The information presented here is a summary of the most commonly required services and is not intended to cover every possible situation.

Should you have a specific need, question, or suggestion, please email BusinessOffice@kzoo.edu.

To better serve the campus community, the College has established a series of cost-saving policies and procedures for the most commonly purchased goods and services.

The object of these policies is to:

• To competitively bid goods and services to achieve the best price and highest quality of service
• To reduce the number of vendors used to purchase the same products
• To reduce the number of check requisitions that are processed and the number of checks that are written
• To reduce late fees, missed cash discounts, and sales tax payments
• To increase the use of purchasing consortia to take advantage of volume discounts
• To establish clear guidelines and uniform purchasing practices throughout the campus community.

For bookings related to travelers for the academic areas, contact the Provost’s Office.

If you wish to make your own travel arrangements online, please keep in mind that these tickets are typically very restrictive. Date and name changes are usually prohibited. Additionally, when flights are overbooked, ticket holders of tickets purchased through discount internet providers are usually last to be rescheduled.

College air travel should be paid with a College credit card to ensure the traveler is covered by the insurance and benefits available through the credit card program.

The College is unable to reimburse the fair market value of an airline ticket purchased with the traveler’s frequent flyer miles.

The College purchasing policy requires approval of purchase orders, stipends and/or invoices prior to issuing payment. Additionally, any contract involving the College with a total value exceeding $25,000 should also be subject to review by the Vice President for Business and Finance in addition to relevant department approval. Any purchase of hardware or software or contracts involving access to data must be reviewed by the Associate Vice President, IS and the Chief Information Officer.

The appropriate person to approve a purchase order, invoice, contract, check request, or stipend will be determined by the Approval Limit Chart posted here. This Approval Limit Chart will be periodically reviewed and updated. 

The total amount of the purchase order, invoice, contract, check request or stipend must be below the specific person's approval limit in order for their approval to suffice. If the total amount exceeds one person's approval limit, then the next highest supervisor listed for that department should provide their approval.

If the total purchase order, invoice, contract, check request or stipend amount extends beyond one year, the total amount for all years is the amount that should be used to determine the specific person to approve and sign the contract.

For example, a contract for the period from July 2023 through June 2028 has an annual cost of $15,000. The total cost for all 5 years is $75,000. An individual with an approval limit of at least $75,000 is required to review and approve the contract in addition to the Vice President for Business and Finance. 

This policy does not apply to credit card purchases or expense reimbursements as those are subject to review by the direct supervisor. See the Credit Card and the Expense Reporting Policies. 

Alcohol consumed with a meal, including cocktails and after-dinner drinks, while entertaining College guests or candidates is reimbursable to a maximum of two drinks per person. Moderation with respect to the cost of alcohol is the guiding principle in determining what is reasonable and reimbursable. Personal consumption of alcohol beyond one drink with dinner while at a conference, professional meeting, or other formally scheduled College-related event is not reimbursable.

Alcohol may not be purchased with Federal grant funding.

See also:

• Alcohol Policy
• Alcohol Policy: Use of Campus Facilities
• Athletics Tailgating Policy

Please contact Facilities Management to reserve a vehicle and visit their College Vehicles page.

Kalamazoo College recognizes the need for certain positions to be issued a mobile device in order to fulfill the essential job duties required. Eligible employees will be granted use of these devices in support of the operational and educational mission of the College. A campus-wide service plan has been selected to reduce monthly costs and provide enhanced services.

Division Vice Presidents must determine the need for such devices for their staff and departments. Vice Presidents, or their designees, are responsible for educating their staff about appropriate procedures and annually reevaluating eligibility of respective staff members to continue using a College-issued mobile device.

Under IRS guidelines (Notice 2011-72), the College is not required to tax individuals for personal usage of College-provided mobile phones, provided that the mobile device is for “substantial business reasons”. It is the responsibility of both the staff member and the respective Vice President to determine whether this requirement is being met. The College reserves the right to amend this policy should the IRS reinstate taxation for personal usage of employer-provided mobile phones.

On rare occasions, the College may approve reimbursement for College-related calls on personal mobile devices. Division Vice Presidents are responsible for authorizing eligible employees within their respective areas for reimbursement. Reimbursement will be based on 35% of the monthly rate paid by the College for similar devices (either smart phones or other mobile phones). The rate of reimbursement is subject to review each fiscal year.

