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CIT Implementation
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Overview
The university has adopted a Telephone Usage Policy that, due to high administrative costs, disallows the former practice of permitting staff to reimburse Cornell for any extra costs incurred when university telephone services are used for personal calls. The items/specifics outlined herein apply to telephone usage on any device (desk phone, cell phone, computer, etc.) provided and paid for by CIT unless specifically noted otherwise. Due to the costs of cellular services and equipment, additional policies have been developed by DAF and approved by SRM that apply to the provisioning and use of cell phone services paid for by CIT.
Process/Procedures for Desk (Landline) Phones
Local and long-distance usage — The fixed monthly fee for desk phones covers all local calls. In practice, this includes personal as well as work-related calls, though the time spent on personal calls should not conflict with the conduct of university business.
Long-distance personal calls from a desk phone will require the use of a personal pre-paid debit card, a calling/credit card, or some similar device, except under the unique circumstances described in the "Exceptions for personal calls" section. Calling collect is another option.
Compliance and monitoring:
Monthly processing for desk (landline phones) —
Review and sign-off is required only when an individual's monthly long-distance bill exceeds $5.00 in a given month. A cover sheet will be provided with each such bill outlining the audit process and due dates. Signatures on the cover sheet will be attesting that all long-distance calls were for business purposes or were made under the provisions of CIT's exceptional circumstances guidelines (see "Exceptions for personal calls" section).
Employee responsibilities:
- Review each month's bill received in a timely manner.
- Highlight each personal call, noting the reason for each.
- Sign and date the cover sheet and forward to supervisor.
- If billing errors are found, follow procedures in the "Billing Problems/Errors" section.
Supervisor's responsibilities:
- Review each employee's bill received.
- Discuss any non-compliance issue with employee, noting any actions taken on the cover sheet.
- Bring any serious or persistent violations of CIT or university policy to the division director's attention.
- Sign and date the cover sheet and forward to respective administrative support staff.
Director's responsibilities:
- When warranted, bring any serious or persistent violations to the attention of the CIT HR director (personnel issues) and/or DAF director (policy and financial abuse issues).
Annual review for desk (landline) phones — CIT's BSC will develop a process to ensure that, on a random basis, each employee's long-distance phone bill is reviewed by their supervisor at least once per calendar year, irrespective of whether or not the bill exceeds the $5.00 monthly threshold. Supervisors and directors are responsible for ensuring compliance, as noted above, during such reviews.
Process/Procedures for Cellular (Wireless) Phones
Qualification for new CIT-paid cell phones — Cell phones should only be issued to staff who have a legitimate business need for a cell phone.
Cell phone re-evaluation when cell phone holder changes jobs or their position responsibilities change — When a person changes jobs within CIT, their need for a cell phone will be reevaluated by their new supervisor and an appropriate rate plan determined, based on the business needs of their new position. Likewise, when there are substantive changes to a person's job responsibilities, their supervisor will perform the same type of review.
Selecting a cell phone provider — Verizon is Cornell's "preferred supplier" for cell phone service and, as such, should be used by CIT staff whenever possible. Occasionally, there are valid business reasons why use of an alternate provider may be appropriate, such as lack of Verizon service at an employee's residence. Please contact Tara Bennett in CIT's BSC (5-8988, tlb17) for assistance.
Initiating service, changing service, procuring phones and accessories — All requests for new service, changes to existing service, as well as the purchase of any phones (new or replacements) or accessories, should be processed through CIT's BSC to ensure that proper CIT approvals are obtained and that all appropriate discounts are applied; please contact Tara Bennett, 5-8988, tlb17. Units should not use P-cards for such purposes nor make purchases with personal funds to submit for reimbursement. Both of these procurement methods circumvent the procurement approval process that CIT requires for all cell phone-related goods and services.
- Initiating service — Units should subscribe new users to an approved CIT "base" rate plan (see "Definitions" section). Exceptions can be made when it is well documented that other employees doing the same/similar work require a higher-level plan to meet routine business needs. All such exceptions must be approved by the division director; otherwise, new service can be authorized by the individual's supervisor. There is always a selection of free cell phones available and one of these should be chosen for a new user*.
- Replacing equipment — When replacing damaged/inoperable/lost phones, the least expensive phone should be chosen that meets the unit's business needs*.
*Note regarding equipment (cell phones and accessories): Each division will determine if and when staff should be provided with another type of phone and what accessories are appropriate; please consult your supervisor or director before ordering cell phones and accessories.
EC500 (Extension to Cellular) service — This service is a feature provided by NCS on the campus telephone system. It allows a cell phone to receive calls placed to the employee's on-campus landline phone number. Although the feature itself is inexpensive ($3/month for digital phones and $2/month for analog phones plus a $10 one-time set up fee) and can improve efficiency, its use can result in unexpected — and sometimes dramatic — increases in cell phone costs. Each division will determine if and when staff should subscribe to this service; please consult your supervisor or director before ordering this service. It is also recommended that you review the following materials before considering this service; pay particular attention to materials detailed in the "AUDIX and Voice Mail" and "FAQ" links listed in the upper right-hand corner of the web page:
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/services/phones/ec500/.
Data services on cell phones — There are several Verizon plans that provide various levels of data usage on cell phones as well as a pay-as-you-go option. Data charges apply whenever a user connects to an internet browser or checks e-mail; data plans do not normally include text messaging. Each division will determine if and when staff should subscribe to this service; please consult your supervisor or director before ordering this service. As these packages and plans change frequently, we recommend checking the vendor web site listed below:
http://www.purchasing.cornell.edu/verizon.cfm
CAUTION: Once there, scroll down to the box labeled Link to Supplier's Website; once there, be sure to select the first choice:
For departmental purchases:
Access to Secure Web Site
In next window, be sure to select choice on left:
Departmental Purchases
Cell phone usage — University policy states that: "no direct payment is required for personal calls on university-owned cellular telephones, provided there are no additional costs incurred as a result of personal telephone use". It further states that: "the cellular billing plan must be commensurate with the business needs of the unit". Employees should also keep in mind that time spent on personal calls should not conflict with the conduct of university business.
