1109 Internet Access from Home

Scope

To establish a uniform policy covering the cost of home internet access for all University faculty and staff.

Policy Statement

The University will not reimburse or pay directly for home internet charges for faculty, postdoctoral associates/fellows, or staff, regardless of the source of funds. The cost of accessing the internet from home will be considered a personal expense.

Reason for the Policy

Home internet connection has become similar to a home telephone service and is not an expense that can be appropriately borne by the University.

1109.1 Internet availability on campus and at home

High-speed internet access has become a critical part of the professional activities of most of our faculty and staff. As a result the University has wired (or made wireless) the entire campus.

With the technological advances in recent years, quality and availability of internet service has expanded and many of the faculty and staff have purchased high-speed home internet service, typically through their cable television or home phone service for their home use. Many faculty and staff continue to engage in professional as well as personal activities from home and these activities often depend on the internet. Those professional activities, if any, from home do not provide a sufficient reason for the University to bear the cost of home internet service.

The reasons for this policy are as follows:

• all employees and students are provided with high-speed connectivity throughout the campus;
• it is very hard to isolate the cost of internet service from other costs because providers have been bundling internet service with long distance telephone and cable television services;  
• the portion of internet service applicable to personal use is very difficult to quantify and all members of a household normally engage in personal use of the internet; and
• the administrative costs to reimburse small and varying amounts, is extraordinarily high relative to the actual amounts reimbursed.

Roles and Responsibilities  

Office of the Provost and Controller are responsible for Policy interpretation and implementation.