Faculty Startup Funds

Startup Funding Policy

The Provost can grant startup funds at the time a new tenure-track faculty member is hired. Startup funds are tailored to the particular needs of the new hire and will vary from person to person. These funds are intended to support the scholarly/creative and pedagogic development of the faculty member. See Faculty Handbook section 3.4.3.1. Below is the process by which startup funding needs are requested, reviewed, awarded, and communicated. 

  • All departments applying for a tenure-track position are asked to provide an estimate of the startup funding requirements for the proposed position. Departments are also asked to identify potential sources of funding, particulary restricted accounts, that may be used to provide the estimated startup funding for the new hire. This information is used during allocation disucssions and as a guide in hiring negotiations.  
  • All finalist for tenure-track faculty positions are asked to indicate their need / desire for startrup funding prior to an offer being made. Those indicating a need for startup funding are asked to submit a budget for their startup funding needs. 
  • The candidate's startup funding budget is provided to the hiring department and the Provost for review and commentary. The hiring department is asked to work with the candidate to revise the startup funding request in the context of available or existing resources.
  • The hiring department is asked to identify the portion of the startup request that can be covered by departmental or divisional restricted funds. 
  • Using input from the hiring department, the proposed startup budget from the candidate, and the estimated startup budget at the time the department applied for the position, the Provost makes a final decision about the level of startup funding that can be offered to the candidate at the time an offer is made. 
  • Startup funds will generally be provided over three fiscal years. Every attempt is made to distribute startup funding over those three years to adequately manage institutional budget and cash flow requirements. Meaning, startup funds may not be provied entirely in the first year. Exceptions can be made for extraordinary situations. Access to startup accounts beyond three fiscal years can be provided in extraordinary circumstances. 
  • Academic Affairs will communicate once per year with all faculty having active starup accounts about the funding provided in the current fiscal year, their accounts number, how to review startuup fund balances, how to spend from the startup account, and the expiration date of their faculty statup account. Academic Affairs will also communicate with faculty at least 6 months in advance of their startup account expiration date. 
  • In accord with Faculty Handbook section 3.4.3.1, Academic Affairs will annually make available the count of full-time tenure-track hires, the number of startup awards made, and the total startup funding provided for new tenure-track hires. Academic Affairs will additionally provide the total number of active startup accounts and the level of funding provided in the current fiscal year. 

Startup Fund Information

All faculty awarded startup funding will receive an email from Academic Affairs indicating when their startup account has been created and funded. This email will contain detailed information about how to access their account balance. Below is information that may be useful to all those with startup accounts organized as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). 

How do I manage my startup funds? 

You can access the balance of your startup account as well as expense transactions in Management Reporter (MR), our online budget reporting tool. Please follow the steps in our help document titled Managing Startup Funds in Management Reporter.

How do I spend my startup funds? 

OWU employees are encouraged to use BishopBuy, our online procurement system, to make purchases. When that is not an option, a procurement card (p-card) may be used. The Purchasing Department maintains this extensive help page about BishopBuy that you can review for assistance with using BishopBuy. This page contains a number of helpful howto videos. 

  • When purchasing in BishopBuy, you will provide your startup account number when submitting the purchase request. This help video from Purchasing provides guidance on selecting your account number. 

  • When purchasing with a p-card, you will use your startup account number to clear the expense at the end of each month by allocating the expense to your startup account. This help video from Purchasing shows how to do this. 

How long do I have access to this startup account? 

Startup accounts are made available for a fixed period of time usually defined in a faculty member's appointment letter. If not defined, startup accounts are made available for three fiscal years. This means that startup funds not spend in any given year will roll forward through the expiration date of the startup account. 

Do I have to spend all my startup funds this year? 

Startup funds roll over from one fiscal year to the next until the account's expiration date. For example, if you were provided with $20,000 in a new startup account this year and spend $15,000 over the year, the remaining $5,000 will be available next year along with any additional funds promised to you next year. All startup funds become unavailable after the expiration date for the startup account. Startup funds to not roll forward beyond the expiration date for the startup account. 

Why does it look like my balance from last year was removed? 

All faculty startup funds roll forward from one year to the next until the expiration of the startup account. At the start of each fiscal year, however, there may be a delay in forwarding your prior year-end balance to the new fiscal year, which will temporarily make it appear as though any prior-year balance was erased. This is temporary as Accounting closes the prior fiscal year. You should be able to view your prior-year balance in Management Reporter (MR) to see what funds will be forwarded to the new year. See Managing Startup Funds in Management Reporter for assistance. Just switch to the prior fiscal year to see what funds should be forwarded to the current year. 

What can I purchase with startup funds?

Startup funds are intended to support your scholarly/creative and pedagogic development. At the time you were hired you submitted a proposed startup budget to the Provost. Generally, you should spend your startup funds on the items or services you proposed in your budget. Please contact the Associate Provost (djbrugh@owu.edu) if you need to make substantial changes to your plans for your startup funds. 

Who do I contact if I have questions? 

The use of startup funds touches on several offices. If you have any question at all, please start by contacting Kate Cole, Project Coordinator, in Academic Affairs at kkcole@owu.edu. She will assist in answering your question by involving the correct individuals.