This procedure describes how University employees are to obtain and use cellular services and equipment for University business. Cellular services include but are not limited to voice, text messaging, navigation service, network air cards and other forms of cellular-based wireless network access. An employee may only seek reimbursement for business-usage of a personally-owned cellular service or be provided with cellular service by the University if the responsibilities of the employee require cellular service and the supervisor approves such use. If granted, the department sponsoring cellular service on behalf of the employee is responsible for the cost of these reimbursements. Please consult Appendix A – FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions surrounding the details of these procedures.
Upon obtaining approval from a supervisor, an employee may select one of the three options to seek cellular services and equipment. These include Option 1 – Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage, Option 2 – Reimbursement for Incidental Business Usage, and Option 3 – University-Purchased Cellular Service. Please select one of these options from the following. Upon selection, proceed to the appropriate section for details.
Option 1: Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage
Upon approval from the supervisor and/or fiscal agent, an employee may seek reimbursement for recurring business-related costs while using a personally-owned cellular service. This reimbursement provides compensation for initial and recurring costs only if cellular service is required to support the role of the employee. The employee, supervisor and fiscal agent are responsible for determining the value of this reimbursement, maintaining accurate records that were used to calculate the rate of compensation and conducting periodic reviews of these records. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to insure that an employee’s business-related reimbursement is cost justified and consistent with departmental needs. The reimbursement for recurring usage should be based upon a percentage of current or anticipated business-related usage of the personally-owned cellular service. The reimbursement may not exceed 90% of the initial or recurring cost of the service.
Initial Costs
The initial cost is a one-time charge that the employee has incurred relating to service activation fees, the cellular device, and accessories (such as chargers, headphones, batteries, and phone cases). To reimburse an employee for the initial costs of acquiring a personally-owned cellular service for business use, the employee must seek a one-time business reimbursement. To calculate the rate of reimbursement for initial costs, an employee must determine the average percentage of business use of the personally-owned cellular telephone.
An employee may not seek a reimbursement for equipment already in their possession for greater than one-hundred twenty (120) days. An employee may seek a business reimbursement to upgrade an existing cellular contract after 1 year of service. Employees are fully responsible for their personally-owned cellular equipment. An employee is not eligible to seek replacement costs for equipment that is lost, stolen or damaged.
Recurring Costs
The recurring cost is the monthly fee assessed by the carrier for the duration of service. This fee includes various services such as voice, texting, data (Internet), navigation service and insurance of the device (if available). To reimburse an employee for the monthly recurring costs of a personally-owned cellular service provided for business use, the employee must seek a stipend.
To calculate the rate of reimbursement, an employee must determine the average percentage of business-usage for up to twelve (12) months of service. This percentage is calculated by dividing the number of business-related minutes consumed by the total number of minutes used from the personal plan. The monthly reimbursement figure is derived by applying this average annual percentage to the total monthly recurring cost.
If the employee is seeking a reimbursement for service provided through a family plan, this percentage is calculated by dividing the number of business-related minutes consumed by the total number of minutes used by all parties from the family plan. The percentage of reimbursement for initial costs will be higher than the percentage of reimbursement for monthly recurring costs with a family plan.
If the employee is new to the position or if the employee will be seeking a personally-owned cellular telephone at the time a stipend is being sought, the rate of reimbursement will be based upon a projected amount agreed to in advance among the employee, supervisor, and/or fiscal agent. No less than six (6) months past this date, the employee, supervisor, and/or fiscal agent must review this rate and revise it according to the actual usage over this period of time.
Requesting a Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage
To seek a reimbursement for recurring business usage for both initial and monthly recurring costs, the employee will need to complete the “Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage on a Personally-Owned Cellular Service” form found at the Telecommunications and Networking website (http://www.telecom.ilstu.edu). The rate of reimbursement for initial and monthly recurring costs must have already been agreed upon between the employee, supervisor, and/or fiscal agent prior to submitting this request. Once submitted, the employee, supervisor, and/or fiscal agent will be sent an email seeking approval of the reimbursement figures submitted on the form. The fiscal agent must submit a hardcopy of the completed form along with the original receipt of the initial equipment purchased from the carrier. After approval has been obtained, the request for reimbursement of the initial costs will be submitted by the department’s fiscal agent to the Comptroller’s Office for processing. The stipend request will then be submitted to Human Resources who will then establish the stipend with the Payroll Office on behalf of the employee. A record of each request is maintained by Telecommunications and Networking for the purpose of maintaining documentation for future audits.
