Tech Fee Guidelines

• GSU Proposal Guidelines
• Transfer of Funds Between Awards
• Reallocation of Funds Within an Award
• Funds Not Expended or Encumbered
• Questions or Extension Requests
• BOR Appropriate Use

These apply to new standard proposals ONLY.

1. Technology Fees should be used primarily to benefit student learning. Innovation and high student impact are encouraged.
2. Technology Fees may be used to assure there are sufficient campus licenses for primary productivity software.
3. Technology fees may be used for hardware and network related expenditures.
4. Technology Fee Revenues may be used for training of students, staff and faculty.
5. Technology fee revenues may be used for new temporary staffing. Staffing must significantly improve the viability and successful implementation of the project. Provision must be made for sustaining staffing if it is needed at the project’s conclusion. Funding ongoing staffing is strongly discouraged.
6. In almost no cases should tech fee revenues be used for administrative software or administrative software implementation.
7. Tech fee revenues may be used for research equipment that primarily benefits student learning.
8. Tech fee revenue may be used with caution for space renovation and/or furniture. Renovation must be in direct support of the technology in the project.
9. Funding for one year does not guarantee funding in any subsequent years.

Funds are distributed by individual grants and may not be transferred from one awarded proposal to another without approval from the Senate IIT Committee which meets on a monthly basis. If you would like to request approval for transfer a request should be sent to [email protected] to the attention of the Chair of Senate IIT describing the nature of the transfer.

As a default, award funds many not be used for the purchase of anything other than what was included in the awarded proposal.

Any request to reallocate funds for the purchase of “non-like items” within an award must be approved by the Senate IIT Committee which meets on a monthly basis.

An example of such a request might be the desire to purchase software in support of an award rather than some portion of the hardware that was originally proposed.

In order to obtain approval for such a reallocation, a request should be sent to [email protected] to the attention of the Chair of Senate IIT describing the nature of the reallocation proposed. The item will be presented at the next session of the Senate IIT Committee for review. Parties requesting the reallocation are invited to attend the session in order to answer any questions about the request.

There is some room for readjustment by an awardee as follows:

• Awardees may adjust quantities purchased as a result of price fluctuations in the market. For example if the award is granted for the purchase of 20 computers, but the price to purchase has risen or fallen, awardees may obtain more or less of the units accordingly.
• Awardees may purchase “like products or services” in order to respond to changes in available and supported technology. For example if the award is granted for the purchase of 20 laptops which have since become unavailable or unsupported the awardee may purchase like laptops as desired within the funding limits of the award.

Funds not expended or encumbered by the February deadline will be swept by the IIT Budgeting Office and then re-allocated by the Senate IIT Committee.

If you are unsure about your specific request and have questions please contact the Tech Fee Administration team at [email protected]. You may also request a spending extension using that address via the attention of the Chair of Senate IIT.

There are two basic principles governing use of student technology fees: Student technology fees should be used to support, not supplant, normal levels of technology spending. Institutions should be able to provide evidence that overall institution technology expenditures clearly reflect that expenditures based upon fee revenues are above and beyond normal levels. The focus of student technology fees should be on academic or instructional technology. Distinctions should be drawn between expenditures for administrative applications or scientific and laboratory equipment, and instructional technology. Technology fee revenues should be used for the primary benefit of students by:

• Directing expenses to assist students in meeting educational objectives of their academic programs
• Ensuring that there are sufficient campus software licenses, so that students have easy access to “technological” tools needed in their chosen disciplines
• Ensuring that “computer” labs used by students are adequately equipped and have sufficient network bandwidth and appropriate internet access
• Providing training for students in the use of computing and networking resources, when needed. Generally faculty and staff training should be paid for from general operating funds, but faculty and staff may avail themselves of student training sessions if space permits
• Leveraging with other funds to yield greater resources for students; (Technology fee revenues may be combined with another fund source(s) to make purchases that will enhance technological resources provided to students)
• Providing new staffing only when it will clearly add documented value for students. Under no circumstances can technology fees be used to fund existing positions that would otherwise be cut from an operational budget, nor should fees be used to fund general computing and networking positions that have a significant administrative or research support component