Faculty Handbook

Budgeting and financial planning

Contact the OSA Business Manager, Amy Moeder, regarding your program budget. A budget is not final until approved by OSA and your college’s Dean’s Designee. If you make changes to your itinerary or budget, you must first consult the Office of Study Abroad; failure to do so will result in your unit being held liable (financially and otherwise) for these changes. Once your budget is finalized, the program fee will be posted on your information sheet and/or the OSA Web page and a breakdown of costs will be forwarded to the Office of Financial Aid. If you have developed your own program Web site, do not post program costs until the budget has been finalized.

There are two sources of money available for operating your program: tuition and fees, and the program fee. MSU students pay the same tuition and fees as they would on campus; non-MSU students pay the Lifelong Education tuition rate. Since OSA is self-funding and does not receive support from the University, a portion of the tuition and fees generated from programs is used to fund OSA (38% x SCHs x the OSA rate). These funds cover OSA salaries and the operation of the office, including 7% that goes to marketing that includes program development.

The remaining amount available from tuition [(OSA rate) x (# of students) x (minimum number of credits per student) x 62%] may be spent on instructional costs such as faculty salary, honoraria, classroom rental, etc. A program cannot run a deficit unless special arrangements have been made with your college and the Office of Study Abroad.

The surplus from the tuition income is the amount that will be returned to the colleges at the end of the fiscal year. The surplus and deficits from the instructional portion of all programs from summer through spring are netted and returned to each college based upon their share of the student credit hours.

Faculty salaries are determined by the MSU college that sponsors the program. The MSU payroll system requires all payments for teaching assignments to be included in the employee's monthly salary check, which is paid on the last working day of the month. A separate check is NOT issued. Faculty members teaching abroad during the academic year should make special arrangements with their department for the handling of their salary checks. Faculty who teach for a semester during the academic year will be paid their regular monthly salary. Questions regarding payroll procedures should be directed to the Payroll Office (355-5010).

It is OSA’s intention to keep costs for the students as affordable as possible. Please provide as much detail as possible for the budget. This will help us anticipate costs as well as ensure that you have sufficient funds for all the activities that you have planned. Any surplus from the program cannot be returned to the students but will be placed in an OSA scholarship fund.

The best way to avoid difficulty in making payments abroad is to have as many program expenses as possible paid in advance via the Office of Study Abroad. These items, such as student housing, class trips and instruction, should be paid for well before departure. You will need to secure an invoice from the local vendor, itemizing the amount due. Submit this to Sean Curry or your OSA coordinator to initiate payment. Please allow 10 days to two weeks for processing plus mailing time. OSA can pay via wire, check or credit card directly. Please ensure invoices clearly state the preferred method of payment.

A guide for developing and implementing the most accurate study abroad program budget is available under the “faculty” section of the OSA Web site.