Upcoming Deadlines
- Monday, 5/11 - STAR/SPOT funding requests due for monthly employees
- Friday, 5/22 - Submit budget and budget templates
- Friday, 5/29 - STAR/SPOT funding requests due for biweekly employees
Budget Process
Budget process update
The FY2026-27 budget call letter was sent to the Deans, Vice Chancellors, and Divisional Finance Leaders. The budget process guidelines and assumptions, budget templates, and timeline are available on the FY2026-27 Budget Process webpage. Budgets should be entered into CalPlan and budget templates should be submitted to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu by Friday, May 1.
Next steps on Form A
Thank you for submitting your completed Form A to the Financial Planning & Analysis team. We are in the process of loading your division's Form A submissions to the FY2025-26 Forecast and FY2026-27 Operating Budget in CalPlan. Information from your Form A submissions will then be used to recalculate Campus Support for FY2027-28 and FY2028-29, and will be loaded to the Budget Template during the week of April 6.
UCRP 2025-26 Supplemental Interest Assessment Rate mid-year change
For the mid‑year adjustment to the UCRP assessment rate from 0.7% to 0.65%, our team will incorporate the updated rate into the Form A templates before uploading them into CalPlan. In addition, the in‑year actual funding will be adjusted to reflect the revised assessment rate. No action is required on your end for this process. We will share further details if any additional steps are needed.
Action Items
STAR/SPOT funding requests are due by Monday, May 11 or Friday, May 29
The deadline for STAR/SPOT Award payment requests to BRS is Monday, May 11, 2026 for monthly paid employees and Friday, May 29, 2026 for biweekly paid employees. Note that requests for additional certificates or letters have earlier deadlines. Please contact your respective BRS HR Business Partner for details.
Informational Updates
Introducing TRaVIS, a new AI Assistant
We are excited to announce the launch of TRaVIS, a new AI assistant within BearGPT to help with questions related to travel, relocation, vendoring, invoice status, reimbursements, and the credit card program, including associated policies. TRaVIS has access to all relevant web content and can answer the most common questions within seconds, 24/7. Access the TRaVIS assistant in BearGPT by clicking “Explore Agents” in the upper-left corner of the BearGPT homepage. Find instructions for logging in to BearGPT on the BearGPT website.
Note that we’ve trained TRaVIS over the past couple of months, but if you encounter incomplete or inaccurate answers, please send a screenshot of the exchange to disburse@berkeley.edu to help us with TRaVIS’ continuing education. And for more complex or one-off questions that TRaVIS can’t be expected to answer, our dedicated AP team will still be here to assist you.
Review April’s updated unused airline ticket credits
Please review the April 2026 UC Berkeley Monthly Unused Ticket Report to ensure your unit's travel credits are used before expiration. If an employee has left UC Berkeley, their credits may be eligible for use by other staff. Please contact the UC Travel Center at 310-206-2639 or travel@finance.ucla.edu to learn how to use the applicable credit. Read more in the Unused Airline Ticket Credit Alert (April 2026).
Inactivation of Account 57005 – Business Meeting-Non-Technical
In order to streamline the chart of accounts, account 57005 - Business Meeting-Non Technical will be inactivated, effective April 30, 2026. Use Account 57004 - Group Meals to record expenses for meals and light refreshments related to meetings, workshops, lectures, or conferences that support official University business.
Please update the account codes in distribution chartstrings for procurement cards, BearBuy requisitions and purchase orders, and journal templates. These expenses are subject to UC policy BUS-79 Expenditures for Business Meetings, Entertainment, and Other Occasions. For questions, contact the Financial Accounting and Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu.
Cal Answers training
Enrollment is now open for the two-hour instructor-led class that builds on the basic navigation skills covered in the self-study. There are separate courses focusing on financial dashboards and student data dashboards. In the class, a subject matter expert guides a deep dive into the reports and data available in the dashboards and answers specific questions. The Cal Answers website also hosts self-service learning resources, including a complete course on basic navigation, short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of frequently asked questions.
CalPlanning and Smart View training
Self-study materials for CalPlanning and Smart VIew are available on the website for everyone to use; they can be a helpful resource for those who have already completed the training and are looking for a refresher. Review the CalPlanning training page to access the self-study materials.
Changes to the DFL in Your Division
If the DFL role in your division is changing, email fpa@berkeley.edu to ensure our website, communications, and training plans are updated.
DFL Weekly Updates Page
As a reminder, these updates are regularly posted to the DFL Weekly Updates page so you can reference past updates at any time. Additionally, the Operational Deadlines page provides an overview of deliverables by quarter.
Federal Updates
Please be aware of two resources regarding the evolving federal policy shifts: the UCOP Federal updates page and the UC Berkeley Federal updates page, which will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.