Frequently Used University Policies and Procedures

Updated January 3, 2006.

This document is also available as a downloadable PDF.

All purchases and installation of hardware and software should be done in consultation with your department computer tech support person or your CLA OIT tech support person, whichever your department uses. Incompatible software and hardware can sometimes cause your computer to crash or lose memory; therefore it is very important to talk to your computer tech person before you make any changes to your computer hardware or software.

Off-Campus Property Disposal Form

Departments must fill out the Off-Campus Property Disposal Form before disposing of any University property. This includes the sale of old computers and equipment. This form can be found at: http://process.umn.edu:/groups/ppd/documents/Form/PropertyDisposal.pdf.

Taking Computers and Equipment Home

Any employee wishing to take any property (such as computers) home or off-campus for an extended period of time must also fill out the Off-Campus Property Disposal Form to request permission to do so. Check with your department administrator regarding the procedure for off-campus use of equipment. Departments are required by University policy to know the location (both on- and off-campus) of all equipment and computers. An employee cannot take equipment and computers home without filling out this form and having the department head sign it. The form can be found at: http://process.umn.edu:/groups/ppd/documents/Form/PropertyDisposal.pdf.

Graduate Student Employment

Grad Student Employment

It is important for all faculty and staff to realize that there are certain policies pertaining to the employment of graduate assistants. These policies can be found at: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/gae/. Graduate students cannot hold an appointment (including ALL U of M appointments) over 75% (or an hourly appointment with average weekly hours of more than 30) without prior approval from the Graduate School. The hiring authority should be in contact with the graduate student’s advisor or DGS from the student’s home department if this situation may occur. The advisor or DGS will send a letter to George Green in the Graduate School requesting permission for a graduate student to be employed more than 75% time. This letter will need to include name, ID, reason why the student must work more than 75% time, and how this appointment will not affect the student’s academic progress. If the request is denied, you cannot hire that graduate student nor can the department pay the graduate student retroactively for work done.

Foreign national students (including graduate students) who are here on F-1 and J-1 visa cannot work more than 20 hours per week during classes. They can work more during the breaks. A department cannot have a foreign national student work during the semester and then pay them during the breaks. The schedule of how many hours a foreign national student can work each week in the academic year is found at: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/payroll.

Grad students are only appointed for one semester or one academic year; therefore, if you wish to rehire them, they need to be reappointed when their appointment ends. Payroll documents for the hiring and reappointing of graduate students have a very early cutoff, so please notify your department payroll person of these items in writing as soon as you can. Generally, the department payroll person needs to submit the documents approximately one month before the start of the semester. Giving them as much notice as possible will help ensure that the graduate student gets paid on time and their tuition benefits are processed correctly.

Grad students need to be registered for at least 6 credits to hold an appointment. If a grad student falls below this minimum, he/she will have his/her appointment cancelled. Please see this website http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/gae/employment.html for information on registration requirements for Advanced Masters and PhD students.

Grad students can never work more than 100% time (including ALL U of M appointments). If they do, payroll will delete the hours over 100%, and those hours cannot be paid at a later date.

Grad students cannot be paid lump sums; they must be paid by the hour. If a student has an hourly appointment and needs to submit timecards, those timecards must be given to the department payroll person every two weeks (after being signed by the supervisor).

Miscellaneous (Inc. Exit Policies, REPA Form & Moving Expenses)

Exit policies

When an employee’s appointment in the department ends, all keys (and access cards if applicable) must be turned in on his/her last day of work. Any equipment, including laptops, that have been purchased with University funds (including department monies, grants, sponsored projects, etc) are the property of the University and must also be turned in on the last day of work. If an employee has a corporate travel card or a University purchasing card, those cards should be given to the department administrator on the employee’s last day. The employee should check with his/her department administrator to see if the department has any other specific exit policies.

REPA Form

Outside consulting and service activities must be reported on an annual basis, in accordance with Regents’ policy. Every fall each faculty member and professional & administrative staff member will need to fill out the REPA form which is available on the EGMS website (http://www.egms.umn.edu/). The unit chair should communicate the deadline for submission. The Regents’ policy on outside activities, including exceptions, time limitations, and maximum days allowed on outside activities, can be found at: http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/OutsideConsulting.pdf.

