Spending Guidelines

For all expenditures, we ask that you log your funding uses with the appropriate  research form or  travel form at the beginning of the process. This allows the DOF to register the uses of funds and to direct faculty to the appropriate offices on campus for ordering goods, paying for services, etc. While approval from the associate dean is not required, we will track spending for budgetary purposes. We expect that all expenses will be in compliance with the DOF spending guidelines outlined below. 

Please note when logging your use of funds, the travel and research forms will ask about professional development associated with this activity. Your responses will be used for donor relations reporting through Advancement. See below for an example.

Donor Reporting Example:

The funding provided to attend the [Conference Name], supports the advancement of my professional development and contribution to the field of [Name Discipline]. I am presenting a paper titled [Title of Paper] that I anticipate will be developed  into manuscript submission that will eventually go into peer review at [The Name of Journal, Book, Edited Volume etc..]. This opportunity also facilitates other professional development such as networking opportunities, knowledge gain through attending other organized symposia, and increasing the visibility of my research.  

~ Text generated with the aid of ChatGTP 3.5

A. Travel

Travel for professional development includes attending conferences, research trips, or workshops. Allowable expenditures include lodging, transportation, meals, mileage, registration fee, and other expenses directly related to the purpose of the travel.  Note that the College covers economy class tickets for travel and standard rooms for lodging. We do not support extra charges for room or ticket upgrades above the standard rate. Expenses for family, spouses, and companions traveling with the employee are not reimbursed unless there is an approved business purpose.  Please reference the College’s travel policies for information related to airfare, lodging (including sales tax exemption in NY and several other states), meals, exchange rates for foreign travel, and other allowable expenses paid by the College. 

Travel arrangements for trips may be made through our travel agency Direct Travel (not mandatory) and charged to the Dean of Faculty account or paid for by the individual faculty member and reimbursed with a receipt showing payment has been made. Travel expenses up to $5,000 per trip must be submitted within twenty days of the end of your trip, through a Travel Expense Report and forwarded to Tom (tdonofri@hamilton.edu) for approval. Trips over $5,000 must follow the same process but be forwarded to Nicolas de la Riva (mdelariv@hamilton.edu) for processing. 

B. Research Expenses

The Dean of Faculty will cover expenses for research that are directly related to carrying out the work including: supplies and books, equipment and instrumentation, participant payments, travel (within the restrictions), professional services, post-peer review publication costs, student workers, and/or other expenses allowed in the College’s spending policy. If you have questions about expenses that can be covered, we encourage you to reach out to your associate dean of faculty prior to committing to an expense. 

C. Purchasing Materials, Supplies, Services, and Equipment (for computer purchases see below)

The College has a few methods for faculty to purchase goods or procure services. Faculty may use a department corporate card, a payment link (invoice form for vendors or check request for employee reimbursements or individuals), or an Amazon Business Prime account to make small dollar purchases up to $1,500, but must use a Purchase Order (PO) for larger purchases of more than $1,500.

For purchases made with department operating funds, please complete the purchase requisition form and have it signed by the department chair or other authorized individual and email to Jennifer Mayer (jmayer@hamilton.edu) in Auxiliary Services to process a PO. For purchases that are financed through HART funds, startup, professorships, postdoctoral research expenses, etc., please complete the requisition form and email to Nicolas de la Riva (mdelariv@hamilton.edu), who will then work with Auxiliary Services to create a PO. All submissions must include the requisition form and relevant supporting documentation (i.e., the vendor quote and contract, if available). Note: to ensure the College’s financial and legal interests, Auxiliary Services will need a few weeks to review the contract terms, so please plan accordingly. 

Due to the volume of end of fiscal year processes, new requests to purchase goods or services through Auxiliary Services received by the DOF after May 31 will be charged to the subsequent fiscal year. Please refer to the procurement office for additional information related to the acquisition of goods and services.

Tax Exemption

The College is exempt from any and all sales tax in the state of New York.  This exemption applies to hotels, meals, rental cars, and business purchases.

