VI Financial Management Policies
Accounting Procedures
Budget Preparation
Requisitioning
Competitive Bids
Travel
Mail Services
Work Orders
Campus Facilities
Use of College Equipment
Keys
Telephones
Emergency Response Plan
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Each institution shall operate within available resources and shall maintain adequate operational balances as defined by the Chancellor and reported to the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees to ensure the financial stability of the institution. Each institution shall ensure processes are adequate to safeguard institutional resources. .
The Financial Management Procedures Manual for the Alabama Community College System shall be used by all institutions. The Chancellor shall revise and maintain the manual as needed to comply with generally accepted accounting procedures, good business practices, Board policy, and applicable laws.
The fiscal operation of the College is conducted based on an annual budget for the fiscal year October 1 through September 30. Each annual budget is based on appropriations approved by the Alabama Legislature. The President is responsible for the approval of the annual budget, as prepared and presented by the chief financial officer. All college employees have an opportunity to assist in the preparation of the annual budget through implementation of the following process.
Steps to follow in the annual planning and budgeting process:
- Each department chair or director will complete the Unit Planning System at times specified during the year. The Unit Planning System is a planning and evaluation tool utilized to provide organizational planning objectives. Each department chair or director has the responsibility for involving department members in the planning process.
- Each department chair or director will collect information from personnel under their supervision and complete the Budget Request spreadsheet tabs corresponding to their organization codes. The Budget Request spreadsheet quantifies planning objectives from the Unit Planning System. Justification should be stated for requested equipment over $10,000. The Budget Request should be submitted by email to the Director of Accounting by a date specified in May of each year.
- The Director of Accounting will compile the information for each department and return to the Deans for review. Deans will review the draft budget requests, make changes, and submit the requests to the Vice President of Fiscal and Administrative Services. The data entered on the spreadsheet will be used in preparing a draft budget to submit to the President.
- Any personnel requests should be emailed to Human Resources.
- The Business Office will prepare and have the annual budget request ready to submit for approval by the President and to submit to the Alabama Community College System Office by their deadline in June/July. Departments will receive feedback on approved budgeted amounts after the budget is approved by the ACCS Board of Trustees.
Exhibit B-1 shows a flow chart for budget preparation.
EXHIBIT B-1
FLOW CHART FOR BUDGET PREPARATION
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The Business Office follows standard operating procedures set forth by the Alabama Department of Public Examiners and the Alabama Community College System Fiscal Procedures Manual. An online purchase requisition/purchase order process is used to obtain materials for the College.
Approval
- From the Southern Union website, log into the employee Ellucian Experience portal using a Banner login.
- Create a requisition by choosing the Finance Self-Service card.
- Fill in the online form with data including Requestor information, Vendor information, and Accounting information.
- New vendors need to submit a W-9 form before a requisition can be entered.
- Item descriptions should indicate the type of items or services being purchased.
- Organizational budgets should be sufficient to cover the request.
- The total amount of the request should cover the cost since a purchase order may be paid for a lower amount but not higher.
- After submission, requisitions are routed to a Dean for approval. Requisitions more than $5,000 are routed to the President. Finally, all requisitions are routed to the Accountant for Purchasing to convert to a purchase order.
Issuance
The Purchasing Agent sends an email containing the purchase order number to the original requester. Only then may items be obtained from vendors and it is the responsibility of the person who initiates the requisition/purchase order to order the items from vendors.
Payment
Items pertaining to payment should be uploaded to the Banner Document Management System and an email should be sent to Accounts Payable notifying that the materials are received and the purchase order is ready to pay. The email to Accounts Payable generates payment to the vendor.
For requisitions exceeding $50,000, competitive bids must be invited. The following information should be provided to the Accountant for Purchasing who prepares and submits bids.
- Specifications
- At least three prospective vendors
- Delivery date required.
Competitive bids will be invited from parties specified or any other known responsible bidder.
In-state Travel
Approval for in-state travel must be secured prior to travel. Travel request forms for in-state travel must be submitted to the appropriate supervisor for approval before final certification by the Business Office that funds are available.
Out-of-state Travel
Requests for out-of-state travel must include total estimated cost of trip, source of funds, and purpose of travel. Out-of-state travel must be submitted to the President 15 calendar days before departure.Pre-payment of travel payments may be made directly to a vendor, i.e., commercial transportation and conference registration.
Travel for Professional Development
Approval of out-of-state travel for professional development activities for groups of three or more persons from a single college or ten or more persons from various colleges must be approved by the ACCS Board of Trustees. Southern Union State Community College supports its employees’ participation in local, regional, and national professional meetings.
Travel Between Work Sites
Definition of Base. The base is defined as the location at which the majority of one’s workload is assigned. If one’s work is evenly divided between two locations, the President will determine the employee’s base. A base is defined by an Attorney General’s opinion (88-00039) to include the city limits of the location of one’s base. Thus, per diem is reimbursable only when traveling outside base limits.
Personnel are assigned a base upon employment. Position changes may require a change in base assignment. Instructors are assigned a base for each term as determined by their teaching assignment and other duties.
First Trip of Day
First trip travel on a regularly scheduled workday is not allowed from an employee’s home to their base campus, to a non-base campus, or to a regularly scheduled non-base work site. However, travel is allowed for the second, third, or more trips of the day, which includes travelling home from a non-base location. This mileage will be paid at the lesser of the (1) employee’s non-base location to home or (2) employee’s base to home. First trip travel is allowed only for occasional and non-regularly scheduled meetings from an employee’s home to a non-campus meeting location. This mileage will be paid at the lesser of the (1) employee’s home to meeting location or (2) employee’s base to meeting location.
