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VP Policies
Policies
- Introduction (1.0)
- Purpose and Use of Policy and Procedure Manual (1.6.0)
- Responsibility for Policies and Procedures (1.6.4)
GENERAL UNIVERSITY POLICIES
GENERAL POLICY REFERENCES
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to describe the Office of the Vice President for Business and Finance.
POLICY
The administrative organization for Tennessee State University, under the direction of the President, includes six Vice Presidents. The Vice President for Business and Finance is one of these six positions.PROCEDURE
The Office of the Vice President for Business and Finance, under the direction of the Vice President, has responsibility for all areas of Business and Finance at TSU. The Vice President's Council consists of two Associate Vice Presidents and three Assistant Vice Presidents. The specific areas of responsibility under the direction of the Vice President and his Council include:
1. Budget/Fiscal Planning and Travel
2. Finance and Accounting
3. Procurement and Business Services
4. Facilities Management
5. Human Resources
As a member of the President's Cabinet, the Vice President for Business and Finance develops, recommends and implements campus-wide policy and procedures; provides leadership and guidance to other Council members regarding financial matters; and works closely with Tennessee Board of Regents staff.
The operations of the Business and Finance area have focused on "A Commitment to Excellence" through the establishment of specific goals:
1. Being responsive to students and to their education, environment and well-being.
2. Being timely on providing information and services to users.
3. Being creative in evaluating new and improved ways of managing departments.
REFERENCES
None
Purpose and Use of Policy and Procedure Manual (1.6.0)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to explain the purpose and use of the Business and Finance Policy and Procedure Manual.
POLICY
All employees responsible for various detailed tasks within the Business and Finance area are expected to consistently follow and enforce the policies and procedures outlined in this manual.
PROCEDURE
The purpose of the Business and Finance Policy and Procedure Manual is to provide a complete source of all policies and procedures followed by departments under the direction of the Vice President of Business and Finance at Tennesee State University. These policies and procedures will be in accordance with Tennessee Board of Regents Policies and Guidelines, State and Federal laws and the mission and goals of Tennessee State University. References to these sources will be included as part of the procedure, when applicable.
REFERENCES
None
Responsibility for Policies and Procedures (1.6.4)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish responsibility for Business and Finance policies and procedures.
POLICY
Each Department Head within Business and Finance is responsible for developing and maintaining current policies and procedures for the Department.
PROCEDURE
All Business and Finance policies and procedures are to be developed by each Department Head and his/her staff.
REFERENCES
None
Food and Beverage Purchases (1.7)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy and procedure is to provide guidelines for food and beverage purchases.
POLICY
All purchases of food and beverages must be approved in advance. If a requisition is processed to reimburse an employee, there must be a memo or e-mail documenting advance approval of the purchase or the employee may be held personally liable for all related costs. The university does not pay sales taxes and under no circumstance is the purchase of alcoholic beverages permitted using state or federal funds.
Business meals generally include at least one non-employee of the university and should not include any individual whose presence is not necessary to the business discussion. Meals associated with gatherings that are primarily social in nature do not qualify as business meals. Payments or reimbursement shall not exceed twice the allocated (per meal) allowance for that location.
Institutional funds may be used to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages for recognition, appreciation and/or retirement events if the events are in accordance with institutional policies and are reasonable in number of events per fiscal year and amount spent.
All purchase requisitions for food and beverages must be approved by the appropriate Vice President as well as the Vice President for Business and Finance as the designee of the President.
REFERENCES
TSU Purchasing Policies and Procedures Manual
Membership Dues and Subscriptions (1.8)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy and procedure is to describe the university process for the approval of membership dues and subscriptions paid for from unrestricted, non-library funds, in compliance with TBR Guideline G-080.
POLICY
The President has delegated to department/budgetary heads the authority to approve all membership dues and subscriptions paid for with funds under their authority, with the exception of newspaper clipping services, which required the approval of the Chancellor.
All membership dues and subscriptions must be directly related to the vision, mission and goals of the university. The membership dues or subscriptions of an individual cannot be paid unless an organization does not permit institutional membership or unless the individual membership is less expensive than an institutional membership. However, memberships necessary to maintain or enhance an employee's professional status (e.g., an AICPA membership for an accountant or a Bar Association membership for an attorney) should be considered the responsibility of the employee and the associated dues considered a personal expense.
Faculty and staff membership in civic organizations is encouraged, but state funds may not be used to pay for such memberships. The university may not subscribe to political publications for other than instructional purposes. The university may subscribe to newspapers within its service area for public information and instruction-related purposes only. (The only exceptions are that the athletic department may subscribe outside of the service area, and subscriptions to newspapers with national distribution may be held for instructional purposes.)
Department/budgetary heads in all divisions of the university may pay for memberships and subscriptions from their accounts, or they may request payment from the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) from the institutional memberships account. The VPAA will give priority consideration to those payments that cannot be accommodated in departmental budgets and will research all requests to prevent unneeded duplication, with the intention of providing only one membership/subscription at the university.
All requests to the Chancellor for newspaper clipping services shall be clearly justified in writing and address: the subjects to be clipped; the type of clipping service requested, such as - all statewide daily ; the use of information provided by the service; to whom the clippings will be circulated at the institution; and how the clippings benefit the institution. There must also be a statement that the clipping service is the most economical means of fulfilling the institution's need.
The Department of Procurement and Business Services will ensure that all purchase requisitions submitted for membership dues and subscriptions comply with all provisions of this policy as well as TBR Guideline G-080. The Travel Office will ensure this same compliance for all travel-related requisitions that include membership dues and subscriptions as a part (or all) of any meeting expense paid for by the university.
REFERENCES
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