Financial Stewardship Measures

(For FY25)

Dear OWU Colleagues,

The Board of Trustees approved the University's FY25 budget on May 16. To maintain OWU's fiscal health and establish a foundation for growth, it is vital that we live within that budget while fulfilling the University's mission.

This past January OWU issued a set of financial stewardship measures to ensure that we meet our financial goals. I am asking all departments to continue following the financial stewardship measures listed below. These measures standardize a wide range of past practices, align with best fiscal practices, and help ensure that we do not overspend our budget.

This document is divided into three sections: (1) explanation of sources of funds to use when making purchases, (2) explanation of protocols regarding personnel, and (3) purchasing practices and procedures.

1. Using the Proper Source of Funds

Many departments and programs have access to sources of funding beyond their operating budget. Employees who have authority to make purchases must follow the order explained below when considering making a purchase. Simply, if an expense could be funded from multiple sources, the most restricted funding source should be used first. This will alleviate pressure on the operating budget.

• Best Option: Endowment earnings for the current fiscal year. Spending from current year endowment earnings funds in accordance with the donor intent or board designation should be the first choice for funding. Where possible and appropriate, prioritize spending from those funds to support ongoing mission-driven initiatives. (These funds start with a 2 and have a project code that begins with a 6.)
• Second-best Option: Current-year pass-through gifts with donor restrictions. Donor-restricted funds must be spent in accordance with the donor intent. We should continue to be good stewards with our donor contributions and ensure we are fulfilling the intention of their gift. (These funds start with 2 and have a project code that begins with 3.)
• Third-best Option: Accumulated balances in endowment earnings or accumulated balances in other restricted funds. Spending from these funds should be limited to essential purchases that cannot be delayed and for which there is no other source. Please consult the budget office or VPFA for assistance with planning for spending from accumulated balances.
• Last Option: Current-year operating budget (Fund 10). Everyone with purchasing authority must manage their department/program/office/organization within the budget that has been allocated.

2. Protocols for Open Staff Positions and Part-time Staff Hours

Filling Vacant Staff Positions

All open staff positions that are funded by the operating budget will be reviewed by the President's Cabinet before they can be approved for a search to begin. This deliberative process will provide opportunities to reimagine positions to meet changing needs and explore inter-divisional needs.

Part-time Staff Hours

Federal law requires that employers provide retirement benefits to part-time staff who work at least 1,000 hours per year. We are not budgeted to provide such high-cost benefits to staff who are not full-time. Therefore, part-time staff must not work more than 999 hours in any 12-month period. A 12-month period can overlap a calendar year and or a fiscal year. Therefore, it is vital to monitor the hours worked by part-time employees in your area to ensure that the hours remain within the number budgeted for the position. Budgeted hours for each position were submitted by VPs as part of the FY25 compensation process. It is essential that supervisors set schedules for part-time staff that align with the budget. Part-time staff may not work additional hours beyond those scheduled by the supervisor.

Supervisors can use ADP to check the number of hours their part-time employees have worked. After logging in to ADP, go to "My Team," then under "Time & Attendance" select "Totals Summary." Use the dropdown box to select "Range of Dates" and enter the date range you are interested in, then click "find."

3. Purchasing and Related Practices

P-cards

The first option for purchases should be through University catalog vendors found on BishopBuy (including Amazon Business Prime); the second option is the use of purchase orders issued to non-catalog vendors. In the event a credit card must be used, an OWU P-card must be used. Personal credit cards should never be used for University expenses. Exceptions may be made in rare circumstances where the P-card was declined or Merchant Category Code was not available.

Office Furniture

Office furniture is not to be purchased without the approval of the divisional Vice President. The University will not accept delivery of furniture for which no evidence of approval from a Vice President is apparent.

Motor Pool

Every effort should be made by faculty and staff to share rides when using vehicles from the motor pool. Faculty and staff should limit the use of personal vehicles for University business as often as possible. Personal vehicles should only be used when motor pool vehicles are unavailable.

Tax Exemption

As a tax-exempt institution, Ohio Wesleyan does not pay general sales tax. When using the University's P-card in stores, use the tax exemption certificate and inform the cashier of our tax-exempt status. When making purchases online, call customer service to avoid sales tax. Employees who repeatedly allow vendors to apply sales tax will lose P-card privileges. Employees will also be required to reimburse the university for any sales tax paid.

