PrincetonUniversity

 

UNIVERSITY POLICY CONCERNING

EXPENDITURES FROM INDIVIDUAL FACULTY RESEARCH ACCOUNTS

Office of the Dean of the Faculty
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey


DRAFT October 6, 2004

 

I.  GENERAL GUIDELINES

 

To assist faculty members with their research, the University will, on occasion, grant individual faculty members a research account to be used to reimburse qualifying research expenses.  Funds in these research accounts are intended to pay for research-related expenses such as the purchase of books and other research materials including data-bases and software, the employment of research assistants, payment of subventions, payment of translation expenses for research materials, research-related travel and other research-related expenditures. 

 

Expenditures from these University-funded faculty research accounts are expected to directly tie to the faculty member’s research activities.  These accounts should never be used as a catch-all to cover research-unrelated expenditures made by faculty members.  For example, funds may not be used to purchase personal computers and similar devices that would remain in possession of the faculty member.  Any personal computer or other durable equipment that is purchased from a research account remains the property of the University.  Research-related books and computer software are considered to be nondurable.  Funds may not be used to purchase home-office equipment such as desks, chairs, book cases, wastebaskets and so forth.  These are considered personal expenditures and reimbursement will not be permitted.

 

A good rule of thumb for faculty members to follow in requesting reimbursement from their individual research account is that the same general guidelines cover reimbursement of expenditures from individual research accounts that cover expenditures from any University account.

 

THE BASIC TEST FOR THE ALLOWABILITY OF A CHARGE TO AN INDIVIDUAL FACULTY MEMBER’S RESEARCH ACCOUNT IS THAT THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARY OF THE EXPENDITURE MUST BE THE UNIVERSITY.

 

Requests for all reimbursements from individual research accounts must be accompanied with detailed original receipts and the purpose of the expenditures must be clearly stated on the invoices.

 

II.  TRAVEL EXPENSES

 

The same University policies apply to travel expenses charged to individual faculty research accounts that apply to travel expenses charged to any other University account. 

 

Individual research accounts cannot be used to fund first class-travel.  Business class travel may be permitted with prior approval under very limited circumstances.  If there are overriding health considerations or some other considerations for traveling other than coach class, the request must be endorsed by the faculty member’s chair and prior approval must be obtained from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.  These exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis.  Please contact Associate Dean Sandy Johnson concerning requests for exceptions at sandyj@princeton.edu, extension 8-5230.

 

III.  ALLOWABLE RESEARCH EXPENSES

 

Faculty members undertake a wide variety of activities as they engage in their research.  As with the criteria governing sponsored research, the underlying criteria for allowability of a cost charged to an individual faculty member’s research account is reasonableness and benefit to the University.

 

As a general rule, the guidelines for determining permitted University expenses also apply to those expenses from individual faculty research accounts.  These guidelines are in section xxx of the Treasurer’s guidelines.

 

A.  Allowed research-related expenses:

When directly related to a faculty member’s research work, the following expenses are allowed: 

  • Research-related books and periodicals (not personal books and periodicals)

  • Books authored by the faculty member purchased to give to others, limited to 10 copies when purchased with University-funded research funds

  • research materials such as data bases

  • xeroxing or copying of research materials

  • subventions to publishers to allow the publication of research books or monographs

  • creation of drawings, maps or other materials that will be included in a research publication

  • employment of research assistants

  • payments to research subjects  (in all cases where the faculty member is engaged in such work, the University human subjects committee must approve the project beforehand).

  • Research–related travel including travel to conferences, travel to research locations, cost of living while at research locations (supported by receipts)

  • Membership fees for professional societies

  • Conference registration fees

  • Software that will assist the faculty member in undertaking their research

 

University policies attempt to ensure that individuals neither gain nor lose when acting on behalf of the University.  There will be instances when a faculty member may gain an incidental or perceived benefit from an expenditure whose primary purpose is the furtherance of the University’s mission.  Charges in such circumstances are allowable and non-taxable so long as the benefit to the individual is de minimus and the preponderance of the benefit accrues to the university.

