Spending Transparency – How to Use This Site & Definitions

Spending by Month

You can search for expenses by month or by vendor.

• Select the year (the Medical University of South Carolina fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30)

• Select the Month

• Choose the Entity

• Choose the Fund Group (see definitions below)

You can narrow the search results by selecting

• Source (see definitions below)
• Cost Category (see definitions below)
• The Account Category
• The Account from which the expense was paid

Spending by Vendor

• Type the Vendor name in the search box
• Narrow the search by selecting a Fiscal year and month

Definitions

Spending information is provided by the following search selection criteria:

Source

Unrestricted Funds: Current funds budgeted for University operations **

• Educational and General (E&G) Funds: Traditional higher education expenses
  • Federal – Funds received from the United States Government
  • State Grants – Funds received from state agencies
  • State Appropriated – Funds received from the State of South Carolina
  • Non-State Appropriated – University: Funds generated by tuition and other student fees
  • Non-State Appropriated - Department: Funds generated by departmental activities and services
  • Non-State Appropriated - Other: Funds generated by student activities
• Auxiliary Funds: Funds generated by self-supporting activities, such as Parking Services

Restricted Funds: Gift or grant funds received for specific purposes and legally restricted by donors, sponsors, and other outside parties.

• Sponsored Program Funds: Grants or contracts to perform specific research or tasks
• Plant Funds: Monies used for capital projects

**Education and General State appropriations are used to partially fund salaries and are therefore not included as a fund source on this website. Information about salaries can be found at SC Department of Administration consistent with the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

Cost Categories

The Medical University of South Carolina expenses are aggregated in the following Cost Categories:

• Instruction/Research and Related Support: Includes mission-related costs for the University's six academic colleges, the Provost's Office, the Vice President for Research's Office, and the Library.
• Institutional Operations and Support: Includes costs for Facilities and Operations, Financial Affairs, Computing and Information Technology, Fundraising and Development, and the President's Office.

Program

A functional expense classification is a method of grouping expenses according to the purpose for which the costs are incurred. The classifications tell why an expenses was incurred rather than what was purchased. Reporting expenses by functional classification helps donors, granting agencies, creditors, and other readers of the financial statements to understand the various mission-related activities of the institution and their relative importance.

• Purpose of the Expenditure. Examples include instruction, research, and institutional support