kinesiology: Ahna Holliday
Rehab Psych & Special Education: Kweku Brewoo
Theater & Drama: Kweku Brewoo
SoE Admin/Support Unit Fiscal Point of Contact
Overview: Each Department is assigned a fiscal point of contact who serve as their primary resource for budgetary guidance, financial planning and related financial inquires. We can assist with work efforts such as budget development, expense tracking and financial reporting. Below you will find the fiscal point of contact for each unit.
Dept. Name | Fiscal Point of Contact
Center for Community & Well-being: Ravi Rajani
Cooperative Children’s Book Center: Alisa Gradney/Ravi Rajani
Communication & Advancement: Luciano Tello/Ravi Rajani
Global Engagement Office: Kweku Brewoo
MERIT: Alisa Gradney/Ravi Rajani
OCCFR: Luciano Tello/Ravi Rajani
PLACE: Ahna Holliday
Student Services: Luciano Tello/Ravi Rajani
Tandem Press: Alisa Gradney/Ravi Rajani
Teacher Education: Luciano Tello/Ravi Rajani
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Workday: SoE Recommended Reports
SoE has a working document where we provide guidance on Workday reporting. The goal is to provide direction on relevant reports by functional area, defining purpose/use case, and defining key filters to help refine the results of the report. If there are any questions related to specific reports, please feel free to reach out to your fiscal point of contact.
SoE Recommended Workday Reports
SoE Worktag Creation Guideline
Please refer to guideline via: SoE Worktag Guideline
Finance News & Updates
August 2025 Update on Reimbursements
The Office of Budget & Finance has been receiving questions about the timeline for when expense reports will be approved and paid. The Central Audit Team is currently estimating a 19-business-day turnaround for expense reports. …
July 2025 Policy Updates
A new travel policy has been announced by campus, which will affect all travelers. Under the previous policy, travel expenses could be submitted up to 90 days after the last day of the trip without …
- More Finance & Budget posts
Travel and Reimbursement
Plan work travel with the best options for transportation and lodging to ensure reimbursement for your expenses.
Fiscal Year End Timetable
Plan ahead with our timetable for year-end dates to ensure success in processing financial transactions before the new fiscal year.
Purchasing and Payables
As a Universities of Wisconsin employee, use ShopUW+ to place orders, submit purchase requisitions or request payments.
Tools and Policies
- e-Reimbursement
- Concur
- We recommend accessing Concur through my.wisc.edu
- Cost Transfer Tool
- WISER
- SWAP
- SoE Named Chairs and Professorship Policy
New Budget Tools With Implementation of Workday
Beginning in July 2025, financial transactions will be processed and stored in Workday. The data from these transactions will be integrated into Adaptive Planning. Staff will use Adaptive Planning functionality to complete budget planning, forecasting, and reporting.
Shared information between Workday and Adaptive Planning allows staff to review, adjust, and report on budget information as needed.
Across the Universities of Wisconsin, staff will use Adaptive Planning to:
- Create detailed budgets, forecast financial results, and make updates as needed
- Analyze data with interactive dashboards and reports
- Run scenarios to see the impacts of strategic changes, such as hiring decisions, on financial outcomes
- Collaborate with other team members in the same system for communication and efficiency during budget planning
Adaptive Planning will provide flexibility for budgeting and forecasting tasks and greater visibility into the process. With enhanced reporting capabilities, staff will be able to report on budget vs. actuals in a timely manner throughout the year.
Adaptive Planning will be available to end users beginning in August 2025 and will be used for the FY26 Fall Forecast in October 2025.
Learn more on the Universities of Wiscons in Workday Adaptive Planning webpage.
What’s New for FY26 Budgeting?
Beginning in FY26, the Universities of Wisconsin, including UW-Madison, will be transitioning to uniform fringe benefit treatment across all funds. Each campus will have its own fringe benefit rates calculated based on its own employee salary and fringe benefit expenses.
FY26 Uniform Composite Fringe Benefit Rates Memo
| Category | FY26 |
| Regular Faculty and Academic Staff | 31.5% |
| Regular University Staff | 39.5% |
| Research Associates and Grad Interns | 20.9% |
| Research Assistants, Project Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Pre-Doc Fellows and/or Trainees | 18.9% |
| Post-Doc Fellows and/or Trainees | 15.6% |
| Limited Term Employees (LTEs) | 11.0% |
| Ad Hoc Program Specialists, Undergraduate Assistants and Undergraduate Interns | 14.9% |
| Student Hourly Employees | 2.3% |
Major Changes implemented in FY25
- Planning Allocation – The Planning Allocation concept is used by campus to establish and maintain budget authority (spending authority) for operational units across the campus. Budget authority is adjusted incrementally as funding decisions occur. Starting with the FY25 Budget development cycle, the School of Education will deploy the Planning Allocation concept to departments that receive budget allocations from the school. Planning Allocation targets will be established for units receiving general fund support (fund 101).
Tuition Policies
Nonstandard Tuition and Fees
Variations from standard credit course tuition and fees are very tightly controlled by policy and procedure. Deviations from the norm are considered expections for very unique situations and circumstances and are not the rule. Please review the policies and procedures very carefully before requesting any special tuition and fee handling.
To request a nonstandard tuition or fee (segregated fees, distance technology fee) please follow the following steps:
- Begin thinking, planning and discussing your request at least 4 to 6 months before the semester when you would like to offer the course. Review and processing includes numerous offices throughout the University. If authorized, the nonstandard tuition or fee would need to be approved and in place at least 2 months before the start of the semester of the course offering.
- Review the tuition and fee policies for credit instruction
- If approved at the departmental level, the department administrator will forward the pertinent information to the School designee, Kristen Hendrickson, within the Dean’s Office.
- From the Dean’s Office, additional authorizations will be sought in accordance with the unique aspects of the request.
