In an effort to simplify the budget process, University of Idaho Vice President of Finance Brian Foisy said the university implemented consolidated fringe rates (CFR) last semester.
CFRs are a measure of how much each university department will be charged for the benefits their employees receive based on the types of employees who work in each department, Foisy said. Employees are separated into three categories – faculty, staff and students.
Budget Director Trina Mahoney said a CFR system averages out the amount of benefits faculty, staff and student employees each get, so the university will not gain or lose from the change.
Foisy
Before adopting CFRs, Foisy described UI”s previous system as actuals-based, which he said was a bit of an over-simplification.
Under the old system, each department would be charged for their employee benefits, and each employee would need to be taken into account individually and added to the total for the department.
“When you introduce the human element into this, that”s when it starts to get complicated and challenging,” Foisy said.
Foisy said when applying this method to larger institutions like UI, things can get much more complicated, as employee benefits change on a regular basis.
Mahoney said CFRs make budget plans more predictable, so departments can plan ahead easier.
“You know what”s going to happen in advance,” Foisy said. “You can plan.”
Foisy said the reception to this shift has been mostly positive. Although some tweaks have been made for the next fiscal year, he said most people who have commented on CFRs have made it clear that they think it will be an improvement.
“That was our idea, to improve the situation for departments and other people who manage budgets on campus,” Foisy said.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ErinBamer