Policies + Procedures — Administration — Use of College Credit Card

6.8 Use of College Credit Card

I. Purpose

To establish policies to ensure that College credit cards are used solely for the official business of the College and not for personal or other improper use.

II. Scope

This policy applies to all employees who are issued a College credit card and to all employees who process payments for College credit card transactions.

III. General

Authority

The Chief Financial Officer serves as Card Administrator and is responsible for the issuance of College credit cards to officers and employees of the College and shall account, monitor, retrieve and oversee compliance with this policy.

As Card Administrator, the Chief Financial Officer or designee is authorized to review credit card purchasing activity to ensure compliance with this policy. The Chief Financial Officer is authorized to suspend the credit card privileges of any cardholder who is deemed to be in violation of this policy.

Appropriate Use

The use of a College credit card is designed to facilitate transactions in the following situations.

Purchasing Department only:
- When the purchase cannot be made via the standard requisition/purchase order/invoice procedure, including the use of the College group-purchasing contract, because the vendor will only accept a credit card.
- When the vendor offers a considerable price discount for using a credit card.
Approved Card Holders:
- All travel on College business, including conference and team travel.
- Pre-approved membership fees and College affiliation dues.
- Other items as approved by the area dean or executive director and/or the AVP/Vice President in accordance with this policy and the cardholder agreement.

General

All College credit card requests must be approved by the employee’s Cabinet level manager. After proper approval, requests will be submitted to the Card Administrator.
The card user is responsible for all charges made to the card and will be required to sign the Cardholder Agreement acknowledging liability for any unauthorized charges.
All credit card transactions must be processed in accordance with the established policies and procedures for purchasing and travel reimbursement.
Credit limits for individual cardholders will be set by the Card Administrator.
The standard credit card transaction limit is $5,000. The Card Administrator may approve any changes or exceptions to the card transaction limit based on demonstrated need and with the approval of the employee’s Cabinet level manager.
All credit card transactions must be made for the use and benefit of the College. Personal purchases are not permitted in any circumstances.
As an authorized agent of the College, the cardholder is responsible for the proper use, protection and custody of the card.
It is the cardholder’s responsibility to maintain required documentation for all transactions and submit monthly requests for payment with expense reconciliations to Accounts Payable.
Violators of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, in accordance with College policy.
Fraudulent or deliberately deceitful use of the credit card will result in disciplinary or legal action being taken, up to and including termination as well as restitution.
Cardholder shall return the credit card immediately upon termination of his employment and/or resignation, or transfer to a position that does not have credit card privileges.

IV. Restrictions

Use of a College credit is prohibited for the following:

Personal use
Cash advances
Products or services that require Board of Trustee approval
Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine or spirits
Consulting Services
Gifts and donations
Purchases with a Preferred Supplier, including but not limited to Staples and Amazon
Purchases utilizing electronic payment systems, such as, but not limited to PayPal and Venmo, without prior approval of the Card Administrator.
Individual purchases with a unit cost of $5,000 or more
Payments for goods or services to an individual
Purchases from Foreign Visitors, Non-Resident Alien (payments to or on behalf of a foreign visitor)
Purchases that require a quote or bid per the College procurement process
Purchases that require a College inventory asset tag (i.e., equipment, furniture, or computer/system components with a price equal to the asset capitalization level in place at the College)
Meals for departmental events (i.e. celebrations, thank you, team development) without the express permission of the Chief Financial Officer and the President through an exemption form.
The College is a tax-free organization and therefore, except for travel-related expenses, all sales taxes paid with the College card will be reimbursed by the card holder.