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.
Finance News & Updates
Updated Travel Policies
A series of new travel policies will take effect on July 1, 2025. Please be sure to read and understand these changes to ensure you can be reimbursed for your travel-related expenses.
- 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.