New York State sales tax paid on College purchases will not be included in reimbursements for retail purchases, hotel accommodations, or meal charges in excess of $100.

Please refer to the tax exemption homepage to request a tax exemption card and additional exemption details related to hotel reservations, rental cars, and exemption status with other states.

D. Hiring Individuals as Independent Contractors (Consultants)

Individuals providing services to the College must be properly identified as either employees or independent contractors.  No taxes on payments are withheld for independent contractor services.

The hiring supervisor is responsible for completing the following steps when procuring an individual’s services. 

• Complete the independent contractor checklist. Upon review, the supervisor will be informed to hire the individual as either an employee or an independent contractor. 
• If the individual is hired as a consultant, the supervisor works with the individual to draft a service agreement which outlines the services to be performed, compensation, and contact information. Then the supervisor sends the draft agreement to Nicolas de la Riva for review. Note that the agreement needs to be fully signed before any work commences. In addition, the agreement is signed by the Dean of the Faculty office on behalf of the College. 
• If the individual should be hired as an employee, please consult with Nicolas for next steps.

Please refer to the independent contractor vs employee guidelines for additional information, including services that may be exempt from the independent contractor review and agreement.

If you have questions about what is an allowable service to hire an external (or even an internal employee of the College), please contact your associate dean before committing to the work. 

E. Computers, Printers, iPads, and such

Computers, printers, and iPads are centrally purchased through LITS after obtaining a quote from Desktop Integration Services (dis@hamilton.edu). For purchases that are financed through HART funds, startup, professorships, postdoctoral research expenses etc, faculty are required to fill out the computer purchase form and request your associate dean to sign the form.  The associate dean will forward the form to Desktop Integration Services and include the account number to be charged.

Computers purchased with college money, including endowed chair, startup, postdoctoral research, and HART funding sources, belong to the College and must be entered into the LITS database.  Requests for computers, iPads, printers and items ordered through Desktop Integration Services must be made before May 31 of each year.  Requests received later than May 31 will be charged to the next fiscal year because delivery cannot be guaranteed by June 30.

F. Student Employees

All student employees, including research and teaching assistants, need approval through the department chair when utilizing the department’s operating budget. Supervisors should complete and send the employment authorization spreadsheet to Anna Moskal in HR (amoskal@hamilton.edu) and copy their chair and AOA. However, when hiring student employees through DOF managed funds (HART funds, startup, professorships, postdoctoral research expenses etc…), the supervisor needs to complete and send the employment authorization spreadsheet to Nicolas (mdelariv@hamilton.edu) in DOF for approval who will then share it with Anna Moskal in HR. The spreadsheet replaces the previously used Employment Authorization Form. Note that students must be in the system prior to commencing work. HR will work directly with students to ensure all paperwork is completed. 

Please refer to the student employment and payroll procedures for additional information such as determining pay rates and approving timesheets. If you have any questions, please contact Nicolas de la Riva.

G. Student Travel

Students presenting their research at conferences are eligible for up to $500 from the Dean of Faculty by submitting a Student Travel Request Form (associate dean of faculty approval is required). In addition to these funds, a faculty member may use funds from their annual allocation of HART funds, endowed professorship, or startup to help supplement a student’s travel to present faculty/student collaborative research. 

H. Professional Memberships

Annual professional memberships can be covered by a faculty member's HART, endowed professorships, and startup funds. The College does not support the purchase of multi-year or lifetime memberships, even when there is an associated cost savings.

I. Publication Costs

The Dean of Faculty offers support for costs associated with faculty publication of their own scholarship. The Dean supports expenses related to the technical aspects of publication post peer-review when a manuscript has been accepted for publication. The Dean does not support content (e.g., fact checking) or developmental editing.

Examples of the types of publication expenses the DOF will support include: 

• indexing
• press subventions/page charges
• image reproduction costs
• print permissions
• post peer-review copyediting services 

The Dean will not fund publication expenses before the acceptance of a peer-reviewed manuscript with limited exceptions such as professional English-language editing for non-native English speaking faculty.

