Dean’s Office Commitments
Dean's Office Commitments
Dean's Office Commitments are financial investments made by the Dean to departments, programs, and individuals for areas of effort that directly contribute to the Dean's highest priorities.
Activities may include (but are not limited to) faculty recruitments & retentions, new or ongoing programs, capital projects, research support, or financial aid. All approved commitments are available to view, manage, and request reimbursement online through the Commitment Tracking Application.
Tools for Departments Receiving Dean's Office Commitments
1. Manage Your Commitments
Update FAUs and Budgets
To request update to a department FAU or change in budget allocation in the DGInform Department Commitments report, submit a request through Ask DO Finance. A commitment must have sufficient budget and use the assigned FAU as shown in the Commitments for Reimbursement report.
Review Your Commitments
Commitments can be tracked and managed online through DGInform, updated daily. Request access through Ask DO Finance with permission from your CAO, CFO, or Chair.
Request Reimbursement
Follow our Commitment Reimbursement Instructions for a step-by-step guide. Reimbursement requests that do not meet criteria for reimbursement will be returned to the submitter. Reimbursement must be requested before the expiration date.
2. Request New Support
Departments, Major Centers, and Institutes that report directly to the DGSOM Dean may request financial support from the Dean to fund academic and programmatic investments that maintain and enhance the DGSOM’s status of excellence. Download the Request Form (PDF). For additional information on the request process, view our Commitment Management Guidelines.
3. Request to Extend a Commitment
Extend the End Date
Departments may submit a request to extend a commitment end date to allow additional time to complete spend toward a designated purpose. To request extension, complete the Commitment Extension Request Form and submit the form through Ask DO Finance. End date extension requests should be submitted at least 6 months prior to the commitment end date.
Extend the Expiration Date
Departments may submit a request to extend a commitment expiration date to allow additional time to close out the commitment. To request extension, complete the Commitment Extension Request Form and submit the form through Ask DO Finance. Expiration date extension requests should be submitted at least 3 months prior to the commitment expiration date.
4. Guidance for Financial Managers
- Commitment Management Guidelines: Outlines required procedures that all departments receiving Dean's Office commitment funds.
- Term Chair Management Guidelines:Outlines procedures for Term Chair funds owned by the Dean's Office, allocated to faculty for a set term.
Use CTA as a Tenant to Manage Your Department’s Commitments
Departments using the Commitment Tracking Application (CTA) may create and manage their own financial commitments within their department’s CTA tenant. CTA provides a centralized record of commitment approvals, budgets, funding sources, reimbursement activity, end dates, and closeout. The resources below are intended for department users who issue or administer commitments on behalf of their department.
1. Getting Started with CTA
Learn how to navigate CTA, understand the functions available based on your assigned role, and manage your department’s organizational hierarchy.
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Guide
Policy & Responsibilities
2. Create Commitments
Create individual commitments, copy existing records, establish related parent-child or award-subaward structures, or use the bulk import process when creating multiple commitments.
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- Adding a New Record & Copying a Record (for standard commitments)
- Allocating a Shared Budget Across Multiple Recipients (Parent-Child Setup)
- Reallocating an Existing Award to Other Recipients (Award-Subaward Setup)
- Which one do I use? Use Parent-Child when you have one approved budget that will be divided among multiple recipients. Use Award-Subaward when an existing award to a department, faculty member, or other recipient will be reallocated in part to other recipients.
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3. Manage & Audit Commitments
Learn how to update commitment information, review the record history, and monitor changes throughout the life of a commitment. Department administrators are responsible for maintaining accurate commitment data and following the monitoring and control requirements outlined in the Commitment Management Guidelines.
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4. Process Commitment Reimbursements
Learn how to process and track reimbursement activity for commitments received by your department. Use this guide when your department is receiving reimbursements requests and needs to process the related reimbursement.
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