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Budget officers are responsible to insure that all purchases incurred by their department are made in accordance with the College's purchasing policies and practices. Therefore, all budget officers and other departmental staff involved in purchasing should be familiar with the guidelines as set forth in this policy.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders are required before making purchases of goods and services. Purchase orders encumber funds against departmental budget lines which allows for more accurate and more current budget monitoring. Purchase orders also provide authorization to outside vendors to deliver the goods or services to the ordering department. Finally, use of the purchase orders provides the necessary accounting trail to more efficiently track orders through receipt of goods and services and payment of invoices.
Examples of items requiring a purchase order:
Approved equipment, routine repairs to office equipment, office supplies (not purchased through the College's stockroom), memberships and subscriptions.
Examples of items not requiring a purchase order:
Non routine repairs to office equipment and travel advances.
You may be required to return items that have been purchased without a purchase order.
For training or questions related to purchase orders, please contact the Purchasing Coordinator at ext. 4367.
Check Requests
Proper documentation and signature by the appropriate budget officer must accompany all check request forms. (These forms can be accessed via Faculty/Employee Resources or by clicking here http://srv2.lycoming.edu/myLyco/all/forms/) Any check request for reimbursement to a budget officer must be signed by the appropriate administrative cabinet officer. Because there is a 5 day turnaround on such requests, please plan accordingly. Checks are routinely processed each Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Petty Cash Fund
The Treasurer's Office maintains a Petty Cash Fund for advances or reimbursement of incidental and small dollar (less than $50) purchases related to the operation of your department. For both advances and reimbursements, receipts must be submitted to the Treasurer's Office (within 5 business days of purchase for advances). Written approval by the Departmental Budget Officer is required at the time of advance or reimbursement.
College Credit Card Use
In limited cases where vendors will only accept a credit card as a method of payment, the Purchasing Coordinator must first be contacted for approval and release of credit card information to the vendor.
Supplies
Supplies are defined as items with a unit cost of $200 or less regardless of their useful life or items with a useful life of less than one year regardless of the unit cost. The "Supplies" line specifically excludes the following items:
Electronic Devices - See the Electronic Devices section below for details.
Office Furniture - When submitting budget requests for office furniture, please contact the Purchasing Coordinator for options and prices. A number of office furniture options and configurations for all academic and administrative departments have been pre-selected. All office furniture must, therefore, be approved by the Treasurer and purchased through the Purchasing Coordinator.
Small Software Purchases - All requests for minor software purchases must be submitted during the annual budget process (using the "Computer Equipment" budget request form) for review by the Joint Computer Budget Task Force. In special circumstances, other purchases may be funded during the year by special approval from the Associate Dean for IT Services. All approved software purchases are made with IT Services' budgeted funds only.
Low Cost Printers - The purchase of low cost printers is not permitted since College policy provides for the purchase of centralized, networked printers under IT Services' budget only.
A listing of the College's Office Supply Inventory is available within Faculty/Employee Resources, under Forms, or by clicking here http://srv2.lycoming.edu/myLyco/all/forms/. The purchase of such supplies through the Treasurer's Office is required rather than via outside vendors. If you believe you can obtain a better price on a particular item, please contact the Purchasing Coordinator (ext. 4367) prior to making the purchase. All departmental supply requests should be submitted to the Purchasing Coordinator via e-mail by the end of the day on Tuesday and will be delivered Wednesday morning to the requesting department.
Laser Printer Chargebacks
The College has developed a process which provides an automatic monthly chargeback to departments for the cost of all printing done via networked printers. Therefore, the following items should be ordered as specified below and not purchased from outside vendors:
Paper & Toner Requests - All printer toner should be ordered through the Purchasing Office while all printer paper should be ordered through the Print Shop.
Custom Printing - All custom printing must be done by the Print Shop. This includes jobs such as letterhead, envelopes, business cards, etc. Any exceptions must be authorized by the President.
Effective December 1, 2005, printing sent to black & white printers will continue to be charged back to the appropriate department at five (5) cents per page. Printing sent to color printers however will be charged back to the department at fifteen (15) cents per page.
Consulting
All paid consulting arrangements are considered contracts, which must be signed by the President, Treasurer or Controller. Under no circumstance should consulting be paid for by funds available in other line items. The "Consultants" budget line (#55102) should be used when requesting funds for such contractual arrangements during the regular budgeting process.
Computer Hardware (including peripherals) and Software
All computer requests should be made during the annual budget request process. These requests are reviewed and prioritized by the Joint Computer Budget Task Force and final recommended purchases submitted to the President for approval.
Minor software requests are submitted with the annual budget for review by the Joint Computer Budget Task Force. In special circumstances, other purchases may be funded during the year by special approval from the Associate Dean for IT Services and these are purchased through the Computer Replacement Budget.
The purchase of low cost printers is not permitted since College policy provides for the purchases of centralized, networked printers under IT Services' budget only.
