Position Control
Strategy, Management & Budget (SMB) develops and implements approaches around university resource allocation to ensure funds are spent in support of Western’s strategic goals and operational necessities. Over the course of 2023, SMB staff worked with a steering committee and project team representing all university divisions with expertise in hiring and budgeting to add a Position Control Standard and Procedure to university policy POL-U5320.03 Authorizing and Defining Financial Responsibilities.
WWU's policy POL-U5320.03 serves to provide guidance and establish controls to assist personnel in being accountable and responsible stewards of university financial resources.
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Faye Gallant (Project Sponsor) | Assistant Vice President for Strategy, Management and Budget |
| Ichi Kwon | Director of Academic Budget and Administration |
| Linda Beckman | Director of Finance and Capital Resources, Student Affairs |
| Mark Brovak | Associate Vice President for Finance and Operations, University Advancement; Vice President and CFO of WWU Foundation |
| Elizabeth Parkes | Associate Vice President for Human Resources |
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Tonya Alexander | College of Science and Engineering |
| Kim Ayre | Strategy, Management & Budget |
| Amy Cantlon | Student Affairs |
| Austin Cooper | Faculty Relations |
| Adam Lorio | Student Affairs |
| Stephanie Norsby | Human Resources |
| Karen Peila | College of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Lynae Rickman | Equal Opportunity Compliance |
| Katrina Schuster | University Relations and Marketing |
| Debora Short | Student Affairs |
| Carrie Thurman | Budget and Financial Planning |
| David Weiss | Business and Financial Systems |
What is position control?
Position control requires dedicated budget for salary and estimated benefits is assigned in Millennium FAST Budget before a job recruitment is initiated. Position control is an important step towards improving benefit encumbering, financial modeling, and the annual budget-build process.
Who does it impact?
Hiring managers will need to discuss position funding with their college or division budget officer before beginning recruitment activities. Hiring managers will continue to work with Human Resources to determine staff salary ranges and benefits estimates for new hires and budget officers will be responsible for confirming that sufficient budget is in place.
Why is it needed?
The largest portion of Western's budget is employee salaries and benefits, and by funding all labor expenses at the start of the hiring process, departments can quickly identify what funding is committed and what remains available for operational expenses and strategic priorities.
Position Control Process
Position Control was fully implemented July 1, 2024 which means that budget needs to be appropriately allocated for salary and benefits before recruiting and hiring for non-tenure track faculty and permanent positions. Additionally, all personnel actions that involve new salary assignments for permanent positions (including reclassifications) must be followed by budget adjustments to ensure that the position is fully funded.
To facilitate position control, WWU is now using different numbering sequences for permanent and project positions. Project positions will now begin with a "7" which will make it easier to distinguish them from permanent positions that begin with a "9". This change only impacts new project positions, and employees who are currently in project position roles will not be assigned a new position number.
Reclassifications: Before assigning additional duties to an employee, supervisors should consider if the work is essential, if it needs to be completed on a long-term basis, and whether there is funding available to support the potential costs. Conversations between financial managers and college or unit leaders should take place when new needs arise to ensure a holistic approach is chosen to best address the department’s needs.
If HR reclassifies a position, Operations Managers and division budget officers will be notified along with the employee and supervisor. Once the new compensation is known, a budget transfer must be completed to cover the additional costs for salary and benefits.
NTT positions: As part of the FY2025 budget development process, Western fully funded the approved academic schedule, including non-tenure track (NTT) instruction. That funding was provided to Academic Affairs during the base build so that NTT positions can be fully budgeted. In line with this change is a requirement that NTT expenditures remain within budget. Budget should be allocated to where the expenses are managed, and actuals tracked against budget throughout the fiscal year.
Policy Compliance: Strategy, Management & Budget began quarterly checks of budget versus salary and benefits for all permanent and non-tenure track faculty positions Spring 2025. If positions remain unbudgeted for more than one quarter, SMB will reach out to the area. Non-faculty temporary positions and those that are funded by Foundation or grant funds are exempt from this requirement.
Identifying Available Funding
Division budget officers are responsible for ensuring salaried faculty and staff positions are appropriately budgeted and must ensure recruitment and hiring processes do not proceed until positions are fully budgeted. Once a hiring manager determines the hiring range for a position (in collaboration with Human Resources for staff positions or with the Provost's Office for faculty positions) the hiring manager must work with their college or division budget officer to find appropriate funding for the position.
Hiring and Recruitment
Position control moves conversations around funding and budgeting for positions to the beginning of Western's hiring and recruitment processes. It does not add additional steps to the current processes, it just reorders them.
Position control applies to other employee contracting processes outside of standard recruitments, such as non-competitive hires and promotions. It does not apply to student positions, grant funded positions, or Foundation funded positions.