Mobile devices (smart phones or other mobile phones; for the policy related to Tablets, see the “Computers and Tablets” section) will be provided to College employees who meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Are responsible for crisis management, or are required to be “on-call” during off hours for a significant portion of the time (e.g. President’s Staff, Security, certain Student Development staff, and certain Information Services staff)
• Are required to travel for the College as an essential and significant portion of their duties (e.g. Admission Counselors, Advancement Gift Officers, certain CIP staff, etc.)
• Are required, as part of their job, to be off campus (e.g. certain Service Learning and Athletic staff), or due to their work environment are required to remain in communication while away from their desk (e.g. Facilities Management).

A small pool of mobile phones will be available for employees who do not have a College-issued phone and who have occasional (once or twice per year) reasons to travel on College business.

The College only provides mobile devices that have been approved, and that can be supported by Information Services. (Contact Information Services for a listing of approved equipment).

Information Services supports devices that utilize the ActiveSync protocol for mobile data synchronization. Designated models of iOS(iPhones) and Android devices are supported. Support provided is for the devices themselves and for certain built-in functionality and services, including connectivity to designated College resources such as email and calendars. Support is not provided for other user installed applications. To protect College resources and data, mobile device security policy settings are established for College-owned devices, as well as personal devices that access College data. These security policy settings include:

• Required password on device, with certain password restrictions
• A limit to the number of failed authentication attempts
• Idle time out settings
• Required encrypted backups for devices that support it
• A password required to remove management profile

1. Staff member submits request for mobile device to appropriate Vice President for approval.
2. Vice President submits approved request to Information Services.
3. Upon verification of eligible equipment and network support, Information Services submits purchase order to Business Office for mobile device.

The device provided is College property, and it is the responsibility of the staff member to keep it in working condition. If a device becomes damaged, it shall be brought to Information Services who will arrange for replacement or repair. Lost or stolen devices shall be immediately reported to the employee’s supervisor and to Information Services. All business-related costs incurred for replacement or repair will be the responsibility of the employee’s department; however, staff members may be held personally responsible for repair or replacement costs related to abuse or negligence.

Violations of this policy may result in the revoking of the device and disciplinary action. The College reserves the right to limit or terminate these privileges.

The Vice President, or their designee, is responsible for ensuring that all mobile devices are turned in to Information Services from staff members who are no longer employed with the College, staff members no longer considered eligible to receive a mobile device, or from staff members that are on leave from the College. Under rare circumstances, a Vice President may grant approval for a non-hourly employee to retain a mobile device during an approved leave. However, no hourly employee will be granted permission to retain a College-owned mobile device during times of leave from the College.

An hourly paid staff employee may use a College-issued device to conduct College business only during scheduled work hours, or with supervisor’s permission if outside of scheduled work hours. All time spent conducting College business, whether via phone or email, using a College-issued device or a personal device, is time worked and must be approved in advance to be accurately reported as time worked.

Usage of College mobile phones is governed under the Transportation Policy, which states: “no drivers will use mobile phones at any time while vehicles are in motion or waiting at stoplights, stop signs, etc. Drivers can only use mobile phones after having pulled over and stopped in a safe location. Exception: Mobile phones utilizing hands-free technology may be used by drivers driving alone on Kalamazoo business”.

Charitable donations may not be made from College funds unless approved by the President.

Internal Revenue Service regulations prohibit any contributions to public officials or candidates to public office.

All computers and tablets must be purchased by Information Services through approved vendors. Computers and tablets purchased by Information Services are purchased at a volume discount price with a service warranty.

Computers and tablets should not be purchased using College credit cards, except by authorized Information Services staff. Computers and tablets purchased with a personal credit card will not be reimbursed by the College. This policy applies regardless of funding source, including grant-funded accounts.

Tablets may not include a data plan.

Please visit the Information Services Computer Purchasing Policy for more information and to obtain a purchase order.

The College recognizes the need for copier/printer availability within key working areas and is committed to ensuring that these devices are accessible and networked. All networked copiers are purchased, or leased centrally, through the Business Office in coordination with Information Services. Departmental requests for new copiers, or replacement of existing copiers, must begin with Information Services.

The following is a list of expenses that will not be reimbursed by the College. This list is intended as a guide and is not inclusive of all expenses which are not reimbursable by the College:

• Commuting costs from home to campus
• Traffic fines, court costs, parking violations, towing charges, and auto repairs
• Personal grooming services, such as barbers, hairdressers, and shoe shines
• Annual premiums for personal property insurance or annual fees for personal credit cards, including liability insurance for lost cards
• Doctor bills, prescriptions, and other medical services, unless covered by the College’s health benefit plans
• Credit card delinquency fees, overcharge fees, or finance charges
• Bank or ATM fees
• Certain travel expenses, as listed in the Travel Policy

Effective July 1, 2016

Purchases of supplies and services made with federal funds that exceed $3,500, but are less than $150,000, require at least two quotes for cost comparisons prior to making the purchase. Copies of quotes should be forwarded to Business.Office@kzoo.edu to retain for audit purposes. If an item or service is available only from a single source, this also must be documented.