Annually, IT Services issues a letter included with the budget package explaining the process for purchasing computers and related equipment. To view a copy of the current year's letter, click here http://www.lycoming.edu/its/Policies&Procedures/budgetrequest.html.
Non-Computer Equipment and Office Furniture Purchases
The guidelines for purchasing non-computer movable equipment are as follows:
Major Equipment - Movable equipment and furniture with a unit cost (including shipping, tax, etc.) of $2,500.00 or more and with a useful life of two or more years is considered major equipment (account XX-XXXXXX-69010) and must be capitalized.
Minor Equipment - Movable equipment and furniture with a unit cost (including shipping, tax, etc.) of $200.00 to $2,499.99 is considered minor equipment (account XX-XXXXXX-51010).
All office furniture purchases should be coordinated through the Purchasing Office to ensure best price, reputable vendors, etc. The Treasurer has approved a group of selected office furniture which is suitable for use in all campus offices. For information concerning the selected office equipment and prices, contact the Purchasing Coordinator. Office furniture is not considered a supply and should not be charged to the supplies account.
Requests for movable equipment and office furniture should be included with the submission of your annual budget package. Such requests are then reviewed, prioritized, and approved/disapproved by the Treasurer (administrative department equipment and all office furniture requests) and BS&B Committee (academic department equipment requests) during the budget process using dollars allocated for non-computer equipment only and office furniture.
Unanticipated needs for non-computer equipment and office furniture occurring during the year should be submitted to your administrative cabinet officer and then forwarded to the Treasurer or BS&B committee, as applicable (see above).
800 Number and Cellular Phone Policy
The College has two 800 number services. One is primarily for use by Admissions and Development while the other is used by Athletics. All incoming 800 calls are billed to the College on a per minute basis which is analogous to receiving a collect call.
The following policy is to be used:
- 800 calls will continue to be accepted for Athletics, Admissions, Financial Aid and Development. If 800 calls are received for other areas, the caller will be asked to call the department directly unless the President has approved an exception. This list is kept at the switchboard.
- The 800 number is not to be used for regular communications with those who may wish to call the College.
- The 800 number may not be used for any personal communications.
- When traveling on College business, it is more economical to use the 800 number than a calling card. Any employee calling the College while on business should give the College operator his or her name and inform the operator that he or she is an employee of the College. The operator will connect such calls to the appropriate department.
Cellular phones typically have a higher per minute cost than other forms of communications. Currently, the College pays for cellular phone service for Buildings & Grounds only for maintenance support. The use of personal cellular phones for college business and reimbursement require approval of an administrative cabinet officer.
Electronic Devices: Items of $200 or less
Cell Phones and Pagers - Cell phone services are contracts and require the signature of the President, Treasurer, or Controller. Cellular phones typically have a higher per minute cost than other forms of communications. The use of personal cellular phones for college business and reimbursement require the approval of an administrative cabinet officer. If College business requires an employee to travel, the employee can submit a request for reimbursement for cell phone use during their travel. Wireless "walkie-talkies" are currently the standard for on-campus communications.
FAX machines - New FAX machines are to be requested in the annual budget process along with related phone line installation and monthly usage charges. Approved FAX machines will be expensed in the Telecommunications' budget (as well as their replacement and repair) while phone line installation and monthly charges will be expensed in the user department's budget.
Answering machines - Answering machines are not authorized purchases. The College maintains a centralized voice mail system.
Palm Pilots and other Handheld devices - The College provides each employee with a computer and related office productivity software. Because palm pilots and other handheld devices normally require regular replacement like most electronic equipment, they are typically considered to be an individual's personal purchase preference and, therefore, are required to be purchased with personal funds. Only in limited situations will purchases be made from College funds for individuals who do extensive traveling or require extensive classroom use. All such purchases will require the approval of the President.
This policy also includes any file transfer software to the Lycoming College e-mail system. E-mail upgrade timing will not be scheduled around transfer software upgrade availability.
Second lines for off campus business use (eg fax/intranet/phone/software/cell phones) - These items are generally not paid for by the College unless approved otherwise by the President. (See above for specifics on cell phones.)
Electronic Devices Purchased and Maintained By The Media Services Department - Every effort should be made to contact Media Services when a need arises. Media Services maintains an inventory of various media equipment. By contacting Media Services, an assessment can be made of your department's need, suggest other locations on campus where the requested equipment is available for your use or delivery to your area. (For a listing of Media Enhanced Classrooms, see http://www.lycoming.edu/its/MediaTechnology/mediaequippedclassrooms.html. If a purchase is deemed necessary and subsequently approved, Media Services' budget will fund the purchase.
Data Projectors, "Black Boxes", etc - Some computer equipment is paired with electronic units to perform specialized functions that may have not involved a computer in the past. These items and media equipment, such as data projectors, should be submitted in the Major and Minor Moveable budgets. Data projectors are purchased and maintained collectively through Media Services.
