Telephone Services

Frequently Asked Questions about Making Personal Calls on Cornell Telephones

What is the effective date for the Telephone Usage Policy?

A policy is effective when it is issued although it generally takes a month or two for units to implement new policies. We expect full implementation by December 31, 2001.

Does the university policy prohibit me from making personal, long distance phone calls?

The university policy does not prohibit you from making personal, long distance calls; it merely requires that you pay for personal, long distance calls directly so that they are not charged to your monthly CIT bill. Units of the university may choose to implement a more restrictive policy; some may already have done so.

Where can I obtain information about prepaid calling cards for direct payment?

CIT's web page on this policy has information.

Does the university policy apply to cell phones?

The university policy applies to all university telephones, which are defined as "a telephone paid for by the university, whether on or off campus." It therefore applies to all cellular phones that are billed to Cornell. If a unit requires staff to have cellular telephones to carry out their job responsibilities, the phone should be billed directly to Cornell. See the Cellular Telephone section in the policy.

Can a unit continue to accept reimbursements for personal, long distance calls?

A unit cannot accept reimbursements; it would be contrary to the policy.

If I need to make a personal, long distance call and don't have a method to directly pay for the call, what should I do?

Obtain your unit's prepaid telephone card if your unit has one. If the unit card is not available, make the call, notify your unit administrator of the personal call; do not reimburse Cornell for this call.

Can you provide guidance on procedures we should implement to assure compliance with the policy?

The unit is responsible for designing its own review procedures to assure compliance. The following is an example of a procedure a unit might choose to adopt:

The unit's Telecom Coordinator (sometimes called the telephone administrator) issues a monthly e-mail to all individuals reminding them:

• To pay directly for personal, long distance phone calls
• To review carefully all monthly phone bills for incorrect charges
• To report incorrect charges to the unit's Telecom Coordinator
• To report personal, long distance charges under the "Exceptional Situations" section of the policy to the unit's Telecom Coordinator
• To identify any charges that should to be charged directly to a sponsor, and follow procedures for transferring those charges
• To maintain copies of telephone bills for six years as required by record retention policies and guidelines
• To remember that signatures are no longer required on the monthly bills

Why was a telephone usage policy adopted?

One reason was to ensure Cornell's compliance with various tax issues. It was also adopted because of the significant time the university was devoting to the reimbursement process.

• A 1994 a study indicated the process absorbed between 14,000 and 33,000 hours annually;
• In 1996, the process was identified as one of the top 5 Time Wasters;
• In 2000, a meeting of the College Advisory Group (CAG) "voted" it one of the major administrative problems in need of resolution.