2026-27 Budget Instructions

Appropriation / Fund Structure

General Purpose Revenue (GPR)

The following funds have allocated dollar amounts and FTE set for divisions in the PlanUW Allocation Tool. Divisions must balance their budget to the allocated dollars by major class (salaries and non-salaries). Divisions also must balance their budget to the allocation by program code or request program code shifts if necessary. FTE budgeted must balance to the total FTE allocation; however, divisions can shift between permanent and graduate assistant FTE.

• 101 – General Program Operations / Doctoral Cluster
• 110 – Principal Repayment and Interest
• 113 – Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin
• 116 – Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership
• 117 – State Laboratory of Hygiene
• 118 – Electric Energy Derived from Renewable Resources
• 119 – Graduate Psychiatric Nursing Education
• 126 – Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
• 402 – Minority and Disadvantaged Programs
• 403 – Graduate Student Financial Aid
• 406 – Lawton Minority Undergraduate Grants Program
• 601 – UW Hospitals and Clinics Auth Services Received

Extension Funds

The following funds have allocated dollar amounts and FTE set for division in the PlanUW Allocation tool. In addition to matching the divisional total allocation by fund, units must ensure their entry matches the allocation by major class, program code, FTE and by department ID.

• 104 – General Program Operations/Extension Programs
• 132 – Extension Non-Credit Program Receipts
• 143 – Federal Aid – Smith Lever Land Grant Extension
• 183 – Extension Outreach

Auxiliary Operations Funds

Units must ensure their entry matches their approved budgets submitted earlier in the fiscal year.

• 123 – Principal Repayment – Interest and Rebates
• 128 – Auxiliary Enterprises

Non-Pooled Tuition Revenue

Each division is responsible for ensuring their Fund 131 budgets reflect realistic revenue projections for the coming year.

• 131 – Academic Student Fees

Program Revenue

Each division is responsible for ensuring their Fund 136 budgets reflect realistic revenue projections for the coming year.

136 – General Operations Receipts

Specific Purpose Funds

The following funds have allocated dollar amounts and FTE set for divisions in PlanUW Allocations. These amounts often represent the divisional share of the level appropriated in Chapter 20 of the Wisconsin Statues.

• 127 – State Laboratory of Hygiene – Drivers
• 130 – State Laboratory of Hygiene
• 134 – Gifts – Student Loans
• 137 – Cancer Research
• 140 – Federal Aid – Pharmacy Loan Program
• 141 – Federal Aid – Medicine Loan Program
• 142 – Federal Aid – Hatch Adams – Land Grant Research
• 145 – Federal Aid – Work Study
• 147 – Federal Aid – Student Loans
• 148 – Federal Aid – Basic Edu Opp (Pell) Grants
• 149 – Federal Aid – Direct Student Loans
• 151 – Federal Aid – Nursing Loans – Undergraduate
• 152 – Federal Aid – Nursing Loans – Graduate
• 159 – Physician and Health Care Provider Loan Assistance Programs; Repayments
• 165 – Veterinary Diagnostic Lab Non-State Agency Fees
• 166 – Veterinary Diagnostic Lab State Agency Fees
• 169 – Grants to Forestry Cooperatives
• 170 – Environmental Program Grants and Scholarships
• 172 – Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program
• 184 – License Plate Scholarship Programs
• 185 – Center for Urban Land Economics Research
• 188 – Physician, Dentist and Health Care Provider Loan Assistant Programs; Critical Access Hospital Assessment Fund
• 199 – Veterinary Diagnostic Lab – Federal Aid

Non-Allocated Funds

The following funds do not have allocated dollars and FTE levels entered into PlanUW Allocations because data from the annual Redbook development process does not load to WISER for these funds. WISER budget for these funds are loaded from the Grants System.

• 133 – Non-Federal Grants and Contracts
• 135 – Gifts and Donations – WARF
• 144 – Federal Aid – Special Projects
• 150 – Federal Aid-Federal Indirect Cost Reimbursement
• 161 – Endowment Trust Fund Income
• 233 – Gifts – General
• 533 – UW Madison Athletics – Gifts and Grants

UW Budget Policy & Controls

See the links for UW System’s chart of accounts information, policy and controls; including definitions of common accounting and budget terminology.

Chart of Accounts

Budget Controls & Definitions

Budget at a Glance

Now standing over $4 billion per year, UW-Madison’s annual operating budget serves as an aid to understand annual activity and as a whole, reflects the mission driven work the university is committed to influence. In addition, the university has nearly $2 billion in capital projects now in design and construction. UW-Madison receives revenue from five main sources; state and federal government investments, tuition, research grants, and contributions from friends of the university.

