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March 18, 2016

One new policy and proposed revisions to 13 existing policies have been posted for a 30-day, all-campus review and comment period from March 21-April 21, 2016. Of the 13 existing policies, nine were revised to incorporate references to Chrome River, a travel and expense reimbursement software about to be launched by Financial Services. Brief descriptions of the one new policy and the revisions to 13 existing policies are provided below.  

To comment on the policy drafts, please click here, click on the links for the individual policies below, or email policy@unm.edu.  We hope to hear from you!

NEW POLICY:

UAP 2XXX (“Clery Act Compliance”)

This comprehensive new policy discusses the requirements of the Clery Act, and clarifies the roles and responsibilities within the University for Clery compliance.

REVISIONS TO EXISTING POLICIES:

UAP 2250 ("Transition to a Smoke- and Tobacco-Free Campus"; formerly “Tobacco-Free Campus”) 

The revisions provide (i) notice of UNM becoming smoke- and tobacco-free by fall 2017, (ii) updated information on the dangers of e-cigarettes and hookahs, and (iii) enhanced information on enforcement of the policy. The State Department of Health and local chapter of the American Cancer Society reviewed the policy and suggested revisions.  (For a more readable version of the policy draft with no track changes, click here.)

UAP 3225 (“Separation of Employment”)

The “Retirement” section was changed to specify that employees should provide at least four weeks’ notice of retirement. The “Expiration of Contract” section was revised to clarify that the notice period for contract employees who resign is not two weeks.

UAP 3240 (“Contract Employees”)

A new section was added on “Deferred Compensation.”  The “Notice” section was revised to include a new subsection on “Notice to University from Administrators,” which requires at least 30 calendar days’ notice.  References to “Athletic Department policies and procedures” were deleted from the section on “Coaches” because these policies and procedures are nonexistent.

UAP 4305 ("Vendor Diversity Initiative"; formerly “Small, Disadvantaged, and Women Owned Business Program”)

The Purchasing Department rewrote this policy to reflect current practices, and to include veterans and people with disabilities within the scope of vendor diversity efforts.

POLICY REVISIONS RELATED TO THE CHROME RIVER SOFTWARE:

The following nine policies were revised by a committee consisting of: Doug Nelson, Laura Putz, Jason Galloway, Rosa Gonzales-Rosenblatt, Marty Desautels, Peggy Sedillo, and Jeremy Hamlin, all of whom are from Financial Services.  Liz Metzger, Ava Lovell, and Mike Schwantes approved the committee’s revisions.  Although the committee’s focus was Chrome River, the committee also revised the policies to conform to current practices and, as noted below, made some substantive changes. 

The committee’s substantive changes unrelated to Chrome River are noted below:

UAP 4020 ("Moving Expenses and Relocation Allowance"; formerly “Moving Expenses”)

The committee’s revisions introduce the term “relocation allowance” and discuss such reimbursements.

UAP 4030 (“Travel”)

The committee’s revisions:

• delete the section on “Travel Time Defined”
• combine the sections on “In State Mileage" and "Local Mileage”
• add a section on “Day Trip Meal Allowance,” which caps the meal allowance at 50% of the applicable meal per diem
• change the method for reimbursing per diem for overnight travel on the day of departure and return by imposing a flat rate of 75% of the allowable per diem for the business destination
• delete the section on “Funding Sources Used to Reimburse Travel”; and
• eliminate the reimbursement for calls home

UAP 4320 (“Purchasing Goods Off Campus”)

The committee’s revisions specify that if requests for reimbursement are not submitted in Chrome River and approved by the department within 60 calendar days of payment or incurrence, the expense will be reported as taxable compensation.

UAP 4370 (“Receiving and Paying for Off Campus Purchases With a Purchase Order”; formerly “Receiving and Paying for Off Campus Purchases”)

The committee’s revisions eliminate the section on prepayments.

The committee’s revisions that incorporate references to Chrome River and make other minor changes are noted below:

UAP 2110 (“Long Distance Telephone Calls”)

UAP 2170 (“Honorarium Payments”)

UAP 2480 (“Incentives for Program Participants”)

UAP 4040 (“Employee Recruitment Expense Reimbursement”)

UAP 7210 (“Petty Cash Fund”)