Moving Expenses

Moving expenses are divided into two categories: nontaxable and taxable. Nontaxable expenses include airfare, mileage, lodging, and transportation and 30-day storage of household goods and personal effects. Taxable expenses include meals, house hunting, and mileage in excess of the nontaxable rate, temporary living expenses, real estate expenses and other expenses not previously listed. Depending on the amount of the taxable expenses, withholdings for those expenses will be taken out of one or more paychecks. You can find the Relocating New Employees policy at http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Moving.cfm.

Once you have compiled all your relocation expenses, submit your original receipts to your department accountant for reimbursement.

Payroll & Human Resources

Address/Personnel Changes

University employees can go the University’s Onestop page at www.onestop.umn.edu and click on "Staff." Under the heading "Forms Online", click on the "change address" link. At the next screen, you will need to enter your X.500 ID (the letters and numbers before the @ in your e-mail address) and your e-mail password. From there, you will be able to change your personal address, phone number, and personal information. If your department keeps a separate database of staff and faculty addresses, the person in charge of that database should be notified of your changes as well. Contact your department payroll person to change your office address or phone number.

Name Changes

If you change your name for any reason, bring your new social security card (with your new name) to your department payroll person. He/she will give you the forms needed to process the name change in the payroll system.

Overpayments/Underpayments

If an employee receives a paycheck he/she is not entitled to or is overpaid, notify your department payroll person immediately. Individuals will be responsible for repaying the net amount of the overpayment either through reductions of future checks or with a personal check made payable to the "University of Minnesota." If the employee decides to write a personal check to the University for the overpayment, he/she should wait until notified by Payroll Services of the net amount due.

If an employee has been underpaid or does not receive a paycheck at all, notify your department payroll person immediately.

Worker's Compensation

The policy on reporting worker’s compensation related injuries can be found at: http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/workers_comp.cfm. This policy includes the procedures and forms for reporting these injuries. If an employee has an injury on-campus, he/she should not assume that it will or will not be covered by Worker’s Compensation. The employee should immediately check with Worker’s Compensation in central HR (612-627-1859).

Benefits and Open Enrollment

Qualifying employees hired at the University will receive a benefit packet that contains information and application forms relating to the various benefit programs available. An employee who has an appointment of 50%-74% can participate in the benefits program by paying the employer’s share of the premiums. The University pays the employer’s share for employees with appointments of 75% or more. Changes to these benefits can be made once each year during Open Enrollment which is mid-October through mid-November. During this time, Employee Benefits will send you instructions on how and when you can make changes to your benefits. Benefits counselors are available for consultation; you can call 612-624-9090 to talk to them or schedule an appointment.

Payroll Information

All faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to use direct deposit; you can sign up for direct deposit or make changes at http://hrss.umn.edu. You can also make changes to your W4 at this website. University employees can access their pay statements online at the Human Resources self-service website http://hrss.umn.edu/. Several other self-service options are available as well.

The following web address has an excellent description of all fields on your year-end W-2: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/compensation/paytaxes/w2.html.

Another helpful web address provides a description of each field on your paystub: http://www1.umn.edu/enterprise/paystatement/.

The Office of Human Resources website contains the University’s HR policies and procedures; it can be found at: http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/.

9 over 12 Salaries

If a new faculty or P&A member wishes to be paid over 12 months instead of the 9 months of their appointment, he/she should fill out the 9-over-12 form along with the rest of his/her new hire paperwork. The form can be found by going to the following webpage http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/compensation/paytaxes/9over12.html and clicking on "9-over-12 Memorandum of Agreement". However, because the University cannot pay an employee before work has started, the new faculty member will not receive a check until the first payday of the academic year. That check will include retroactive pay back to the beginning of the new fiscal year.

If a current faculty member wishes to be paid 9-over-12, he/she should submit the 9-over-12 form to the department payroll person by the end of May for it to take effect at the start of the new fiscal year.

