FY 2026-2027 Budget Process Instructions 

Please see below for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 (FY26/27) Budget Entry Training Materials and Budget Process Timeline Information. 

Training Materials 

The budget team will email budget submitters/approvers directly with information on how to complete the budget process for FY26/27, and an outline of the approval chain for each department. 

Budget Process Timeline 

  • The submission deadline to First Level approvers is Friday, February 27th, 2026.
  • The submission deadline to Divisional approvers is Friday, March 13th, 2026 .
  • The deadline for final submission to the Budget Office is Monday, March 23rd, 2026.
    • A copy and a link of the Final Submission file will be put out in SharePoint for the President’s Executive Council members to reference. 

Targets for Revenue, NSOP (Non-Salary Operating), and Student Wages: President’s Executive Council members are provided with Revenue, NSOP, and Student Wage targets for FY26/27.  Please reach out to the appropriate party in your department or division to understand any budget process changes for your division. 

Budget Submissions 

  • Submissions will need to be completed in the Budgeting Cloud application for each of the departments and projects you are responsible for.  Be sure to enter a business purpose in the comment field next to each amount that is entered. Budgeted amounts without comments will not be accepted.
  • For FY26/27 budgeting purposes, we are asking that you enter budgets for your restricted 02 funds in addition to the 01 fund budgets.  We need to make sure that 02 funds are being incorporated into your division's yearly spending plan. The 02 fund budgets will be entered into Budgeting Cloud for planning purposes only.  These budgets will not be brought over into the General Ledger or Budgetary Control Modules.  The roll forward of your available funds from the prior year will continue to take place into subcode 7690, as in the past.
  • Where applicable, please include Student Wages, Professional Services, IT Hosted and Non-Hosted, Non-Salary Operating, Small Equipment, Chargebacks and Revenue for each of your active units.  Do not include amounts for faculty and staff salaries or any benefits. Increases to the student minimum wage will need to be absorbed in the budget targets that your division has been allocated.
  • Small equipment purchases - The threshold for capital purchases is $5,000.  This means that any single item under $5,000 will need to be budgeted for in your small equipment operating budget and not charged to a capital account.
  • The College does not offer housing and meals free of cost. To this end, housing and meals provided to anyone staying on Campus including Employees, Summer Student Employees, etc. where a department is covering the costs, must be included in your departmental budgets. Your department will be charged by the week for these services (there are no pro-rated amounts). The rates will be established in the near future, communicated, and a link will be posted to this page.
    • Please utilize the following subcodes:
      • 7753 - “Living Allowances” - for Student Employees (those that are billed via Banner) Housing and Meals
      • 7751 - for non-banner students and non-employee Campus Housing
      • 7752 - for non-banner students and non-employee Meals and Meal Passes
      • 7750 - for Staff and Faculty Campus Housing
      • 7754 - for Staff and Faculty Meals and Meal Passes
  • The College no longer provides employee cell phone reimbursements. Please do not budget for these in FY26/27
  • Employee Moving Expense Reimbursements are budgeted in subcode 6450.
  • The Budget Reviewer Forms should be submitted for approval using the FY26/27 Budget Approval Workflow in SharePoint. Instructions and links will be provided during training. 

Centralized Budget Items 

Please make note of the following items that are budgeted in centralized departments (e.g. IT) and therefore should not be budgeted for at the department level: 

  • Computers for new staff/faculty or costs related to computer repairs. These are normally budgeted in subcode 7302. (see IT memo)
  • Ink/toner or paper for use in Multi-Function Devices.  These are normally budgeted in subcode 7319. (see Print Management memo)
  • Office phones normally budgeted in subcode 7561.
  • Insurance premiums normally budgeted in subcode 7501.
  • Credit Card Fees, normally budgeted in subcode 7523.

IT Submissions 

  • Please refer to the Information Technology FY26/27 Budget Instructions for information on how to budget for any software and other technology related needs and expenses. (see IT memo)

Capital 

  • As referenced above, the threshold for capital purchases is $5,000.
  • We will be working closely with the President’s Executive Council to determine what capital dollars are available for capital equipment. If capital dollars are available, we will provide the appropriate President’s Executive Council member with their allotted dollar amount. This will allow the President’s Executive Council members the flexibility to set up their own process for identification and prioritization of capital items. The budget team will be available to help and answer any questions that may arise.

Edits after Submissions 

  • Due to the difficult nature of predicting enrollment, the budget team will continue editing budgets after the FY26/27 budget submissions are reviewed by President’s Executive Council.  Any changes will be communicated to the President’s Executive Council and departments affected.
  • The FY26/27 Final Draft Budget will be generated by the budget team to establish a budget for the Board of Trustees to approve in May. The Budget Office will reach out to Divisions/Departments for clarification or recommended changes, if needed.  Final budgets will be sent out to the President’s Executive Council members after approval by the Board of Trustees.

Additional Information 

Please continue to email budget-group@ithaca.edu for questions related to your budget.