Foundation Supplement Payments

David R. Colburn, Interim Provost

A year has past since we began processing foundation supplement payments using the personnel/payroll system. In reviewing the payments that have been made, we saw an opportunity to make improvements to the process.

For reporting purposes, I am asking that you supply further clarification on your requests of approval for foundation supplements. Some supplements are part of an ongoing contractual obligation to a faculty member as part of his/her current position with the university. The most common occurrences of this would be endowed/non-endowed chairs or professorships or supplements provided with administrative positions. Other payments are normally reimbursements for relocation expenses or car allowances. In the future your requests for approval need to indicate whether it is for an ongoing contractual obligation or a one-time payment for expenses or allowances. This may be included in the narrative of your request that should be sent to Sheri Austin’s attention, Box 113175.

We also need your assistance in the timely processing of the payments for the ongoing supplements. “Payments of Foundation Supplements” forms submitted for these faculty are to include all payments for the year on one form so we will know our fiscal responsibility in this area by Fall semester. These are to be sent to the Academic Personnel Office no later than August 31, 2000. The pay dates for these payments can, of course, be spread throughout the 2000-2001 fiscal year. The form has been revised to list Start Codes that will indicate the type of payment. Start Code “FS” will be used for supplements that are for ongoing contractual obligations. Start Code “FP” will be used for other one-time payments.

If any supplement payment is being made to a faculty member on Federal or Teacher’s Retirement, a Job Code of “X” will be used with Earning Code 501 to ensure proper FICA charges.

We have also noted that some payments should have been correctly processed as Extra State Compensation or as a lump sum payment for an award or bonus. Examples of Extra State Compensation would be serving as a facilitator or presenter at a program/conference or the completion of a one-time project for an employer other than the employee’s primary employer. Examples of awards or bonuses are a teaching award, a one-year professorship award, or recognition of outstanding performance.

When processing requests for payment, it is important not to confuse the purpose of the payment with the source of funds used. In some cases, the payer may want to consider using other departmental funding sources for these payments rather than foundation funds. Similar payment types should always be coded and processed using the appropriate procedures irrespective of funding source. If the initial funding source is a Direct Support Organization, we will be able to identify this via the account number. We will also expect that proper deposits will be made for these funds. Therefore, effective with the 2000-2001 fiscal year, we are asking that payments be made using the correct process, i.e. foundation payment, Extra State Compensation, or lump sum payment.

Questions regarding these new processes can be directed to Sheri Austin (sheri@ufl.edu or 392-2402) or Janet Malphurs (jmmalph@ufl.edu or 392-1251).