University of Southern Maine

Cell Phone Acquisition, Use and Reimbursement Policy

Purpose:

As required by Administrative Practice Letter (APL) No. 51, this policy establishes procedures for the procurement, use, and reimbursement for occasional, incidental or emergency personal use of University cell phones as well as reimbursement for use of personal cell phones. Because this policy is governed by APL No. 51, cellular phone users should also become familiar with the APL itself.

Policy:

User Qualifications:

· Employees qualify for cellular service as determined by their supervisor and when at least one of the following criteria is met:

1. Timely, critical two-way communication is required by the employee.

2. The employee is very mobile and may have limited access to land based telephone services.

3. Employee requires immediate communication in case of emergency.

· Only one cell phone will be approved for each qualified employee.

· A cellular phone may not be substituted for a campus phone.

· There must be available department funds to cover the added costs of the equipment and services.

Procurement:

· The Telecommunications Office is the only authorized office for procurement of cellular service for the University of Southern Maine.

· Requests for cellular service must be on file. New requests must be submitted in writing to the Telecommunications Office on a Cellular Phone Request Form.

· Only completed Cellular Phone Request Forms with the appropriate authorizing signature (deans or directors) will be considered.

· Employees will use the University of Maine System negotiated contract. Any exceptions must have prior approval. Due to the increased cost involved in any transaction that falls outside the existing contract, a Cellular Phone Exception Form will be provided. The completed form with the appropriate authorizing signature (deans or directors) must be submitted to the Telecommunications Department.

· Departments will coordinate repair, purchase of accessories/new equipment and plan changes with the Telecommunications Department.

Use of Cell Phones:

· University cell phones are provided for necessary, official university business purposes only.

· Employees will be responsible for the safekeeping, care and custody of the cell phone assigned to them.

· Cell phones are University property and are to be returned to the responsible department when employee separates from the University or no longer requires use of the cell phone. University cell phones cannot be transferred to private ownership.

· Cell phone numbers are owned by the University and cannot be transferred to private ownership.

· Departments are responsible for reviewing employee call detail reports and for collecting reimbursement for occasional incidental or emergency use of University cell phones.

Reimbursement for Personal Use of University Cell Phones:

· Employee reimbursement is to occur within 30 calendar days of the statement date.

· The employee will reimburse for costs related to each personal call either by paying actual charge, as it appears on the vendor invoice or by applying a “per minute cost”, if the call is within plan minutes. “Per minute cost” is calculated by dividing the monthly calling plan charge by the minutes allowed. Multiply the cost-per-minute times the business minutes used on the personal cell phone to determine the total owed the University.

Reimbursement for Business Use of Personal Cell Phones:

· When an employee makes necessary university business calls from a personal cell phone, reimbursement may be requested (see calculation formula below), excluding calling plan charges, equipment charges, taxes, surcharges and regulatory fees, using a Cash/Check/Employee Reimbursement form: http://www.usm.maine.edu/bus/cashck.pdf

· From APL No. 51: “Employees must identify the business expenses on the detailed cell phone bill and submit the original bill with the request for reimbursement. Where an employee also needs the original receipt for tax or other purposes, the supervisor may accept a copy.”

· Calculating the Dollar Amount of Reimbursement: The employee will be reimbursed for costs related to each business call either by applying a “per minute cost” if the call is within plan minutes or by actual charges if the call occurs in excess of the plan minutes. “Per minute cost” is calculated by dividing the monthly calling plan charge by the minutes allowed. Multiply the cost-per-minute times the business minutes used on the personal cell phone to determine the total owed the employee.

Effective Date: ___________________

Approved by: __________________________________________