Central Assessments
The central assessments UC San Diego applies to self-supporting revenue and campus expenditures — what each recovers, how the rate is set, and current rates.
On this page
- Auxiliary and Self-Supporting Activities (ASSA) Assessment
- Differential Income
- Office of the President (OP) Assessment
Overview
The campus applies three central assessments. Two recover indirect costs from self-supporting activities (ASSA and Differential Income); the third is UC San Diego's share of the systemwide Office of the President assessment. Rates are set each year through the budget process and published with the annual planning guidelines.
Auxiliary and Self-Supporting Activities (ASSA) Assessment
UC San Diego's sales and service enterprise — housing and dining, transportation, the bookstore, Extension, space rentals, clinical service agreements, the medical center and clinical practices, conferences, and athletic events, among others — is expected to set market-based rates that recover both direct and indirect costs, so these activities are fully self-supporting and carry no institutional subsidy.
The campus assesses these activities a percentage of revenue to recover part of the indirect cost of central services they rely on, such as accounting, cashiering, human resources, information systems, and payroll. Activities fall into three categories, each with its own rate.
| Activity type | FY2026–27 rate |
|---|---|
| Primary Care | 0.7% |
| Academic/Educational | 3.4% |
| Auxiliaries | 7.25% |
The Auxiliaries rate increases 0.25% each year through FY2031–32, reaching 8.5%. Clinical Practice is part of Primary Care, reflecting its business and financial integration with the Medical Center.
Differential Income
Recharge activities exist primarily to serve internal campus needs, but they may also sell to external, non-University customers. University policy requires those external sales to be priced at full cost — direct and indirect — and market-informed.
Differential Income is an assessment on external-sales revenue that recovers the facilities costs these activities don't pay directly, because they operate in institutionally supported space: construction, debt service, building maintenance, and utilities.
| Activity location | FY2026–27 rate |
|---|---|
| On-campus activities | 11% |
| Off-campus activities and ship use | 5% |
Office of the President (OP) Assessment
The UCOP assessment is an annual systemwide charge that funds Office of the President operations and a small number of priority initiatives. It has two components: UCOP operations, which funds central administrative services and academic and public service programs, and UCPath, which funds the UCPath Center and the systemwide payroll, benefits, HR, and academic personnel system. UC San Diego is also direct-charged for certain systemwide services, such as Office of General Counsel legal costs and programs like the Natural Reserve System.
UC San Diego's share of the assessment is projected at $84.1 million for FY2026–27, flat with the prior year.
How it's funded. The campus provides each Vice Chancellor with funding to cover the full OP assessment on core-funded activities, including the portion attributable to contracts and grants. Vice Chancellors are responsible for the non-core portion and set their own processes for allocating it within their portfolios — consult your VC office if you're unsure how the assessment applies to your non-core funds. Detailed assessment information by VC unit is distributed each year through the budget process.