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Departments are responsible for determining when an employee needs to have access to telephone services and the type of services necessary to fulfill University job responsibilities. Costs related to such services are to be borne by the department.

Personal phone calls made on University telephones should be kept to a minimum. If employees need to make a personal call which, if dialed direct, would result in a long distance phone charge to the department, they should either call collect or charge the call to their home phone or personal calling card. Personal long distance calls should not be charged to the University. If due to an emergency or inadvertence, a personal long distance call is charged to a University account, the caller will be required to reimburse the University.

Please note there are additional restrictions in the use of Sponsored Funds to pay for cell phone services.

Departments and colleges are not allowed to establish policies that differ from this University Wide policy.

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Provide general University expectations regarding appropriate use of telephone services.
• Reduce unnecessary transaction costs to the University.
• Avoid violation of state sales and federal excise tax laws.

There are no procedures for this policy.

There are no forms for this policy.

Subject	Contact	Phone	Fax/Email
Primary Contact	LaCretia Bell	612-626-4473	bellx053@umn.edu
Policy Questions	University Financial Helpline	612-624-1617 612-625-9841 (fax)	fsshelp@umn.edu

Telephone Services

Single and multiple line phones, local service only, restricted and unrestricted long distance service, calling cards, cellular phones, pagers, authorization codes to activate phone service, etc.

Telephone Costs

All expenses related to the acquisition, installation and on-going fees for telephone equipment or services, local and long distance.

Incremental Telephone Costs

Additional charges incurred by the University for personal use of University telephone equipment. Personal long distance telephone charges and additional cellular phone charges related to personal use are included.

Personal Telephone Use

Personal use generally includes routine calls home during the daily commute between work and home.

Business Telephone Use

Business use may include occasional calls home while employee is in business travel status as follows: while out of town on a University business trip; returning from an out-of-town or extended day business trip; returning home at the end of a work day from a secondary work location other than employee's principal office on University campus.

Incidental Personal Use

On average, fifteen percent or fewer minutes used for personal calls.

University Employee

Reimburse the University for all personal long distance and other incremental personal telephone costs incurred.

Administrative Officers and Supervisory Personnel

Monitor department or unit's overall compliance with policy. Retain phone documentation for three complete fiscal years. Take disciplinary action with employee in the event of policy abuse.

University Auditors

Conduct periodic reviews of long distance usage.

• Policy 3.1.3 - Cellular Device Business Expenses
• Policy 3.7.3 - Purchasing Goods and Services
• Direct Charging the Costs of Cellular Phones and Paging Devices to Sponsored Agreements

Amended:

May 2006 - Revised to reflect the creation of a separate policy and procedure governing cellular business expenses.

Amended:

May 2002 - Added "Direct Charging the Costs of Cellular Phones and Paging Devices to Sponsored Agreements" to Related Information as well as references and links to this in Policy Statement and Procedure.

Supercedes:

UMD Campus Policy, January 1995, Revised July 1997
Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Human Ecology, April 1997

Effective:

October 1999

To obtain a copy of a historical policy, e-mail the U Policy Librarian at policy@umn.edu or call 612-624-4372.