Purchases of $150,000 or greater require a competitive bid process. Please contact us for more information.

(OMB, 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D, Section 200.320)

Purchasing and accounting due dates for expenditures by faculty, staff, and students:

• May 3 – Last day to submit purchases through Information Services
  • Through May 3 - Forward your purchase requests for technology to Don Mack in Information Services. All purchase requests must be submitted to IS by this date, thereby enabling IS sufficient time to place your order, and for your order to be received prior to the end of the fiscal year. Orders received after this date will be processed in June, and will apply to the following year's fiscal budget. If you have questions please contact Don.Mack@kzoo.edu.
• June 24 - July 9:
• Gather up all invoices and expense reimbursements, and forward them to the Business Office for payment. This includes student reimbursements, too! Contact the vendors that you used to make your year-end purchases to get those invoices by the year-end cutoff.
• If you are traveling for College business at the end of June, and will not return until July, please contact the Business Office before you leave to make arrangements for your expense reimbursement. Reimbursement for expenses that occur on or before June 30 can only be paid in the current fiscal year if they are received in the Business Office by July 10.
• Update the account numbers for charges to the College credit cards posted in IntelliLink. The June credit card statements should be updated with account numbers in IntelliLink by July 10. Please remember that account numbers can be entered in IntelliLink as charges appear. You do not have to wait for the statement end date. Statements that are not updated will be charged to the default account. Also, mistyped account numbers will error out during the posting process and be changed back to the default number. Please review your account numbers for accuracy.

• July 10 - Last day to submit credit card account number changes in IntelliLink
  • Forward signed VISA card statements and receipts to the Business Office. Make sure your supervisor is available to approve your credit card statement. Approved VISA card statements and receipts are due in the Business Office no later than July 10.

• July 10 - Last day to submit invoices/expenses* and transfer of expenses between accounts
  • Forward transfer requests for the current fiscal year to the Business Office. Transfers between accounts must be received by the Business Office no later than July 10.

When the member of the College community experiences a significant life event, such as birth, illness, or death, please contact the Assistant to the President.

Please provide the following information:

• Name of the individual
• Relationship to the College
• Nature of the event
• Date of the event
• Place of the event and any related arrangements (hospital or funeral home - name, address, and phone number)
• Contact name, address, and phone number

All employee recognition is coordinated by the Assistant to the President under the following guidelines:

• Upon death of an employee or his/her immediate family member (spouse, parent, sibling, child), the College will send a floral arrangement. In exceptional circumstances, a memorial contribution may be made with approval of the President.
• For faculty and staff: the birth or adoption of a child, hospitalization, illness, or injury will be recognized with a floral arrangement.

Departments that wish to recognize these and other life events, such as birthdays or marriage, are expected to contribute personal funds toward any flowers or gifts. Supervisors that wish to provide holiday gifts to staff are also expected to contribute personal funds.

Fuel can be reimbursed, or charged, to College credit cards when it's for College or rental vehicles. Receipts must indicate if the vehicle was a College car or rental car. Fuel for personal vehicles cannot be reimbursed, but is paid as mileage at the current IRS rate. Departments can choose to pay a mileage rate lower than the IRS rate.

College policy generally prohibits the use of College funds to purchase gift cards or gift certificates. This applies to all College accounts regardless of funding source, including student activities and grant-funded accounts.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers gift cards and gift certificates paid for services, including volunteers, to be payments of cash which must be treated as taxable compensation. These payments to employees and volunteers must be processed by the Payroll department. In addition, many students are employees of the College, and additional compensation could impact their financial aid eligibility.

There are limited circumstances where gift certificates and gift cards can be used. However, a clear understanding of the facts surrounding the situation is needed to ensure compliance with IRS rules. Alternative solutions may be available. Please contact BusinessOffice@kzoo.edu prior to purchasing the gift cards.

Request for reimbursement for the purchase of gift certificates will not be processed without prior purchasing approval from the Business Office.

Gifts to acknowledge, and thank, external speakers or other College supporters should not exceed $75. Gift cards or gift certificates are not permitted.

