The use of all university issued cellular technologies and university provided compensations (stipends) for the use of personal cellular service is governed by the procedures stated below. This page outlines the process to request a departmental cellular telephone and/or mobile wi-fi hotspot, request use of a cellular checkout telephone, and request compensation for use of a personal cellular device being used for university duties.
Request a Departmental Cellular telephone or Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot
Under circumstances where it is necessary to share a cellular telephone or mobile wi-fi hotspot within a group of faculty, staff and/or students, these devices may be obtained by university departments. Such requests must be initiated by the department director or chair. Any cellular telephones or mobile wi-fi hotspot approved under this paragraph will be coordinated through Network and Voice Services.
To request a department cellular telephone or mobile wi-fi hotspot, send an email to Sheila Smithson (smithsons@apsu.edu) requesting either a cellular telephone or mobile wi-fi hotspot. Include the department name, the name of the person requesting the device, the department FOAP (Fund-Org-Acct-Program), and the name of the person with signature authority for the FOAP. Charges will be incurred monthly: for a cellular telephone, charged at $.05 per minute of use; for a mobile wi-fi hotspot, the monthly charge is $34.00. The current mobile wi-fi hotspot available is a Verizon mifi.
Request a Cellular Checkout Telephone
Network and Voice Services maintains a small number of cellular telephones for short-term checkout. The situations under which a telephone may be checked out include university events where the safety of students, faculty, staff or visitors may be in question (such as homecoming activities) or when a faculty or staff member is traveling on university business and must be contacted while traveling. Checkout telephones have restricted roaming areas. Personal calls on checkout phones are expressly forbidden. Checkout phones must be checked out by someone with signature authority for the account to be charged for their use. All incurred charges will be billed to the department which checks out the phone.
To request a cellular checkout telephone, send an email to Sheila Smithson (smithsons@apsu.edu) requesting use of a checkout cellular telrphone. Include the department name, the name of the person requesting the phone, the department FOAP (Fund-Orgn-Acct-Program), and the name of the person with signature authority for the FOAP. Charges will be incurred at $.05 per minute of use.
University Compensation for Use of Personal Cellular Service (cellular telephone stipend)
Austin Peay State University (APSU) does not provide employees with individual cellular telephones or smart phone devices. APSU offers a taxable stipend for cellular telephone service to employees whose duties and responsibilities require them to carry cellular telephones. This procedure allows the university to meet IRS regulations regarding business versus personal use of cellular telephones. All telephone and data services must be used in compliance with all appropriate laws and regulations in the State of Tennessee.
Qualifying: In order to qualify for a cellular telephone or cellular voice/data stipend, an employee must fill out the “Request for Cellular Voice or Cellular Voice/Data Plan” form clearly stating why he/she believes that a cellular telephone or smart device is a necessity in adequately performing his/her job duties.
Examples of justification for a stipend are:
- An employee is required to respond to critical system failures or service disruptions
- An employee is required to have immediate communications capability to protect the safety of students, staff or the general public
- An employee routinely travels off-campus on university business
- An employee cannot meet communications needs with other available alternatives such as a pager or a radio
The form must be approved by the employee’s direct supervisor and the appropriate vice president or president. The form must then be submitted to Human Resources. Network and Voice Services does not coordinate the plan for reimbursement for use of a personal cellular phone.
Payment: The cellular telephone stipend will be paid from department funds through the regular payroll process. These funds are charged against the individual department’s operating budget. The stipend will be paid monthly. Such stipends are taxable income subject to required tax withholdings. The stipend is not an entitlement, and is not part of the employee’s base salary.
A Budget Revision form must be submitted with each request.
Required forms:
Request for Cellular Voice or Cellular Voice/Data Plan
Budget Revision
Additional information:
Portable Computation Device App Reimbursement Procedures