If you are currently developing courses or engaging with Miami University Regionals' E-Campus programming, this FAQ will help to serve as a guide to common questions related to faculty stipends associated with these activities.

• Am I eligible to receive a stipend?
• How do I obtain my stipend funds balance?
• When does my stipend expire?
• What can I use my available funds to purchase?
• How do I request items for purchase using my stipend funds?
• Can I work directly with E-Campus to make my stipend fund purchases?
• What expense receipts and documentation need to be sent to E-Campus?
• Oops! I already spent the money on my own and would like to be reimbursed. What do I need to do to process a reimbursement?
• How do I submit items for reimbursement in Chrome River?

Am I eligible to receive a stipend?

E-Campus Professional Development Stipends may be earned through various types of engagement and partnership with E-Campus, including:

• developing an online course with E-Campus,
• participating in application-based professional development programs (e.g. FLCs),
• conducting research and scholarship as an E-Fellow,
• innovating online pedagogical and course management strategies, as an E-Innovator,
• serving as a Peer Reviewer to conduct peer review of online courses, and
• partnering through an E-Campus Service Role.

Stipend funds are distributed following the successful completion of the outcomes and deliverables detailed in your agreement. For example, funds earned from developing a new online course with our Instructional Design team will become available after the new course has been peer-reviewed and a master copy of the fully developed, final version of the course has been archived for record-keeping.

Note: All activities eligible to earn an E-Campus funded stipend require an agreement signed by all interested parties (e.g. faculty, Chair, Dean, E-Campus Leadership), before the initiation of the activity, defining the scope of work, deliverables, responsible parties, important dates, and funds dedicated to the project.

How do I obtain my stipend funds balance?

E-Campus will email faculty who have stipend funds available for purchases, in the Fall and Spring each year. In between, you are welcome to email or call (513-217-4003) Pruthvi Patel, anytime, to receive your balance for available funds.

When does my stipend expire?

Unless otherwise stated in your signed Agreement, E-Campus Professional Development Stipends expire 12 months after they are earned.

E.g. If all parties agree that your new online course is “finished” on May 1, 2019, your Professional Development Stipend is available and won't expire until May 1, 2020.

What can I use my available funds to purchase?

Professional Development Stipend funds earned through collaborative work completed in partnership with Regional E-Campus are intended to be used for the purchase of goods or services that enhance the teaching and learning pedagogy, scholarship, or direct services you perform in your role at Miami University. Per Miami procurement policy, requests for purchases that do not enhance or support your professional work for Miami in the area of teaching and learning may not be approved. Visit the Office of Strategic Procurement’s Purchasing Handbook for more details.

Purchasing Material Goods

Special note about purchasing goods: Individuals may purchase material goods using stipend funds, but please note per Miami accounts payable and procurement policies: All goods purchased using Miami University funds are the property of Miami University. If at some point your employment status with Miami University changes, you may be asked to return the property to the University. For more information about these policies, visit the Office of the Comptroller's Accounts Payable page.

• To purchase a Laptop/Monitor/Desktop: Connect with Jake Robinson (x7-3348 or robins11@miamioh.edu) to discuss your computer interests and needs. He will be able to advise you on options as well as order the equipment for you. Be sure to let him know the balance of the funds available. Jake will work with E-Campus to finalize the equipment purchase.
• Computer Peripherals (ex. Microphone, webcam, speakers, tech equipment etc): Connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to discuss computer peripheral interests and needs. We will advise you on options and order the equipment.
• iPads: Connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to discuss iPad interests and needs. We will be able to advise you on options and order the equipment.
• Materials (ex. Books, DVDs, office equipment, teaching equipment, etc): Connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to discuss purchasing materials. We will be able to advise you on options and order the materials.
• Purchasing Professional Memberships and Subscriptions Connect with the organization for which you would like to purchase a membership or subscription to request an invoice with your name on it. You can have them send the invoice directly to E-Campus or you may forward it to E-Campus (ecampushelp@miamioh.edu). We will process the payment for you.
• Software and Application Licensing Connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to assist you in payment or purchasing software or app licensing fees. We will be able to advise you on options and order the materials.
• Professional Travel When planning for travel, connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or email us at ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to assist you in purchasing all travel elements, including registration, airfare, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation.
• Workshop/Course Enrollment Fees

  Workshops: Connect with E-Campus (x7-4003 or email us at ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) to assist you in payment for registration & enrollment fees.