 

B.  Allowed if approved by the Department Chair and/or Dean of the Faculty:

Some research related expenditures are allowed only when approved by the Department Chair or Dean of the Faculty:

  1. Payment for a DSL Line to home office:  These lines are as common as telephones today and as a rule should be considered a personal expense unless there are extenuating circumstances that clearly link these expenditures to a faculty member’s researh.  These expenditures must be approved by the Department Chair.
  2. Purchase of cell phone and/or associated monthly charges.  The purchase of cell phones and payment of the monthly charges should be considered a personal expenditure unless there are overriding business-related circumstances that have been approved by the Chair.  The University reimburses business calls through a variety of mechanisms (phone card, direct reimbursement).  The Telecommunications Office has a mobile phone loaner program to provide business-related cell phone coverage during both US and international travel. 
  3. Purchase of a “blackberry” or other remote device must be approved by the Dean of the Faculty.  The portion of the monthly connection fee that relates to personal use must be paid by the individual.  The “blackberry” remains the property of the University.
  4. Gifts to host.  In some circumstances a token gift to a host may be reimbursable as a recognition of an event.  A token gift to a host in lieu of lodging expenses is acceptable if the cost is consistent with standard lodging costs. 
  5. Other questionable expenditures.  Some expenditures associated with research are unique and resist easy classification.  University research funds are intended to benefit Princeton University so in cases where faculty members are scheduled to terminate their employment at Princeton, special care should be taken to ensure that the primary beneficiary of all expenditures is Princeton and not the institution to which they will soon be taking up employment.  Should you have any question concerning the reimbursability of a research expenditure, please contact Associate Dean Sandy Johnson, sandyj@princeton.edu, extension 8-5230.
  6. Any expenditure not directly related to the faculty member’s research must be approved by the Dean of the Faculty before it can be charged to the University-funded research account.

 

C. Food and Entertainment Costs

The following criteria should apply to all food and entertainment expenses submitted for reimbursement on a University-funded research account:  

  1. The primary beneficiary of expenditures for food and entertainment should be the University.  (If the food/entertainment is used as a reward or morale booster, these situations must be non-repetitive in nature.)
  2. In all cases, a list of attendees and the purpose of the meeting needs to be provided along with the original receipts in order to be reimbursed.
  3. The concept of reasonableness should apply to all food costs.
  4. If the schedule for a research-related business meeting requires that the meeting be held over meal-time, the cost of the meal is allowable.
  5. As a rule, spouse/guest meals are not reimbursable.  However, there are some circumstances where a spouse’s (or guest’s) meal would be reimbursable as a business expense in those rare circumstances where the University requires the presence of a spouse/partner to further an institutional purpose. 

 

IV. PROHIBITED RESEARCH EXPENSES

 

Research accounts are not “expense accounts” to cover personal expenses.  The below-listed expenses are disallowed.  Please note that any item that is prohibited by the University Expense Reimbursement Policy as a departmental expenditure (Section I.B) is also prohibited from University-funded research accounts. 

  • Personal expenses

  • Commuting:  Employee travel to and from work.

  • Credit Card Fees:  Annual fees on personal credit cards are not reimbursable even if the card is used for business purposes.

  • Gifts to Employees and Non-Employees:  Gifts for any reason except those previously identified as being permitted are prohibited.  This includes gifts given on a holiday or other basis to employees, vendors, or others.

  • Goods for Personal Use:  This would include such items as individual coffee makers or similar small appliances.

  • Late Payment Penalties or Interest Charges:  Late charges or interest on credit cards provided via an authorized University program or a personal credit card that has been used to pay University related expenses are not a covered expense and are not reimbursable.

  • Memberships - Personal, Recreational, or Athletic:  Absent an approved business justification made at the level of Dean or Vice President, these are not allowable.