The President's Staff takes responsibility for gifts to members of the College community to recognize birth, death, or illness. As well as tokens of gratitude at retirement. (Please see the policy related to Flowers and Gifts in Recognition of Life Events)

Individuals, or departments, interested in giving gifts to College employees to celebrate holidays, retirement, life events or recognize special contributions or services should be purchased with personal funds and should not be purchased with College funds.

Gifts to students to recognize special contributions or services or extracurricular activities should be of nominal value, not to exceed $75. Gifts to student employees should be provided infrequently to meet IRS guidelines regarding employee compensation. Gift cards or gift certificates may not be purchased with College funds for student volunteers or student employees.

There are several accommodations available within walking distance of the College. Employees should contact the properties directly to make arrangements. Some properties have direct billing arrangements with the College, and employees should provide contact information for billing purposes at the time of the reservation.

Comfort Inn
739 West Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
269.384.2800

Negotiated rate: No
Direct billing: Yes
Distance: 10 minute walk

Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites
100 West Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
1.800.395.7046

Negotiated rate: Yes
Direct billing: Yes
Distance: 20 minute walk

Stuart Avenue Inn
229 Stuart Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
269.342.0230

Negotiated rate: Yes
Direct billing: Yes
Distance: 10 minute walk
Other: Welcomes College employees to breakfast with its visitors

Another option for large groups or visitors with own transportation:

Holiday Inn West
2747 South 11th Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
269.375.6000

Negotiated rate: Yes
Direct billing: Yes
Distance: 10 minute drive

Expenses related to meals provided in conjunction with College meetings and events are reimbursable. Requests for reimbursements should include the business purpose of the meeting or the name of the event, the names of the participants (or name of the group if the number of participants is large), the date and location of the meeting or event, and the original receipt for the meal expenses being claimed. Meal tips should be included in the claim for the meal, not listed separately, and should not exceed 20%.*

For meal expenses while traveling with an overnight stay, see the Meals and Alcohol section in our Travel Policies.

Due to IRS regulations, the College is unable to reimburse individual meal expenses related to travel that does not include an overnight stay.

*per CNN Money and Emily Post tips for meals should be 15% pre-tax for adequate service and 20% pre-tax for exceptional service.

The College reimburses mileage related to business use of a personal automobile at the current IRS rate. A campus notice will be sent out each time the IRS rate changes.

The current rate for mileage is 67 cents (effective 1-1-2024). Requests for reimbursements may be submitted at any rate not to exceed the current reimbursement rate. The College does not pay mileage in advance of travel.

The College does not reimburse for fuel, parking/speeding tickets, towing charges, or other expenses related to business use of personal automobiles.

Office Depot is the preferred vendor for office supplies. Office supplies can be ordered online through the Office Depot website at significant savings compared to local retail stores. Orders require no minimum to qualify for free shipping and are delivered the next business day.

The College strongly encourages departments that frequently purchase items such as coffee, paper plates, candy, etc. to order through Office Depot at the College’s discounted price.

To set up a Office Depot online account, please email BusinessOffice@kzoo.edu

If you find lower prices on the main Office Depot website, or wish to see if Office Depot can offer a better price on something you need, please contact our Office Depot representative, Erinn.Dennany@OfficeDepot.com

It is the College policy that overnight letters and deliveries are sent via FedEx. Please contact the Mail & Copy Center for assistance with cost and logistical details for all domestic and international deliveries.

New printer cartridges should be purchased through Office Depot. See the Office Supplies policy for more information.

Information Service doesn't recommend purchasing refurbished or remanufactured cartridges. These cartridges can cause issues with the printers, and many require more maintenance on the printer.

IS purchase printer cartridges through LFW for the printers they maintain in the labs and library.

LFW Office Solutions
3800 Wynn Road
Kalamazoo, MI 490
269.888.2770

All printers should be purchased through Information Services, and not on College credit cards or with personal credit cards. The College will not reimburse purchases of printers on personal credit cards. All computer printers must be purchased with a Purchase Order. Please contact the Associate Director, Technical and Media Services, for more information and to obtain a purchase order number.

Due to the additional cost of color printing, College policy prohibits the purchase of color printers for departmental use, except for certain approved areas. Departments are strongly encouraged to electronically submit color printing work to the Copy Center.

Requests for Printing and Design services must be submitted to the Office of College Marketing and Communication. They will provide quotes for every job request, including quotes from third party vendors. The response time for quotes is three to five business days. Contact the Director of Publications for quotes.

For standard black and white printing, please contact the Mail and Copy Center.