Purchasing and Non-Travel Reimbursements

University policy states that "University staff may purchase items under $500 needed for emergencies and request reimbursement with proper documentation including original receipts and authorized signature." (See purchasing policy at http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/purchpol.cfm for more information.) Therefore, reimbursement for expenses (excluding travel) should not exceed $500. Please follow the department procedure for expense reimbursement. After turning in your receipts, your department accountant will give you a document that requires a signature of the person requesting reimbursement. Original receipts are required for all expenses. The University requires "reasonable proof of delivery of goods or services." Because of this, if you lose a receipt, please provide a cancelled check or some other form of purchase verification. You may also fill out the "Statement in Lieu of Receipt" form found at http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/form/pcard_statement.pdf. Disbursements Services processes the reimbursement within ten to fourteen days from the date the document was submitted to them. Check here for a current copy of your department reimbursement form.

If your expense is not an emergency purchase, it is preferable that you use a purchase order. Please check with your department administrator to obtain prior approval and department policy and procedures regarding purchases. Some departments also have a purchasing card that is available to faculty and staff for purchases that do not exceed $2499.00 and for vendors who will not accept purchase orders. This does not include thresholds for sponsored funds. For those thresholds, please see the following website: http://www.oar.umn.edu/CA/documents/Routing_GridUpdate_6-2-05.pdf. Please note that all thresholds are subject to change.

For larger purchases such as furniture and equipment, ascertain whether or not the vendor will accept a purchase order after getting the necessary approvals from your unit administrator or chair. If the vendor accepts purchase orders, please provide the accountant with a detailed description of the item(s) or service to be ordered and the name, address, telephone and fax number of the vendor. She/he will prepare a purchase order and fax or mail it to the vendor.

Any purchase that exceeds $10,000 must be sent out for bids. Purchasing Services requires that bids be out for at least one week, so be sure to notify your department accountant in plenty of time. Purchases of $250,000 or more will also require Board of Regents approval.

Contracts for Professional Services

A Contract for Professional Services must be completed for independent contractors or consultants. Procedures can be found on the web at: http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Purchasing_Prof_Serv.cfm. Examples of professional services are design and editing services, executive searches and audits, and consulting and computer services. This contract requires the signature of the contractor so it is imperative to notify the department administrator well in advance of the work to be performed so that the contractor does not encounter a delay in payment. All contracts must receive prior approval from Purchasing Services before the work is begun. Once the contract is approved and the contractor/consultant has completed the work, he/she must submit an invoice to the accountant in order to be compensated. This also applies to organizations performing services such as data analysis .

Because of the multiple approvals needed for Contracts for Professional Services, it can take approximately three weeks for these contracts to be fully approved. Again, please be sure to notify your department administrator as soon as possible when you will be hiring someone on in these situations. For sponsored accounts, SPA (Sponsored Projects Administration) must also sign-off if the total is over $2000, and a Certified Approver must sign-off if the total is under $2000. Payments to independent contractors can be subject to taxes, but out-of-pocket expense reimbursements to independent contractors are not. Contracts at $50,000 and above must go out on bid.

Current U of M employees cannot be paid as consultants. Faculty or staff performing services, including honoraria, for departments other than his/her home department will be paid through payroll, either as a lump sum or on an hourly basis. This rule also applies for former employees who have been off the U of M payroll for less than one (1) year.

Research Funding

Grants-In-Aid

At the website http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/funding is a listing of internal and external funding sources for which faculty can apply. All pertinent information as to deadlines, application information and forms, procedures for submission are listed as well. Note especially what expenses are allowed and not allowed on Grants-In-Aid.

Travel

Traveling on University Business

Traveling on department business requires prior written authorization. The following website includes helpful information for most aspects of University Travel policies and procedures: http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Travel.cfm. In the "Appendices" section of the main travel policy (http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/appendix/TravelAppH.cfm), you will find the state statute on frequent flier miles and how they accrue.

Departmental Travel Reimbursement Form

The departmental travel reimbursement form needs to be filled out within 15 days after the return date of your trip. Original receipts for all expenses over $25.00 must accompany this form. Please sign and return the completed form to your accountant. Reimbursements are usually processed within two weeks from the time your department submits the forms to Disbursement Services.