Travel Reimbursement
Single Day Travel (In-State or Out-of-State)
- Travel request and reimbursement forms are located on the employee intranet.
- Travel request forms should be completed and approved prior to travel.
- Mileage rates paid to persons traveling in privately owned vehicles on official business for the college is 72.5 cents per mile (which began January 1, 2026).
- Mileage claims should be documented from an online map service except for travel between campuses, which is listed below:
Opelika – Wadley 42 miles one way
Opelika – Valley 16 miles one way
Wadley – Valley 35 miles one way
- Miscellaneous expenses such as parking require a receipt.
- Per diem rates are $12.75 for travel from 6 to 12 hours.
- Per diem rates are $34 if the trip is over 12 hours but not overnight.
- Per diem is not allowed if a meal is provided.
- Per diem is not allowed for travel in the city limits of the employee’s base campus.
Overnight Travel (In-State and Out-of-State)
- Travel request and reimbursement forms are located on the employee intranet.
- Travel request forms should be completed and approved prior to travel.
- Mileage rates paid to persons traveling in privately owned vehicles on official business for the college is 72.5 cents per mile (which began January 1, 2026).
- Mileage claims should be documented from an online map service except for travel between campuses, which is listed below:
Opelika – Wadley 42 miles one way
Opelika – Valley 16 miles one way
Wadley – Valley 35 miles one way
- Miscellaneous expenses such as parking require a receipt.
- Airline travel requires a receipt.
- Reimbursement of actual lodging expenses requires a receipt. In the absence of a receipt, per diem will be paid. The per diem allowance for one night’s travel status is $85.00 per day (example: Leave Monday & return Tuesday = $170). The per diem allowance for two plus nights travel status is $100.00 per day (example: Leave Monday & return Wednesday = $300).
- Incidentals are allowed at $5.00 per day and do not require a receipt.
- Meal allowances are limited to the maximum federal per diem rate based on the city visited and do not require receipts. Use the State Comptroller’s website to determine the rates per city at https://oos.alabama.gov/Meals.aspx .
- Meal allowances are not allowed if a meal is provided.
- On travel days, the traveler will be entitled to 75% of the meal allowance rates. Timeframes for claiming allowances on travel days are breakfast until 8:00 a.m., lunch from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., and dinner after 6:00 p.m.
- Overnight travel is not allowed for travel in the city limits of the employee’s base campus.
Payment
Mileage, overnight travel, and actual expenses are not taxable and are paid through accounts payable. Those expenses are cut by check as close to the 15th of each month as possible. Single day per diem is taxable and is paid through payroll. Further explanation of the State and college regulations regarding travel may be obtained from the Business Office.
Mail is distributed daily to faculty and staff mailboxes in designated campus locations. Official outgoing mail should be delivered to the Wadley and Opelika Business Offices. All official mail must be sent in envelopes printed with the College’s return address. The use of the college postal meter for personal use is prohibited.
All requests for maintenance and repair, furniture and equipment requirements, and changes to facilities, as well as reports of deficiencies in buildings and equipment, should be reported through use of a work order obtainable electronically through the Faculty Intranet link on the College website.
Faculty Offices
Offices are assigned by the Instructional Deans in consultation with department chairs and affected faculty. Faculty are expected to ensure that offices are maintained properly and to report any maintenance problems to the appropriate Instructional Dean.
Classrooms
Classrooms are assigned by the Instructional Deans based on anticipated section size. Should the classroom furnishings and equipment need to be rearranged, contact the appropriate dean who will coordinate approved requests with facilities staff. Faculty are requested to leave the classroom in an orderly condition. Changing classrooms must be cleared through the appropriate dean.
Meeting Rooms
Use of facilities on each campus should be scheduled with the individual(s) listed below:
- Wadley Campus - Business Office
- Opelika Campus - Administrative Assistant to the President
- Valley Campus - Campus Coordinator
Food and Drinks
Food and drinks are permitted in designated areas on each campus. They are not permitted in classrooms and/or labs.
- Wadley
The Wadley Campus Dining Hall serves fifteen meals (Mon-Fri) and one meal (Sun-Sat) to resident students. Meals are also available for purchase to commuting students, faculty, and staff. Students living in residence halls are required to purchase a meal ticket. Meal tickets are non-transferable. - Opelika
The Opelika Campus Student Union has snack options available Monday – Thursday. - Valley
Vending services are available in the student break room.
No one shall use a department or its equipment without prior permission from the instructor who is responsible and/or the dean. Using college equipment and/or supplies for private gain is prohibited. All classroom, laboratory, and audio-visual equipment and materials are for the purpose of instruction at the College. Occasionally, however, the use of college materials and equipment in the interest of serving the community may be worthwhile. Requests for permission to do so should be submitted to the appropriate Dean, setting forth the purpose, need, and benefit to the community. No college equipment or materials should be removed from the premises without expressed permission.
Equipment costing over $10,000 is inventoried and assigned to a specific location. If the need arises to relocate equipment, individuals are requested to contact Maintenance staff. Problems related to damaged equipment should be reported to the immediate supervisor. A listing of all inventoried property is kept in the Business Office. No equipment should be moved from one location to another until an online work order is requested and approved.
Keys shall be issued to all personnel by the Maintenance Department. No key may be duplicated. Should a need for a duplicate key arise, the Maintenance Department should be contacted.
All employees are required to use long distance exclusively for college business and personal use is prohibited.
The college emergency response plan is available on the college website.