EHE FY26 Financial Guidance

College Guidance on Discretionary Spending

The purpose of the document is to provide fiscal guidance and clarification around discretionary expenditures initiated in the College of Education and Human Ecology through June 30, 2026.

Expenditure requests that deviate from the EHE FY26 Financial Guidance can be submitted via an Exception Request Form found on the OFBS website.

I. Discretionary Spending Guidance

• Purchases related to maintaining the infrastructure of the College should be processed as follows.
  • Services related to college infrastructure, such as background checks for new employees and outside contractors/consultants should be processed according to EHE HR background check process.
    • Maintenance/Renewal of software, data storage, equipment as determined and approved by OIT.  General guidelines and the request process start here: Service Catalog – Technology Purchasing (teamdynamix.com)  
    • Requests will be approved for the following:
      • Software and Cloud Services
      • Equipment
        • For incoming faculty and staff.
        • Computer equipment that is past its useful life (older than 5 years) and the requestor does not have other computers assigned to them.
        • Acquisition of a standard iPad+keyboard cover as part of instructional initiatives, where the requester is teaching a class and does not have an iPad.
• Renovation and furniture requests will be approved on a case-by-case basis.  Priority will be given to requests that pose a risk to health and safety.
• Expenditures that are deemed non-essential and should be restricted include, but are not limited to:
  • Blanket order for any non-essential supplies or services
  • Business meals, unless they are related to Advancement or Recruitment
    • Business meals (Limited to 4 people) that are held as part of a larger activity, such as seminars, lectures, guest speaker, international delegation, symposium, etc. are allowable and should be included in an event log.
  • Coffee and meeting refreshments.  Use discretion when purchasing water service and individual bottled water
  • Individual gifts
  • Any requests for services that are offered internally at the College or University level will require additional justification if an external party is being requested. 
  • Expenditures for personal items are not allowed
• High dollar requests for consultants over $10K on general funds only, will require review and approval by Dean.

II. Hiring of Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate student employees should be limited to federal work-study funded students.

III. Events Guidance

• Student-Centered Events (Non-employee)
  • Student-centered events are encouraged and supported, provided they enhance the student experience and adhere to the allocated budget. These events should aim to foster engagement, learning, and community among students, while ensuring financial responsibility and compliance with budgetary constraints.  They do not require exception approval.
• Staff Appreciation Events
  • All employee appreciation events must follow the conditions set forth by the Office of the President, outlined in Faculty and Staff Appreciation Guidance. 
    • Colleges/VP units can spend up to $75 per employee per calendar year on employee appreciation and holiday events.
    • All staff appreciation events require dean’s approval regardless of funding.
  • College Funded Events – The college will host college wide staff events, limiting the expenses within a budget of $50/per employee.
  • Department Funded Events – EHE departments can host department events to welcome, celebrate and recognize faculty and staff limiting the expenses within a budget of $25/per employee.
• Retirement Events
  • Retirement events are not to be funded using university funds.
• Alcohol
  • University funds for alcohol at internal faculty and staff gatherings are not permitted at department funded events.
  • Alcohol is permissible at events hosting external guests to the university (such as business partners, stakeholders, and constituents); however, requests will be approved on a case-by-case basis. Pre-approval by dean or designee is required.
• Personal Residences
  • Department and college funded events are not permitted to occur at personal residences. 

IV. Sponsorships

Sponsorships will be approved on a case by case basis and require both college and university approval as directed by university funding guidelines: About Community Event Sponsorships | Outreach and Engagement, The Ohio State University (osu.edu)

• Requestors should work directly with department finance staff to submit an EHE Sponsorship Form not later than 45 days prior to an event or activity.

V. Expenditure Approval Process 

University required signature authority will be in place for all transactions. Each transaction requires the following:

• Cost Center Manager Approval:
  • Compliance, budget and business purpose review completed by the unit Fiscal Coordinator for transactions below $7,500 (And/or):
  • Compliance, budget and business purpose review completed by the unit Finance Officer for transactions above $7,500.
    • And compliance, budget and business purpose review completed by unit Grant Manager, for expenditures related to sponsored projects.
• Department Leader (Chair/Vice-Chair/Associate Dean/Director) will review all spend authorizations (pre-travel) and all transactions over $2,500 or over $200 and in a high-risk category.
  • All requests made by the Department Leader are required to route to Dean or designee for approval.

Questions regarding EHE guidelines should be directed to unit finance staff and/or  EHE-BusinessOperations@osu.edu.

Updated 7/21/2025