Guidance on Government Shutdowns

Guidance for the U of A Campus - Updated October 3, 2025

As we move into day three of the federal shutdown, we are responding to questions about whether grant-funded positions need to be immediately shifted to non-federal, non-state worktags.

At this time, federal contingency plans allow active, awarded projects to continue both work and billing unless a stop work order is issued. Importantly:

  • We have not received any stop work orders related to the shutdown.
  • The federal drawdown system remains operational.
  • This means that grant-funded projects may continue billing to their existing worktags.

Action required: No immediate changes to are needed. However, please remain prepared to reassign positions to alternative worktags if a stop work order is received for any specific project.

We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as needed. Thank you for your attention and for ensuring continuity in this uncertain period. 

Thank you,

Indrajeet Chaubey, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Distinguished Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering

 

Guidance for the U of A Campus - Updated October 1, 2025

This week, the U.S. Congress was working on a continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding for federal agencies and programs until a FY26 budget is passed and signed into law.  However, the U.S. Congress was not able to pass a CR in time, and the current FY25 budget expired at midnight on September 30, 2025. As a result, the federal government shut down as of Wednesday, Oct. 1. We hope this federal government shutdown will be temporary as the U.S. Congress continues to work to pass a new CR that will extend federal funding.

At this time, units should update the shared file reports identifying the action being taken on active sponsored projects by cost center, worktag, PI, agency and a list of employees that are impacted by the government shutdown. Units should process alternative funding in Workday (in accordance with the steps below) for employees and positions tied to active federal grants by 8 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2025, ahead of the next payroll deadline.

Units should document internally any adjustments to workload due to changes in position funding source.  For workers where there is no alternative sources of funds, please send a list of employees to Tina Paul, director of human resources and employee relations, at tinapaul@uark.edu,  so her team can initiate the leave without pay. Supervisors should notify these employees that they are being put on leave without pay effective immediately and document the action.

For business transactions, please contact your procurement coordinator using this directory for advice or assistance regarding bids, requisitions, purchase orders, or contracts that are sourced from federal agencies impacted by the federal government shutdown.

As we receive more information, updates will be provided at  https://provost.uark.edu/shutdown/ and the Division of Research and Innovation intranet site at researchintranet.uark.edu. If you do not have access to the intranet site, please request access, and it will be given to you.

We ask that units continue to follow the guidance below during the government shutdown and monitor each agency’s contingency plans until another continuing resolution or the FY26 federal budget is passed and signed into law:

We recently received the attached guidance from the UA System. While guidance from the UA System references federal work study funding, the work study awards on our campus will not be impacted by the shutdown.  We also received the attached guidance from the state to use during a federal government shutdown.  

In a government shutdown, the administration, distribution, and funding of federal grants will be impacted. During a shutdown, each agency adheres to its contingency plan, which specifies the availability of its resources. A government shutdown does not mean that the university must immediately stop work on federally funded projects unless we receive a stop work order or the agency contingency plans so require.

Currently, the White House OMB is not updating their website with contingency plans at this time, but, instead, they are directing individual agencies to update their websites with their contingency plans.  The following agencies have updated their contingency plans below:

The following pages will also be updated with additional information as it becomes available - https://provost.uark.edu/shutdown/ and researchintranet.uark.edu.

In line with guidance furnished from the state and federal agencies, the university has been reviewing its obligations and options with regard to its programs and employees supported with federal funds. We will take action consistent with that guidance while seeking to minimize any detrimental impact of the shutdown on university employees and operations.  

Based on the federal, state, and system guidance we have received, campus units should review their federal programs and take the following actions, with regard to any programs that are not the subject of a specific stop-work notice by the relevant funding agency. (This memorandum addresses employees who have a majority of their appointment with the Fayetteville campus, and programs administered by the campus. For guidance relating to employees with a majority of their appointment with the Division of Agriculture, or programs administered by the Division, please contact the Division for guidance).  

    1. If the program has sufficient federal funding and authorization from current or previous federal grants to fund the program or position, it may do so as long as funding remains available. See agency contingency plans listed above for specific guidance.
    1. All tenured or tenure-track faculty who receive all or a portion of their salary from affected grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements should be paid if the federal agency has provided available funding. If there is a shortfall in paying the faculty salaries, the shortfall should be paid from sources other than state funds, such as funds derived from the recovery of indirect costs from federal grants, federal cooperative agreements and contracts such as RIF or start-up support or private funds. If allowed by the federal government, the university will seek reimbursement of such funds once federal operations resume, but such reimbursement is not guaranteed. Any other arrangements will require advanced approval by the Provost.
    1. All graduate assistants who receive all or a portion of their base pay (stipend) from affected grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements are to be treated the same as tenured or tenure-track faculty except that they may be moved to E&G sources of support if their duties are reassigned to support the teaching or student support mission if there is an assignment available.  If alternative assignments are not available, units should seek guidance from the Office of the Provost.
    1. The positions for all other affected employees must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In some limited instances, sources of support (other than state funds) such as RIF or start-up support or private funds may be available to continue support for employees that are critical to continuation of project activities on at least a part-time basis. (Note that, to be eligible for continued insurance coverage under the university’s plan, employees must remain at least 50% appointed.) As with the situations above, the university will request reimbursement of such funds once federal operations resume, if allowed by federal government. Unfortunately, otherwise, employees affected by the shutdown will need to be furloughed. 

Even if contingency plans indicate that current federal funding will continue during the shutdown, this could shift, or an agency might issue a stop work order at any time during the shutdown. That is why it is critical for units to continue to monitor the agency contingency plans. Please have your staff continue to work on the EIB worksheet or Workday costing allocation entries to move employees to an appropriate funding source as listed above. A furlough or any change in FTE appointment will require instructions from HR. More guidance will be posted to https://provost.uark.edu/shutdown/ and researchintranet.uark.edu.

Please note that the situation is fluid and that the short-term arrangements identified above will need to be evaluated on an ongoing basis, especially if the shutdown continues for an extended period of time.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time. The Chancellor’s and Provost’s Offices, in conjunction with the offices of the Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations and Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, will continue to closely monitor the FY26 appropriations process and keep our campus community informed accordingly. 

Sincerely,

Indrajeet Chaubey, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Distinguished Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering