2.08—Home and Off-Campus Internet Service Allowance

Effective: 07/01/2009
Senate Proposal: No
Responsible University Officer: Associate Vice President for Finance
Responsible Office: Financial Services and Operations

Policy Statement

Michigan Technological University will provide University employees with an allowance when their duties and responsibilities require business use of home and off-campus internet service.

Policy Requirements

An allowance will be provided for authorized employees with approval of department chair or director. These external internet services will be in the employee's name for billing purposes and employees will pay the service providers directly.

Reason for Policy

This policy is intended to simplify purchasing, reimbursement, and approval issues associated with multiple home and off-campus internet service providers.

Related Policy Information

This policy applies to University employees for payments for home and off-campus internet services when the service is required for University use. The allowance is provided for employees when duties and responsibilities require internet access while off-campus, outside normal business hours and locations, or from home. The dollar amount of the service allowance should approximate the employees anticipated business-related expenses only. It is not the intent of this allowance to pay employees for their personal use of the internet.

The allowance will be:

• processed through Payroll Services and included in the employee paycheck;
• reviewed on an annual basis by the employee's department.

The allowance is not:

• considered to be part of the employee's base pay;
• to exceed the monthly internet provider service bill;
• to be paid from sponsored program awards.

The Michigan Tech Purchasing Card may not be used for the purchase of internet service.

Contacts

Definitions

Home or off-campus internet service - Internet connections to a private residence or location not funded by the University.

Authorized employee - University employee whose job duties and responsibilities require home or off-campus internet service, as determined by the department chair or director.

Business use - The use of an internet service by an authorized employee to perform their job responsibilities that contribute to and further the mission of the University.

Personal use - Internet service is not necessary or does not contribute to furthering the mission of the University.

Responsibilities

Department Chair or Director - determines whether or not an employee’s job requires use of home or off-campus internet service and approves the monthly allowance amount as indicated on the Cell Phone/Internet Allowance Request Form by signing the form.

Financial Manager - verifies that the monthly allowance amount is available in the indicated University index.

Employee/Individual - completes the Cell Phone/Internet Allowance Request Form when requesting either a new allowance with the amount of the monthly allowance, a revision to a current allowance, or terminating an internet service when it is no longer needed to perform their job; and pays the entire cost of the internet service to the provider.

Accounting Services - implements policies to comply with federal tax regulations, and implements procedures to monitor internet services which are not provided directly by the University and/or on-campus.

Department - reviews the Cell Phone/Internet Allowance Request Form for proper completion and appropriate signatures; annually reviews the employee's need for home and off-campus internet service to perform job duties and responsibilities; and reviews actual billing documentation compared to amount of allowance.

Procedures

In support of this policy, the following procedures are included:

• 2.08.1. Request for Internet Service Allowance
• 2.08.2. Request to Revise a Current Internet Service Allowance
• 2.08.3. Request to Terminate an Internet Service Allowance

Forms and Instructions

In support of this policy, the following forms/instructions are included:

• Cell Phone/Internet Allowance Request Form

Adoption Date

Revisions