Reimbursable vs Nonreimbursable Travel Expenses

The following website contains a chart as to what types of expenses are reimbursable or nonreimbursable when traveling on University business: http://www.policy.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/appendix/TravelAppI.cfm

GE Capital Mastercard

The University has an agreement with GE Capital Mastercard for faculty interested in acquiring a credit card that can be used to charge travel expenses. The card can be used only for business-related expenses, and the employee to whom it is issued, rather than the U of M, is responsible for the charges and must pay the balance in full each month. The employee will still need to request reimbursement for these expenses by filling out the departmental travel reimbursement form and submitting original receipts. Upon leaving the University, please turn in the card to your departmental accountant, who will cancel the card for you. For card applications, please see your departmental accountant. For more information about the card, please see the University of Minnesota Policy Library website.

Contract Travel Agencies

The University has contracts with several travel agencies that work with the major airlines for discounted airfare. Please see the following website for more information: http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/appendix/TravelAppE.cfm

Reimbursement for Meals

Employees traveling on University business will be reimbursed for actual meal expenses up to but not exceeding the Federal State Department Per Diem daily amounts. For current rates for each city, see website: http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/policy/Travel.cfm#450

Foreign Per Diem rates can be found at the following website: http://www.state.gov/m/a/als/prdm/.

Visiting Scholars

Payment to (Foreign National) Visiting Scholars

Visiting scholars can be paid an honorarium. Departments usually have a mechanism established for paying honorariums, so if you are hosting a visiting scholar, be sure to notify your department administrator in advance. Honorariums cannot be processed until after the scholar has provided his/her services. In addition, visiting scholars can be reimbursed for expenses relating to their visit. He/she will need to complete the necessary documentation, including submitting original receipts for his/her expenses.

Check with your department administrator regarding limits on travel reimbursement for visiting scholars. Visiting scholars cannot be reimbursed for unallowable expenses such as alcoholic beverages or entertainment.

Both immigration and tax laws place a number of restrictions on payments made to short-term foreign visitors, including those on "B" visas or visa waivers. Most foreign scholars and researchers possess a J-1 or H-1 visa, which allow them to teach or conduct research while on campus. Other visa types limit the nature and locations of work that can be performed by the visitor. You can go to this website (http://www.isss.umn.edu/forms/tourist.html) to get a complete list of what can be paid on the different B-type visas. Please check this website each time you wish to pay a foreign national as policies change quite often.

If your department is contracting with a foreign national for a professional service, that foreign national should have a Social Security number if the work is to be performed in the United States, otherwise they will be taxed at 30%. Please see the section on Contracts for Professional Services for more information.

Some visiting scholars will have the kind of visa from which we can pay them honoraria, but they might be from a country that the government will not allow us to do business with, such as Cuba. In that instance, check with your department administrator on what your department can and cannot pay for.

If you are planning to host a visiting foreign scholar, you must contact the department administrator or accountant at least two months in advance. Failure to do so could result in delay of payment or problems involving the INS.

Administrative Units

Administrative Resources

Frequently Used University Policies and Procedures

Contents:

Equipment

Hardware/Software Purchases

Off-Campus Property Disposal Form

Taking Computers and Equipment Home

Graduate Student Employment

Grad Student Employment

Miscellaneous (Inc. Exit Policies, REPA Form & Moving Expenses)

Exit policies

REPA Form

Moving Expenses

Payroll & Human Resources

Address/Personnel Changes

Name Changes

Overpayments/Underpayments

Worker's Compensation

Benefits and Open Enrollment

Payroll Information

9 over 12 Salaries

Purchasing and Non-Travel Reimbursements

Purchasing and Non-Travel Reimbursements

Contracts for Professional Services

Research Funding

Sponsored Projects

Grants-In-Aid

Travel

Traveling on University Business

Departmental Travel Reimbursement Form

Reimbursable vs Nonreimbursable Travel Expenses

GE Capital Mastercard

Contract Travel Agencies

Reimbursement for Meals

Visiting Scholars

Payment to (Foreign National) Visiting Scholars