071.2 Charging for Computer Services

071.2 Charging for Computer Services

A. Background

The services provided by the Computer Center to the various areas of the University are of an ever increasing magnitude and cost. As a service department of the University, the generally accepted accounting procedures for higher educational institutions prescribe that the department receiving computer services should be charged for the services received. In the past no attempt has been made to measure the costs of the services to the individual budget units of the University due to the lack of a feasible means of effecting an equitable charge. Now that the University has installed computer equipment capable of recording how the various users of the equipment utilize the system, it has been feasible to charge users for the services of the center. Such a system of charging will provide better information on the cost effectiveness of the applications and better control over appropriate users of the equipment.

B. Policy

Effective September 1, 1977, all services of the Computer Center, including both machine and personnel usage, will be charged to the budget unit for which the service is being provided.

C. Guidelines

1.  The rates for the various services of the Computer Center will be determined by the Computer Center and provided to the affected departments prior to their implementation.

2.  Budget units will be billed on a monthly basis by the Computer Center by means of the interdepartmental invoice form.

3.  The Director of the Computer Center will provide assistance to the budget-unit heads in preparing their budget requests for computer services.

...........................