  For-Credit Course: Please pay the tuition associated with the course using your own money and then submit for personal reimbursement by connecting with E-Campus (x7-4003 or email us at ecampushelp@miamioh.edu) providing receipt documentation showing the tuition paid.

How do I request items for purchase using my stipend funds?

The first step involves submitting a Faculty Stipend Expense Request.

You will receive an email from Regional E-Campus containing your specific Professional Development Expense Authorization form.

• Please use this form to indicate the purchases for which you would like to use professional development stipends funds.
• After you fill in your details and signature, the form will automatically be sent, first, to Moria Casey and then to Julie Straub for institutional review, financial approval, and signature.
• After all, signatures have been collected (your signature, Dean’s office, and E-Campus Director - in that order) the form will return automatically to E-Campus Solution Team and we will begin processing your purchase request.
• Most of the time, this takes only a couple of days. The process may become delayed if any one of the key personnel are out-of-the-office while we are processing your request. If you experience a delay, please email us at ecampushelp@miamioh.edu for more information and to help advance the process.

Can I work directly with E-Campus to make my stipend fund purchases?

Yes! It is, by far, the easiest way to make purchases using E-Campus stipend funds. We can render payment for your conference registration. Book your hotel room. Rent you a car. Purchase materials. Even process invoices for your professional memberships. Working with us saves you time and eliminates the hassle of the additional paperwork and correspondence associated with reimbursement.

What expense receipts and documentation need to be sent to E-Campus?

All departments are required by the University to maintain records and receipts on financial purchases, made directly or provided via reimbursement, on file for financial audits and reporting. It is necessary to provide all receipts related to the purchases made using E-Campus Professional Development Stipend funds to maintain records with adequate documentation detailing the allocation of funds - where the funds went, what they were spent on, how they were spent, and how much was spent.

Oops! I already spent the money on my own and would like to be reimbursed. What do I need to do to process a reimbursement?

Travel-related reimbursements are processed in Chrome River. More information about travel can be found on the Office of the Comptroller’s Travel page.

Reimbursements for purchases of goods and materials are processed in BuyWay using the Reimbursement Certification and Approval Form to pay back individuals for personal payment they made for University-approved purchases. For more information about paying individuals using BuyWay visit the Office of the Comptroller’s Paying individuals page.

Special notes about non-reimbursable expenses:

• Miami University is a Tax Exempt institution. Therefore, the Sales Tax charged in states where Miami University has a tax “exemption” certificate is not an allowable charge and will not be reimbursed. Visit the Office of the Comptroller’s Sales Tax page for a list of these states.
• You generally must have documentary evidence, such as receipts, canceled checks, or bills, to support your per trip expenses over $75. Visit the Office of the Comptroller's travel page for more information. 
• Since the IRS has determined that 60 days is a Reasonable Period of Time to document travel expenses, this deadline will be strictly enforced. Failure to meet the required deadlines may result in the travel reimbursement becoming taxable income to the traveler. Any travel-related expenses paid for personally, reimbursement will be made after the travel takes place and only for the expense amount. Finance charges are not reimbursable. MU Travel Policy 8.02: Timely Return of Receipts

How do I submit items for reimbursement in Chrome River?

Step 1: Before you submit your travel reimbursement report in Chrome River, add Pruthvi Patel (patelp3@miamioh.edu) as a ‘delegate’ in your Chrome River report. As a delegate, Pruthvi will review the receipts for the portion of expenses that will use E-Campus funds and will input index codes directly into the system.

Follow these steps to add a new delegate to an expense report in Chrome River:

1. Login to Chrome River
2. Click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the Dashboard page.
   
3. Click on “Settings” from the menu.
4. Click on “Delegate Settings” from the left-hand menu.
5. Click on either “+ Add New Delegates” or “+ Add Approval Delegate”.
6. Search for “Pruthvi Patel”
7. Click “Save”

Step 2: After all of the items have been entered in the report, you will submit it to your Supervisor/Chair for approval. After their review, the Supervisor/Chair should then reassign the report to Julie Straub for final approval regarding the distribution of E-Campus funds.

Use the resource ”How to reassign a report to the different approver for your supervisor” to walk through, step-by-step, what you’ll need to do to reassign the report to a different approver.