University of Wisconsin–Madison
Departmental Support, DoIT, UW–Madison

FY27 Node Rate, Departmental Tech Support

We are pleased to announce that fiscal year 2027 (FY27) node rates have been finalized.

The node rate is a monthly charge that covers the cost to provide end-to-end IT support for the hardware used by your staff. An overview of the services included with the node rate can be found on the Departmental Tech Support service page.

Annual core node rates for FY27 increased only slightly by $8 per node (1.1%) despite facing headwinds including:

  • A pay plan increase
  • An increase to the fringe rates for University Staff
  • The FY26 budget reductions, which resulted in fewer supported computers across our contract partner base
  • Increased pricing on technology

However, DoIT continues to gain efficiency. For FY27, we were able to control costs through a reduction in transportation, personnel, equipment and supplies spending. These efficiencies enabled us to offset some of those headwinds and keep the node rate increase low.

Node rate table

ItemFY27
Total service cost$9,399,079
Less: Central funding subsidy$(3,936,181)
Less: Prior year surplus$(38,540)
Less: Revenue of other endpoints$(196,770)
Less: Other revenue sources$(896,734)
Net service cost to recover through customer chargeback$4,330,854

FY27 cost accounting basis for Node Desktop Support service rate

Total cost of service, less campus funding (central funds) applied to the service, determines the amount of service cost to recover through chargeback. Recoverable service costs are then divided by method of allocation to proportionally allocate across all service customers. For Desktop Support Service, the cost driver of service cost is endpoint devices (referred to as nodes). Node count is the basis of recoverable cost allocation to service customers.

Cost accounting rate setting basis: DoIT service

Service costs

ItemFY27
Salaries$7,313,714
Fringes$1,146,065
All other expenses$939,300
Total estimated services costs$9,399,079

Service funding subsidy

ItemFY27
Service central funds$3,936,181
Service funding subsidy$3,936,181

Net service costs to recover through chargeback

ItemFY27
Total service cost$9,399,079
Less: Central funding subsidy$(3,936,181)
Less: Prior year surplus$(38,540)
Less: Revenue of other endpoints$(196,770)
Less: Other revenue sources$(896,734)
Net service cost to recover through customer chargeback$4,330,854

See the FY27 Node Fee Schedule for node rates.

Additional details about what counts as a node and how the node rate is calculated can be found in the Node Rate FAQ KB article.

How will this impact your FY27 costs?

By the end of March, your unit will receive an email with detailed counts and costs at cost center level. Total cost will depend on how many nodes are actively in use (reporting) within your unit.

To close, we greatly appreciate your ongoing partnership and are proud to provide IT support to your unit. We are pleased to see continued cost control of the node rates. As always, we welcome your feedback and collaboration to help us continually advance our IT services.

Please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions, concerns or feedback. For detailed questions about the node rate, please email Thad Molling.

Thank you,

Thad Molling
Associate Director, Departmental Support

Hannah Pringle
Associate Director, Help Desk

Patrick Johnson
Interim Director, User Services