Modifying a Stipend
If as part of an audit, annual review, or self-assessment, there is a need to change the reimbursement, the employee will be required to seek approval from the supervisor and/or fiscal agent on the revised reimbursement rate. At that point, the employee will need to resubmit the “Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage on a Personally-Owned Cellular Service” form. The revised rate will then be applied within 30 days to the next payroll cycle.
Renewing a Stipend
In an effort to ensure that reimbursement rates closely reflect actual business-usage, all cellular stipends will expire at the end of each fiscal year (6/30). To seek a stipend for a subsequent year, the employee will be required to resubmit this form.
Cancelling a Stipend
If an employee changes positions or leaves the University, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to cancel the stipend for recurring business use on behalf of the employee. A cancellation request must be received no later than the last day of employment of the employee. A stipend can be cancelled by completing the “Reimbursement for Recurring Business Usage on a Personally-Owned Cellular Service” form found at the Telecommunications and Networking website (http://www.telecom.ilstu.edu).
Option 2: Reimbursement for Incidental Business Usage
Upon approval from the supervisor and/or fiscal agent, an employee may seek a one-time reimbursement for incidental business usage of a personally-owned cellular service. To identify the level of reimbursement, the employee must calculate the percentage of business minutes used on a personally-owned cellular service. The reimbursement figure is derived by applying this percentage to the total monthly recurring cost for the same month of service. An employee may not seek a reimbursement for any hardware costs of the personally-owned cellular service. An employee may seek a reimbursement for incidental business usage no more often than once per month and each request must be evaluated by the supervisor and/or fiscal agent for approval.
It is possible for an employee to seek a reimbursement for incidental usage even if the employee is already receiving a stipend for the reimbursement of recurring business usage of a personally-owned cellular service. This is allowed if the incidental usage is notably higher than the stipend already being received by the employee. If the employee is currently receiving a stipend, it is responsibility of the supervisor and/or fiscal agent to adjust the reimbursement for incidental usage based upon the value of an existing stipend to prevent overpayment.
Requesting a Reimbursement for Incidental Business Usage
To seek a business reimbursement for incidental usage, the employee must complete the “Reimbursement for Incidental Business Usage” form found on the Telecommunications and Networking website (http://www.telecom.ilstu.edu). After approving the request, the fiscal agent must then submit a hardcopy of the completed form along with the original itemized billing from the carrier to the Comptroller’s Office. The employee must identify each business-related call from this bill that was placed or received. The fiscal agent will then attach this bill to the voucher submitted to the Comptroller’s Office in order to request reimbursement.
Option 3: University-Purchased Cellular Service
Upon approval from the supervisor and/or fiscal agent, an employee may be provided with a University-purchased cellular service if the responsibilities of the employee require cellular service and the supervisor approves such use. The employee will be provided relevant information on personal use of University purchased services and equipment. As defined by University policy and applicable federal and state law, the use of telephones provided by the University is limited to University business. It is the responsibility of the employee to understand applicable University policies and procedures as well as state and federal laws regarding appropriate use of university-owned cellular service.
ALL University purchases for cellular services and equipment on behalf of an employee must be coordinated through Telecommunications and Networking. Service agreements are available for University departments to purchase “business use only” cellular services and equipment from. Flat rate voice plans or packages for voice and data are available.
Requesting Cellular Service Business-Only Usage
Whether a department seeks to utilize one of the State of Illinois plans or to select service from an alternate carrier, the fiscal agent will need to submit a "University-Purchased Cellular Service" form found on the Telecommunications and Networking website (http://www.telecome.ilstu.edu). This form authorizes Telecommunications and Networking to proceed with the order of cellular service on behalf of the department. Once the order is submitted, the carrier will be instructed to direct all billing to Telecommunications and Networking for processing. This form also authorizes monthly cellular service bills to be paid from a University account supplied by the area or department. When the cellular service provider's monthly invoice arrives, Telecommunications and Networking will pay each area's or department's bill. Copies of the paid invoice along with the bill detail are forwarded to each area or department to show the monthly cellular service charges billed to their accounts.
Returning Cellular Equipment
When a University-purchased cellular device is no longer in service, state law requires that these units be returned to the State of Illinois. When an employee leaves the University for any reason, the supervisor must insure that the employee's cellular equipment is returned to the department that purchased the service by the last date of employment. These units may not be donated to outside organizations. All units that are not assigned to an employee for greater than one (1) year must be returned to Telecommunications and Networking.
