FY 2025-26 Savings Strategies
Pending Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Strategies
For fiscal year 2025- 2026, we are continuing the one-time strategies put in place for 2024-2025, but making some important changes. These strategies are need to cover the gap between tuition revenue, state funding, and our core operating expenditures (see FY 2025-26 Draft Operating Budget Recommendation). We have compiled information about the strategies that were published last year along with some FAQs about the Presidential Authorization process for recruitments, hiring, position extensions and reclassifications.
Restrictions on Purchases above $1,000
Vice President (VP) approval is required on all state operating funds for purchases above $1,000. Approval flows were updated in our procurement systems last summer to reflect this restriction. For 2025-2026, expenditures over $1,000 should be restricted to those that are essential and cannot be deferred.
Institutional recapture of 2 months of position savings when it becomes vacant
For state-funded, permanent positions that become vacant after June 1, two months worth of savings (salaries and benefits) will be transferred into an institutional holding account to prevent fund balances from being overcommitted. In FY 2024-25 six-months of vacancy savings was recaptured from state-funded positions but that has been reduced to two-months of savings to lessen the impact on departments.
Presidential Authorization Process for job recruitment, hiring and reclassification authorizations
Before departments can proceed with any job action, Vice Presidential and Presidential approval are needed. In addition to approvals for recruitments and new hiring, Presidential review is needed for appointment extensions, position reclassifications, and one-time payments for all position types, including student positions. Blanket approvals have been provided for job actions that are 100% grant or work-study funded, contractual commitments of faculty startup funds, job actions related to approved NTT Allocations, and Chart 2/Endowments specific to that work. The President’s review will help ensure that Western’s hiring reflects institutional priorities.
Process Overview
After identifying a critical staffing need or changes to an employee's current job, departments can submit a request for Presidential review using the Position Recruitment & Hiring Authorization Request form. The form does not have routing capability. Once submitted, the requests are reviewed by each division's budget officer and forwarded to the respective Vice President. Approval from a Vice President is required before requests are forwarded to the President.
The following requests do not need Presidential approval:
•Positions that are fully funded by grant funds
•Foundation funded positions that are specified in a gift agreement
•Student positions that are funded by S&A fees or course fees
•100% work study funded positions (work study is part of a student’s financial aid award)
Areas can submit student employment requests quarterly, for the academic year, and/or summer period for Presidential review and approval. For a given position number, the number of students needed for the position can be specified. Departments will need to convey their staffing needs, available funding, and other required information for all positions to provide context for the request.
The ability to move forward with recruitment for a vacant position before the end of the two-month recapture period may be approved by the President depending on the role being filled, the nature of the work, and available funding. Areas should note the timeline and funding plan for the vacancy recapture (if applicable) when submitting a potential recruitment for review.
For non-tenure track faculty hires already built into the 2025-2026 academic schedule, the review process will not add significant delays. For additional non-tenure track faculty hires not already approved and discussed, early communication can help avoid delays. For any urgent hiring needs identified at the VP/Provost level, an expedited review is possible.
While submitting requests for Presidential Authorization is an additional step before submitting job changes to HR, it should not impact employee workload. This is a necessary step to ensure that Western is being strategic in hiring and using sound fiscal practices.
While positions are vacant, it is essential that managers and area leaders triage work and determine what can be set aside, delayed, deferred, or accomplished differently. Vacant positions mean less work ultimately gets done, not that the same work is done by fewer people.