TV/VCR - Requests are to be submitted in the annual budget process under Minor Movable Equipment. All equipment must be inventoried by Media Services in order to be maintained and repaired by Media Services.
Cameras, DVD players, camcorders, etc - A full inventory of media items are maintained by the Media Technology department. A request for such items is available at http://www.lycoming.edu/its/MediaTechnology/avresources.html.
Travel
The College's complete policy regarding travel can be found at
http://srv2.lycoming.edu/myLyco/employee/humanresources/ADMINISTRATIVE%20STAFF%20
HANDBOOK/TravelPoliciesandProcedures.htm
While traveling on College business or student field trips, renting a vehicle is recommended. Should there be an accident, all vehicles which are leased, whether locally or out of the country, are covered by College insurance. Anytime a vehicle is leased, an insurance card should be obtained from the Personnel Office. Additional insurance from a car rental company is not necessary. The Personnel Office can recommend the car rental company with the best lease price for cars and vans. The advantage of using the pre-selected companies is that arrangements can be made for delivery and pick up.
If employees are injured during the course of traveling on College business, they are covered under workman's compensation regardless of the location. If an employee becomes ill while traveling, the employee's health insurance would cover the illness.
Students are not covered by the College insurance plans. All students should have their own health coverage when traveling just as they do when they are on campus.
If a student uses his/her own vehicle to transport students on a field trip, his/her insurance is the primary coverage. It is important for the faculty member in charge to verify the student's driver's license and auto insurance card to make sure they are valid and current.
For field trips, student trip release forms must be requested from the Personnel Office. For more information concerning field trips, go to
http://srv2.lycoming.edu/myLyco/employee/humanresources/ADMINISTRATIVE%20STAFF%20
HANDBOOK/FieldTrips.htm
The College has developed a required van training course for anyone, including students, responsible for driving a 15 passenger van. The Director of Safety & Security should be contacted about the need for any training. For further information about vans and requirements, go to http://www.lycoming.edu/safetyandsecurity/vanpolicy.html.
Although employees are strongly encouraged to use rental vehicles while on college related business, the following rate should be used to request reimbursement for the use of a personal vehicle when a rental vehicle is not practical. Effective July 1, 2008, the prevailing IRS mileage rate for the business use of personal vehicles is $.585.
Departmental Memberships
Requests for memberships should be submitted with your annual budget package under the "Memberships" budget line (#51005). The College will pay for reasonable departmental memberships; however, individual memberships (e.g. AAA, Sams Club, professional organizations, etc.) will not be purchased with College funds.
Budget Monitoring
Budget Officers are expected to monitor their respective budget(s). It is the Officer's responsibility to periodically review their departmental budget reports (along with the related instructions) on-line via Faculty/Employee Resources or at https://www.lycoming.edu/webadvisors/. Instructions can be found at http://www.lycoming.edu/treasurer/budgetreports.html, any additional questions should be directed to the Treasurer's Office.
Should you wish to allow another person access to all of your accounts, you should contact IT Services. (NOTE: BE AWARE THAT THE DESIGNATED PERSON WILL HAVE ACCESS TO EVERY ACCOUNT UNDER YOUR BUDGETARY CONTROL. THEREFORE, DELEGATE THIS AUTHORITY ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.)
Using the College purchasing system to purchase materials, supplies, or equipment for personal use is strictly prohibited.
Departmental Parties & Related Purchases
The cost of private staff parties, either on or off campus, and related gifts are not an authorized expenditure from College departmental budgets. (Examples include but are not limited to: Holiday parties, retirement parties, Secretary's Day celebrations and gifts, parties and gifts for student workers and graduating seniors, etc.)
Direct Bill Policy
Whenever any department has a guest for which overnight accommodations must be made, the department should contact the President's Office to inquire about the availability of the Rich Hall Guest Suite. If the Guest Suite is not available, the College has established arrangements with some of the local Hotels to direct bill the College (for accommodations only). The Direct Bill form is available on the Web. To request a reservation, the department simply needs to complete the form in its entirety and forward to the Accounts Payable Coordinator in the Treasurer's Office. The request will be approved, faxed to the Hotel and an email will be sent to the requestor, providing a confirmation number. If a reservation would need to be cancelled, the requesting department is responsible for contacting the Hotel, with the confirmation number, and canceling the reservation. At that time, the Hotel will provide the requestor with a cancellation number which should be forwarded to the Accounts Payable Coordinator to include in the Treasurer's Office file.
Purchase of College Flowers
The College has guidelines in place regarding the purchase of flowers for certain approved occasions (birth, get-well, death, etc.). All requests must be submitted to the President's Office for approval and processing on behalf of the entire College Community. The use of departmental funds for this purpose is prohibited.
Unexpected Items
Any unexpected budgetary needs occurring during the fiscal year should be directed to your administrative cabinet officer.
Last updated 01/11/06
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