Departmental Violations
If a department has purchased cellular service that is not compliant with the procedures described in this document, the department has thirty (30) calendar days to terminate all non-compliant cellular contracts and seek compliance with these procedures. The department will be responsible for all early termination fees and/or other liabilities associated with early termination. If a department fails to comply with this procedure, future requests for University-purchased services may be denied.
Because usage on a pre-purchased service such as a phone card cannot be effectively monitored, these services cannot be purchased with University funds. A department may seek an exemption to this restriction if it can be demonstrated that there is sufficient internal control. This request must be submitted in writing to the Comptroller’s Office and must include a detailed description of how a pre-paid service would be used in support of the responsibilities of an employee. The Comptroller’s Office reserves the right to deny these requests.
Because there has been no formal guidance for the purchase and use of cellular service on campus, there are a number of employees who are currently receiving reimbursements for business-usage of a personally-owned cellular service or who have been provided a University-owned cellular service in a manner that is inconsistent with these new procedures. Upon approval of these procedures, it is the intent of the University to identify these employees and work with them to transition how they are provided cellular service through this process.
Personally-Owned Cellular Contracts with Reimbursements for Business Use
If an employee is currently receiving a reimbursement for business use of a personally-owned cellular service, the employee will need to work with their supervisor to seclect one of the options described in II. Cellular Service Options. This transition must be completed within ninety (90) days of the effective date of these procedures.
University-Owned Cellular Contracts for Business Use
If an employee has been previously assigned University cellular services or equipment that was not purchased through a state contract or one of the alternate carriers at the time these procedures were adopted, the fiscal agent is obligated to discontinue this cellular service and equipment at the end of the current contract period or within two years of the acceptance of this procedure - whichever is less. Once the terms of an exisiting contract have been fulfilled, the employee, supervisor, and fiscal agent must choose one of the three options described in this procedure. If cellular service or equipment was purchased by the University through Verizon Wireless, AT & T/Cingular, or Sprint/Nextel, billing for the department will be immediately rerouted through Telecommunications and Networking for the duration of the term of the contract.
An employee may not convert University-owned cellular service to personally-owned cellular service or vice-versa under any circumstances.
Users of University cellular service must abide by all laws related to the usage of cellular services and equipment. The University strongly discourages the use of cellular telephones and text message devices when driving. An employee is responsible for being aware of any applicable local, state, and federal laws that govern cellular usage while operating a vehicle.
If an employee is provided with a University-purchased cellular service, the fiscal agent is responsible for conducting periodic compliance reviews of the associated cellular bills to identify personal usage abuse. In addition, Internal Auditing will conduct periodic audits to monitor potential abuse. If personal cellular service usage abuse is identified, the department is required to notify in writing both Telecommunications and Networking and the employee of the abuse. If the employee believes such abuse has not occurred, he/she may notify his/her supervisor and/or fiscal agent in writing, within seven (7) days of receipt of the notification of the reason(s) the usage was a valid use under the University’s policy. The supervisor and/or fiscal agent, in consultation with other University officials if necessary, will make the final determination of whether an abuse or violation of policy has occurred.
If a policy violation or personal usage abuse has been determined, the employee will be required to reimburse the University for all personal cellular service usage costs plus a $25.00 processing fee. This reimbursement must occur within thirty (30) calendar days of final notification to the employee by the supervisor or fiscal agent.Reimbursement to the University should be made via check made payable to Illinois State University and delivered to Telecommunications and Networking for processing. A copy of the cellular service provider’s detail records showing the personal usage and a copy of the area or departmental abuse notification letter must accompany the check.Note that the form “University-Purchased Cellular Service” requires that an employee read and abide by this procedure and that it is the responsibility of the employee to include the processing fee in the check written to reimburse the University.
If a policy violation or personal abuse is found, the University may choose to deactivate the device assigned to the employee, in which case the employee will be responsible for any early termination and/or any other fees that may apply. The employee may be ineligible to receive future University-purchased cellular service and may be subject to discipline, up to an including termination. If the employee does not fully reimburse the University for usage and the processing fee, further action will be taken as determined necessary by the University.
All related costs that have been accumulated by the employee and identified as non-business in nature may be considered as income and therefore taxable due to IRS requirements.
Last Review: November 2008