Division/unit management are responsible for choosing cellular carriers and plans that are commensurate with their division's/unit's business needs; personal calling should not be factored into this decision.
Taking all of the above into account, individuals are cautioned that using their university cell phone to place or receive personal calls could result in incremental costs in a given month, a violation of university policy unless such calls fall under the circumstances described in the "Exceptions for personal calls" section. No reimbursement is required for personal usage but, when monthly usage exceeds plan limits and incremental costs are incurred, any personal usage during that month is considered a violation of university policy.
Compliance and monitoring:
Monthly processing for cellular (wireless) phones — Review and sign-off is required for all cell phones, but processes vary depending on cell phone plan and usage. A cover sheet will be provided with each bill outlining the audit process and due dates. Signatures on the cover sheet will be attesting that: (1) the selected rate plan is appropriate for the employee's current business usage and (2) all cell phone usage was for business purposes or that any personal usage did not result in incremental costs or was allowable under CIT's exceptional circumstances guidelines (see "Exceptions for personal calls" section).
Employee responsibilities:
- Review each month's bill received in a timely manner.
- Highlight each personal call and, if usage has exceeded the plan allowance, note reasons for any personal calls.
- When subscribed to any of CIT's "base" plans (see "Definitions" section), proceed as follows:
- If the plan's monthly allowance has not been exceeded, sign and date the cover sheet and forward to respective administrative support staff;
- If the plan's monthly allowance has been exceeded, sign and date the cover sheet and forward to supervisor.
- When subscribed to a plan other than one of CIT's "base" plans (see "Definitions" section), sign and date the cover sheet and forward to supervisor.
- If billing errors are found, follow procedures in "Billing Problems/Errors" section.
Supervisor's responsibilities:
- Review each employee's bill received.
- If overage charges are due solely to business usage, so note on the cover sheet.
NOTE: When, over a reasonable period of time, such review indicates that a higher or lower rate plan would be warranted for business usage, an appropriate change to the employee's cell phone plan should be initiated (see "Initiating service, changing service, procuring phones and accessories" section). Unlike most personal cell phone plans, the university contracts allow changes to rate plans (up or down) without any penalties.
- Discuss any non-compliance issue with employee, noting any actions taken on the cover sheet.
- Bring any serious or persistent violations of CIT or university policy to the division director's attention.
- Sign and date the cover sheet and forward to respective administrative support staff.
Director's Responsibilities:
- When warranted, bring any serious or persistent violations to the attention of the CIT HR director (personnel issues) and/or DAF director (policy and financial abuse issues).
Annual review for cellular (wireless) phones — Once a year, CIT's BSC will provide each director with a list of all of their division's cell phones, detailing the rate plans associated with each. These reports should be reviewed to determine if the employee still needs a cell phone and, if so, whether any changes should be made to individual plans to ensure compliance with CIT and university policies. If business needs dictate an upgrade or a downgrade to another plan, then action should be taken to do so, Unlike most personal cell phone plans, the university contracts allow changes to rate plans (up or down) without any penalties. Supervisors familiar with each employee's business needs can help with this review or directors can request billing detail from CIT's BSC (see "Contacts" section).
Alternate approaches for cell phone needs — In circumstances where cell phones are issued to staff members for the sole purpose of rotating after-hours, on-call responsibilities, units should consider a single cell phone that is shared among the affected staff members. This approach not only saves money but also allows a single number to be listed for the on-call group instead of having to maintain up-to-date on-call rosters and individual cell phone number lists.
Staff may elect to use a personally paid cell phone service instead of one funded by the department. In such cases, if cell phone accessibility is a unit requirement, the staff member and his or her supervisor must reach mutual agreement on the availability of that service for business needs, including appropriate distribution of the individual's cell phone number.
CIT does not offer partial or full reimbursements for a personally paid cell phone service that is also used to meet the department's business needs. For the time being, CIT has decided against pursuing a personal stipend program as an option to — or a replacement for — CIT-provided cell phones because the university is exploring such an option.
Process/Procedures for All Phones (Desk and Cell)
Exceptions for personal calls:
The university policy recognizes that under exceptional situations a personal call may have to be made that will incur additional charges to the university. The following are examples of circumstances CIT views as exceptional situations:
- Heath-related emergencies, of either the employee or a family member;
- Weather-related changes in time of departure to or from work;
- Needing to alter family-care arrangements;
- Due to demands of the job, having to stay later at work than expected.
In line with the above, every effort should be made to use a desk phone rather than a cell phone, even in exceptional situations. Staff is expected to use good judgment in making such exceptional calls.
Billing problems/errors:
To report incorrect or improper charges on your phone bill or cellular bill, please use the following process:
- Make a separate copy of your bill (your original bill and cover memo should not be used for this purpose).
- Highlight the call(s) in question.
- Provide brief explanation of problem.
- Send to:
- Desk phones — Network and Communication Services Operations Support, 120 Maple Avenue
- Cellular phones — CIT's BSC, 200 CCC
NOTE: If you would like to speak with someone regarding the call(s) or bill(s) in question, please contact:
- Desk phones — Network and Communication Services Operations Support at 4-NCS1 [4-6271]
- Cellular phones — CIT's BSC (Tara Bennett, 5-8988).
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