FAQ's
Who do I contact regarding Budget issues?
May I view the budget and salaries for individuals?
Under the Texas Public Information Act, each person is entitled to complete information about the affairs of government and the official acts of public officials and employees, unless otherwise expressly provided by law. An open records request is a request for public information contained in the files of a Texas governmental agency. The Office of Administration manages public information requests regarding the University.
A detail budget with salary line items for The University of Texas at Dallas is available for view only in the Budget Office located in the Administration Building AD 3.108. Contact Tracey Tatum at (972) 883-2663 for assistance.
When should I submit a budget journal versus a budget transfer?
Enter a budget journal to revise the estimated revenue and expenses. The source and application totals do not have to zero out (like a one-sided Budget Adjustment Form, or BAF, to budget prior year funds).
Enter a budget transfer to move funds from one cost center to another cost center or to move funds from one account code to another account code within the same cost center. The source and application values must zero out.
What are full-time equivalent and standard hours?
FTE, or full-time equivalent, is a ratio which indicates the workload or effort of an employee in a way that makes work efforts comparable across various contexts. An FTE of 1.0 means that a person is a full-time employee, while an FTE of 0.5 means that a person is a half-time employee. FTE is calculated as a percentage of a 40-hour work week even if the employee regularly works more than 40 hours. An employee cannot be classified at more than 1.0 FTE which is equivalent to 100 percent. FTE is often discussed in terms of percentages. For example, an employee who works half-time may be stated as 0.5 FTE, or 50 percent FTE.
Standard hours are the number of hours an employee works per wek. A full-time employee has standard hours of 40 while a half-time employee has standard hours of 20. If a full-time employee regularly works more than 40 hours per week, the employee still has standard hours of 40.
Calculating FTE using standard hours
Standard hours = number of hours worked each week by employee; the maximum amount used for calculating effort is 40 hours
FTE = standard hours worked each week by employee / 40 hours
Examples:
- A student works 10 hours per week. The student's standard hours equal 10.
- The formula to calculate FTE is: 10 standard hours / 40 hours = 0.25 FTE.
- A faculty member works 50 hours per week. The maximum hours used for calculating effort is 40 hours; therefore, the faculty member's standard hours are 40.
- The formula to calculate FTE is: 40 standard hours / 40 hours = 1.0 FTE.
What is Actuals Distribution?
Actuals distribution is the term that PeopleSoft uses to refer to labor distribution.
What is Labor Distribution?
Labor distribution is the process of charging an employee's payroll costs to the appropriate cost center based on the employee's work efforts assigned to specific projects, grants and/or departments.
Distribution is a percentage of the employee's salary that will be charged to a particular cost center.
Last Updated: May 31, 2012