Budget Authority

UW System is the overarching Agency in which UW-Madison aligns and the Board of Regents (BOR) is the ultimate approval authority. The budget authority assigned to UW System is an authorized appropriation. UW System assigns budget authority to UW-Madison (and other UW institutions) using a hybrid allocation model. Most of the funding is allocated on a “base-plus” model that begins with the previous year’s base, includes cost-to-continue considerations, and is then adjusted based on executive, legislative and/or Board of Regents action, and changes in enrollments that generate a sustainable increase in tuition revenue.

Mission Driven Investments

UW-Madison’s annual budget process starts in December with a critical and strategic look at the current state of each unit’s financial, operational and workforce metrics. This close examination provides campus leaders and decision-makers a foundation for planning the next year’s operating budget and fiscal imperatives. Accomplishments are shared along with obstacles, national trends, fund balances, and peer comparisons. A robust round of meetings are held with leadership from each division on campus, when meetings have concluded, aggregated strategic decisions are made regarding the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. Commitments and directives are decided and the technical budget entry ensues during the months of January through April.

Technical Process

The Madison Budget Office coordinates the technical aspects of budget development to ensure compliance with campus, UW System and State of Wisconsin policies. The Annual Budget will be developed in the new system, Adaptive Planning, starting FY27.

Visit the Adaptive Planning webpage for additional information.

Additional Tools

Completing the Annual Operating Budget can be made easier with the use of additional data, Tableau, and canned reports to complete an informed and sound budget.

• Visit Historical Operational Reports to assist when looking at historical trends
• Within WISER‘s Main Menu you can find additional historic reports under the Tools section.
• The historic P&L provides year-to-date detailed fund balances by fund and account category and other breakdowns to assist in analysis and planning.
• Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research (DAPIR) manages the Department Planning Profiles as well as other Tableau dashboards that may be helpful in completing your budget.
• Compensation Administration Tool (CAT)
• PlanUW

If you are looking for assistance in data extraction or compilation of specific data needs, please reach out to your MBO Analyst for assistance. Depending on the request, they may direct you to a data specialist.

2025-26 Auxiliary Timeline
UW System

2025-26 Rate Change Reasons
UW System

2025-26 Cost Factors Memo
UW System

FY25-26 Auxiliary Budget Instruction Comparison
Madison Budget Office

FY26 Seg Fee Memo

Uniform Composite Fringe Benefit Rates
November 25, 2024

Biennium 2025-27 Fringe Rate Letter – (coming soon)

UW System Fringe Benefit Rates for Extramural Support Funds

RSP F&A and Fringe Benefit Rates

Be mindful of your Workday FDM Mapping while budgeting for FY26 to assure that your budgets will align as intended in your Workday structures. Reach out to your FDM Mapping liaison or your MBO Analyst if you have any questions.

When planning re-organizations and developing new departments and hierarchies, it is advisable that you reach out to your MBO Analyst along with the Business Services team. Our offices are able to assist in providing guidance in a myriad of ways including; following best-practices, knowledge of campus and system policy, providing alternative fiscal management strategies, as well as advising on suitable timing to roll-out such initiatives that will result in less time and resources.

FY26 Additional Allocation Memo – (coming soon)
March 2025

FY26 Financial Aid Allocation Letter – (coming soon)
March 2025

FY26 Initial Allocation Memo – (coming soon)
February 2025

FY26 Budget Authority Change Memo – (coming soon)
January 2025

CAT Live View / CAT to PlanUW Integration

CAT entry and changes will be pulled in periodically throughout the day to update PlanUW where budget tie-outs and balancing will occur. As divisions approach their operating budget submission due dates, (to better assist in balancing while the CAT to PlanUW integration has not yet occurred), we are maintaining the Live CAT View in the Planning Allocation tool where you can balance subsequent to the next scheduled integration.

Click here to access the CAT Data Integration schedule.

Budget balancing (including FTE) will be completed inside PlanUW which has replaced the Planning Allocation tool.

The Planning Allocation User Guide can be found here. Please reach out to your MBO Analyst if you have any questions about your allocations.

FY 2024-25 Fund 133 Overhead Allocations – (coming soon)

FY 2024-25 Fund 150 Overhead Allocations – (coming soon)

FY26 Fund 101 Budget Model Reallocations – (coming soon)

The Division of Continuing Studies/Office of the Associate Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning should be contacted concerning questions relating to UW Extended Campus (formerly CEOEL) and the Division of Business and Entreprenuership (DEB).

Please contact Hope Simon for inquiring and additional information.

Divisions involved in UW Extended Campus and DEB programming submit 2025-26 budget changes to the Division of Continuing Studies/Office of the Provost for Lifelong Learning.