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Purchasing, Travel and Reimbursements
Purchasing
1. General Purchasing
2. Special Cases
3. Reimbursements
Domestic Travel
Foreign Travel
Travel Grants
Purchasing
Many graduate students need, on occasion, to purchase supplies and equipment for their research. The first step, obviously, is to get the approval for purchases from your research advisor. Your research group may have its own purchasing policies in place; what we describe below is a general template of Departmental policy.
The Department has a Purchasing Office, B-321. The purchasing staff is available to answer any questions or concerns you may have when ordering supplies or equipment for use in your research. Purchasing requests and questions are best sent to the mailing list: eepurch@princeton.edu.
1. General Purchsing
Ordering:
Access form from: http://www.ee.princeton.edu/guide/financial/order.pdf
- The student defines needs and discusses with research advisor. Goes out for quote (if applicable).
- The student fills out EE Department Ordering Form
- If over $500.00 – obtain signature from Principle Investigator or Project Grant Manager
- If Capital Equipment –Project Grant Manager* approval REQUIRED
- If over $1,000 – Quote(s) and Sole Source Justification form must accompany EE Department Ordering Form
- The student drops form(s) off directly to EE Purchasing Group
- Confirming Orders ONLY – Upon receipt of their PO#, students can call the vendor and place the order using the PO# as payment method. The purchasing office does not place the order – that is up to the student to complete once they have the PO#.
Receiving: Upon receipt of parts or services, the requestor should put the packing slip in a designated “Packing Slip” bin. “Packing Slip” bins are located at graduate student mailboxes on each floor in Electrical Engineering and in front of the EE Purchasing Group (B-321). This will prompt complete receiving of order – unless packing slip differs. Please note any known discrepancies (i.e., over-shipment, duplication, partial shipment, etc.) directly on packing slip to prevent any delays in processing.
Change Order: Please email or contact EE Purchasing Office with known changes as soon as possible (i.e., Cancellation, Quantity change, Line item additions/deletions, etc.).
Return to Vendor: When parts are being sent back to vendor for repair or return, a “Return-to-Vendor” form must be completed. A copy of this form may be obtained from the purchasing office and then submitted back to them.
Credit Card Orders: Each research group (CE, EMD, ISS/OOE) has a credit card for research and department related purchases. There are strict guidelines on the use of the departmental credit card. Please check with your Project Grant Manager about proper use before using the credit card.
The University is a tax exempt organization. Please make sure that no sales tax is charged on the credit card. You can pick up a tax exempt form from the Purchasing Office, and the number is printed on the credit card. If sales tax is charged, you must get it refunded from the vendor, or pay it yourself.
It is not permitted to purchase personal items using the University’s purchasing system to benefit from the tax exempt status or any discounts or special deals extended to the University.
2. Special Cases
Federal Express: Submit a copy of all Federal Express air bills to the EE Purchasing Office.When sending packages via Federal Express, please put Project Grant # in the “Internal Billing Reference” area.
MG Industries/Messer: When placing Dewar orders, use MG Industries Fax Order Form to submit request. When items are delivered, put Delivery Tickets in “Packing Slip” bin so that proper receiving can be performed. For detailed information about receiving, please check with the Purchasing Office.
Dell Computer Orders: Submit E-Quote using website: http://www.dell.com (Higher Education link), along with a completed EE Department Ordering Form to EE Purchasing Group.
Computers and other large order: Expensive items, including computers, should be purchased through the EE Purchasing Office or your project grant manager. If you do not use the proper channels, these types of purchases may be denied, and your money not reimbursed.
The student voucher for travel and other reimbursements is available from the webpage below, or from your program assistant: http://www.ee.princeton.edu/guide/financial/Student_Voucher_and_Justification.pdf
Often students will travel to conferences or other sites as part of their thesis research. When this travel is to be reimbursed, the following procedures should be used:
Check with your project grant manager about guidelines for purchasing air tickets. Typically, students make their own travel reservations. The department credit card is available to purchase airfare with prior permission from the project grant manager. In general, a Saturday-night-stay may make the airfare cheaper. Discount student/teacher airfares are sometimes available from Student Universe (www.studentuniverse.com ), STA Travel (www.statravel.com ) and other sources.
If you need to rent a car: Princeton has negotiated preferential automobile rates with Avis and Hertz that include automobile liability and physical damage insurance coverage. If not practical or possible to rent from Avis or Hertz, decline all insurance coverage offered by other rental agencies anyway since the University will self-insure for this type of financial risk. DO NOT ACCEPT Collision/ Comprehensive insurance for DOMESTIC TRAVEL.
Please save all receipts and boarding passes for hotels, taxis, airfare, and meals. Reimbursement cannot be done without receipts.
Many of you will travel to foreign places to attend conferences. Specific rules must be followed in planning travel outside the United States.
When coordinating foreign travel arrangements that will be charged to a faculty research grant (4000 and 6000 accounts), it is necessary that you comply with strict rules which govern foreign travel. Most agencies require prior approval (as much as 90 days). If you have any questions, please check with your program’s Faculty Assistant. Following these standard procedures will ensure timely approvals and reimbursement.
Please speak with your project grant manager before booking any foreign travel. They will need to know the following:
1. Travel Dates
2. Destination
3. Approximate Costs (i.e., lodging, registration, meals, airfare, ground transportation)
4. Reason for travel, including how this travel is beneficial and related to the supporting research grant.
5. Emailed permission from your advisor to travel
PLEASE EMAIL THE ABOVE INFORMATION to your group’s Project Grants Manager who will complete the processing through ORPA. S/he will notify you when travel is approved.
Airline: When coordinating your air-travel, US carriers ONLY MUST be used if travel is paid from government research contracts.
Auto Rental: If renting a car for University business on FOREIGN travel ONLY, you SHOULD ACCEPT the Collision/Comprehensive insurance offered by the rental agency.
*If procedures are not followed, expenses may be denied.
Scholarly Travel Fund: The University provides a limited number of travel grants for graduate students traveling to present papers at conferences. To apply for the Grad School’s Scholarly Travel funds, follow the steps outlined on their website: http://gso.princeton.edu/financial/travel/deansfund/
Annual Travel Grant deadlines are as follows:
September 1 (for travel during Sept. through Nov.)
December 1 (for travel during Dec. through Feb.)
March 1 (for travel during March through May)
May 1, 2008 is the deadline for APGA summer travel grants
Useful links:
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