The DOF has limited funds that it can use to support faculty publications. If a faculty member has startup, professorship, or postdoctoral research funds available, those will be used first. 

Open Access

DOF will support open access fees on a limited basis and scale comparable to press subvention/page charges. Please reach out to your associate dean of faculty for the acceptable range of expenses we cover for Open Access charges. The DOF does not support open access fees when a reasonable green level of access is available after a fixed embargo term. We do not cover gold access.

Other Types of Publication Costs

We normally will not support expenses for developmental editing, copyediting, or fact-checking before the peer review process has occurred and a publishing contract has been issued. Faculty with startup, professorship, or postdoctoral research funds may use those funds for supporting the development of a publication, but only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication. 

Payment and Reimbursement Processes

Payments to vendors and reimbursements to faculty are processed through electronic links. The business office does not accept paper copies of payment and reimbursement requests. Please use the invoice payment form when you are submitting an invoice provided by a vendor. Please use the check request form for payments such as honorariums or employee reimbursements. If you need assistance with completing any of the electronic links, please reach out to your academic office assistant or refer to Frequently asked Questions.

Who approves payment forms (check requests, invoices, travel reimbursements)?

Generally, all check requests, invoice payments, or travel reimbursements that are funded through DOF, and less than or equal to $5,000, should be submitted to Thomas D'Onofrio for approval. If the expense is over $5000, forward the request to Nicolas de la Riva. Please refer to Table 1 (below) which identifies the approver when submitting a payment or reimbursement for various other expense types (including student entertainment, speaker-related expenses, recruitment, purchasing, and faculty travel).

Fiscal Year Charges

Please note that the College’s fiscal year starts July 1 and ends June 30.  All reimbursement requests (including receipts) and vendor invoices must be submitted to the DOF in a timely manner throughout the academic year. This is particularly important when we approach year-end deadlines. 

All reimbursements and vendor invoices for goods received and services rendered on/before June 30 must be turned in to the Business Office by mid-July.  Reimbursement requests and vendor invoices received after the mid-July deadline, which is specifically communicated to all employees by the Business Office in early June, will be posted to the next fiscal year.

What cannot be funded?

Non-research types of expenses, even if related to your job (e.g., rental of cap and gown, office furniture, home furniture), will not be funded. Other expenses that the College does not fund through these sources include: the purchase of one's own publications, cellphones, data plans, childcare, and costs associated with upgrading lodging or travel tickets. The college will not cover extra costs associated with travel including: passport or official document renewal expenses, tips for hotel room service, unnecessary airfare costs or fees (added costs for extended trips, itinerary changes, or cancellations), kennel or pet charges, hotel laundry bills, hotel phone or media charges, fitness club access, or anything not directly connected to the purpose of the trip. 

College’s alcohol policy

Unless such a purchase pertains to employee travel on college business, all purchases of alcohol from College funds must be approved by the appropriate member of senior staff or their approved delegate. The following conditions apply to DOF faculty and staff.

• DOF centralized funds (i.e., operating budgets such as student entertainment or endowments) may not be used to pay for alcohol purchases for any social event specifically for students, such as functions hosted by faculty at their homes to celebrate students.
• DOF centralized funds may be used to pay for alcohol at a valid business event, such as hosting a guest or speaker for a meal, even if attended by students. The hosting individual(s) are responsible for meeting legal restrictions, such as serving only those who are 21 or older, and ensuring professional and responsible behavior.
• Departments, programs, and support services within academic affairs may use their own operating budgets to purchase alcohol at a social event to celebrate students, such as a senior toast, but are responsible for meeting legal restrictions, such as serving only those who are 21 or older, and ensuring professional and responsible behavior.

The College will not cover expenses that violate college policies, regardless of the source of the funding. We encourage you to thoroughly read the policies that relate to the College’s financial operations and forms so that you will not be surprised by the policies. If you have any questions about an expense, please reach out to your associate dean before committing to the expense.