University of Illinois System
Policies & Procedures

10.5.1 Establish a Change Fund

Policy Statement

Change funds are issued only to approved cash handling units and can only be used for making change for cash sales.

All change funds are approved and issued by University Bursar. Change funds may not exceed $1,000 without prior approval from the Associate Vice President, Controller, and Deputy Comptroller. Units that need extensive change funds, may use their own cash, with the approval of the Senior Director of University Bursar.

Change funds are subject to an audit by the Office of University Audits and/or University Bursar at any time.

Reason for the Policy

To provide guidance on establishing a change fund and clarify proper usage of change funds.

Applicability of the Policy

All approved cash handling units that have a change fund.

Procedure

To establish a change fund:

  1. The unit head, supervisor, or delegate designates one employee as custodian of the change fund.
  2. The custodian successfully completes Cash Handling Level I—Cash Handling Fundamentals course and Cash Handling Level II—Managing Change Funds Compliance course. Training is completed when the fund is established and then Level II training is completed every year thereafter.
  3. The custodian completes a Request New Fund form. Follow the instructions on the Request New Fund form to approve and submit the new fund request.
    1. State the reasons your unit needs a change fund.
    2. Identify the amount needed for daily activities.
    3. For change fund requests exceeding $1000, the requesting department should explain the justification for the large request and submit the request via email for approval from the Senior Director of University Bursar.
  4. Submitting the Request New Fund form automatically generates an email to the unit head, supervisor, or delegate who must respond to the email, either rejecting or approving establishment of the fund.

Related Policies and Procedures

10.5.2 Serve as a Change Fund Custodian

Forms Used in this Procedure

Request New Fund

Additional Resources

Change Fund Training Training Center University Bursar Change Funds

Campus University Bursar Office locations and hours:

Chicago (M–F 8:30 am–4:30 pm)
809 S. Marshfield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60612

Springfield (M–F 8:30 am–12:30 pm; 1:30–5:00 pm)
One University Plaza
PAC 184
Springfield, IL 62703

Urbana-Champaign (M–F 8:30 am–4:30 pm)
506 S. Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801

First Published: February 2008 | Last Updated: June 2024| Last Reviewed: March 2023