  • Membership in Airline Club

  • Moving and storage of personal goods while on leave

  • Moving of automobiles to leave locations

  • Parking tickets or traffic violations:  These are not allowable even if incurred while conducting University business.

  • Personal Services for Employees and Non-Employees:  These include child care, pet care, or similar activities.

  • Political Contributions of Any Type:  Both cash and other forms of support are prohibited.

  • Sales Tax:  The University reserves the right to not reimburse sales tax for a transaction that would have qualified for a sales tax exemption if it had been properly processed through the appropriate University channels.

  • Sponsorship of external teams or other external groups

  • Stolen, Lost, or Damaged Personal Property:  These are not reimbursable even if incurred while on University business or property.

 

V.  A WORD ABOUT EXPENDITURES CHARGED TO FEDERAL GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

 

A good general guideline in determining which expenditures are allowable charges to University-funded research accounts is that expenditures charged to these research account should be those which contribute to, and are generated by, that research program.  The more direct the link between the expenditures and the research, the better.

 

The guidelines for expenditures charged against government grants and contracts are very good guidelines for expenses charged against individual research accounts.  The only exception I would note is that foreign travel can be charged against a faculty member’s individual research account as long as that travel serves to benefit the faculty member’s research program.  Please refer to section XX of the Treasurer’s policy for a listing of  those charges which are prohibited from being charged to Government-sponsored research accounts.

 

VI.  EXAMPLES TO CLARIFY POLICIES

 

A.  Meal examples:  When a meal is charged to an individual research account, the faculty member needs to think how this meal directly relates to her/his research activities.  Non-repetitive meals purchased for staff to raise morale or celebratory in nature are allowable if tied with some event directly related to the research.  If meals are repetitive in nature such as periodic research group meetings over a pizza lunch, to be reimbursable, it needs to be clear that these meals are research related and not social in nature.  If a meeting must be scheduled over lunch or dinner because of scheduling or time constraints, the meal would be allowable.

 

B.  Research material examples:  The purchase of books and periodicals should tie directly to research programs.  The concept of who benefits most, the individual or the University should be used for questionable cases.  Therefore, the purchase of a Wall Street Journal subscription for individual use would in most cases be considered personal use and not reimbursable unless the research agenda of the faculty member directly related to the content of the Journal.  While some article very rarely might relate to research, over the course of the subscription it is the individual who benefits most and hence the expenditure should be considered personal.  This does not preclude the purchase of a department copy of newspapers such as the WSJ from a general (not research) University account.

 

C.  Gift example:  In some circumstances in the course of research travel, a gift to the host might be appropriate.  If a host has provided free accommodation in their home or business facility, a modest gift in lieu of the lodging cost would be considered appropriate.  In some foreign cultures, the giving and receiving of modest gifts in business related settings is customary and expected.  In such cases, it may be appropriate to give a modest gift.  These expenditures must be carefully documented and must be approved by the department chair.  The expenses for these gifts must be modest and reasonable.

 

D.  Travel to resort area for conference:  In some cases, University employees might combine business travel with vacation travel.  For example, if a research-related conference is held in a resort area, a faculty member might bring family and stay on for a few extra vacation days.  Care must be taken to appropriately segregate expenses so that the University pays for only the employee’s business-related expenses.  The travel, food and lodging expenses of family members are personal expenditures and cannot be charged to research accounts.  The extra days spent at the resort location, beyond the conference dates are personal expenditures and cannot be paid by university funds.

 

E.  Moving and storage of personal goods during leave:  The moving and storage of personal goods while on a leave of absence is considered a personal expenditure and cannot be charged to individual faculty research accounts.  If a faculty member ships research-related books or other research materials that are intended to be used and referenced during the leave to the leave-location, these shipping expenses may be reimbursed from the research account.  The University will not pay for automobile shipping from individual research accounts.

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Last updated: November 9, 2004