Travel

Airline flights and hotels should be purchased through the Concur system with a University P-card. Note that we are not exempt from hotel room tax, so it is appropriate for room tax to be charged to an OWU P-card.

Travelers are required to book the lowest rates available for all flights and hotels when traveling on University business. Oftentimes, hotel rates associated with conferences are less expensive than booking through Concur. When the hotel rate offered by the conference is lower than the rate shown in Concur, the traveler must book the room through the conference. It is the traveler's responsibility to explore all cost-saving options when booking flights, hotel rooms and transportation to ensure the lowest possible cost to the University.

Timeliness of P-card/Concur Approvals

To allow for more accurate financial expense reporting, it is important to "clear" P-card purchases and perform P-card approvals on a timely basis. All P-card charges must be cleared by the 10th of the month for any expense that was incurred in the prior month. Approvals must follow within the next 10 days or the report will bounce back to the employee. Employees who do not adhere to this practice will have their P-card privileges revoked.

Food and Beverages When Not Traveling

University funds cannot be used to pay for meal expenses when employees are not in travel status, except when such expenses are incurred for a bona fide business-related purpose, such as meals with ajob candidate, guest speaker, donor, or trustee; situations when OWU is entertaining an external guest; or events for students with approval from the divisional VP. In such cases, restricted funds or budgeted operating funds must be available to cover the expense. When using University funds to pay for meals incurred for a bona fide business-related purpose, a P-card must be used, and a list of names of all meal attendees (OWU employees and guests) must be uploaded to Concur or entered in the comment field when processing the transaction approval.

The use of a P-card to pay for meal expenses that are incurred for reasons other than a bona fide business-related purpose constitutes an unauthorized use of the P-card. If P-cards are mistakenly used for unauthorized purchases, the holder of the P-card must provide reimbursement to the University for the unauthorized purchase within 30 days. Repeated violations of this required practice will result in the revocation of the employee's P-card privileges.

While faculty and staff are encouraged to enjoy a meal together, it is not permissible to use University funds to pay for meals in the absence of a bona fide business-related reason. The University will not reimburse employees who use personal funds to pay for meals or snacks incurred for reasons other than entertaining an external guest for a bona fide business-related purpose. This includes department meals.

Exceptions:

• With approval from a Divisional VP, Dean, or Department Manager, University funds may be used to provide food for business-related meetings composed of only internal personnel and are scheduled during a typical meal period. In such cases, budgeted operating funds or restricted funds must be available to cover the expense, and a P-card must be used.
• Departments that frequently receive visitors may use University funds to purchase coffee and snacks for guests.

Celebrations

As a reminder, it is unacceptable to use University funds to purchase holiday presents or birthday presents (or similar, including gift cards) for employees. Tokens of sympathy such as bereavement flowers should be coordinated through Human Resources or the divisional Vice President and not purchased by individual departments.

Computers and Related Equipment

The University has established a Staff Computer Replacement Policy. All computer and related peripheral requests will be initially reviewed by IT. Final approval on computer replacement rests with the University's Chief Information Officer.

Note that funding in object 7855 across all ORGs was moved to Information Systems for the FY25 budget. IS staff will manage a centrally funded replacement schedule for computers.

Guest Speakers

Endowed funds exist to support lectures by guest speakers. It is important that only restricted funds be used to pay for stipends, travel costs, and other expenses related to guest speakers.

Printing and Duplicating

We all must use digital media (OWU Daily, Thuban distribution lists) for internal communications for which employees are the sole target. Please do not print flyers, postcards, brochures, newsletters, and posters to communicate with faculty and staff. This does not apply for printing material to communicate with students, which is often an effective communication method.

Non-essential Miscellaneous Spending

Consulting services and external studies must be reviewed and approved by the VP for Finance and Administration. Please remember to avoid spending University funds for non-essential activities and items. Before making a purchase, please ask yourself if the expense is essential to the work of your department.

When possible, please reduce the amount of printing you do by viewing files online. This would save on the cost of paper, ink, etc. Also, if a file must be printed, please route the print job to a larger-scale MFD rather than a desktop printer. MFDs are more efficient and cost-effective for the university.

When possible, turn off your lights when you leave your office/workspace. This would save on the cost of utilities.

Thank you for observing these prudent fiscal stewardship measures.

Sincerely,

Stephen M. Lippiello
VP Finance, Administration and Treasurer