Membership Dues and Subscriptions Policy: 4:10:09:00

I. PURPOSE

The following policy on membership dues and subscriptions is hereby adopted for enforcement of the provisions below.

II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this policy, the terms below are defined as follows:

1. Membership dues or subscriptions are any expenditure from state funds by an institution which entitle subscription of material or membership, associate membership, or participation in activities of an organization.
2. Organization is a group (public or private), association, or society whose purpose is to promote common interests and share information.
3. Publication directly related to the mission means a publication without which the mission of the institution would be impossible or difficult to perform.

III. APPROVAL

1. Membership dues and subscriptions must be approved by the appropriate vice president. The vice president shall make their determination based on the criteria below.
2. Membership dues and subscriptions related to the Athletic Department must be approved by the President.

IV. CRITERIA

1. An institution may be a member of an organization or maintain subscriptions if the membership or subscription is directly related to the goals and mission of the institution.
2. An institution may not pay the membership dues or subscription of an individual.
   1. An exception may be granted in rare instances in which an organization does not permit institutional membership or in which an individual member (in the name of an institutional representative) is less expensive than an institutional membership.
   2. However, memberships necessary to maintain or enhance an employee's professional status should be considered the responsibility of the employee and the association dues considered a personal expense.
3. Duplicate memberships and subscriptions should be evaluated with the intention of providing only one membership/subscription per institution.
4. Where membership dues are included as part or all of the expense of an organization meeting for which the institution pays the expense of an employee to attend, the appropriate expenses shall be considered membership dues under these guidelines and should be subject to the established membership approval process.
5. Faculty and staff membership in civic organizations is encouraged; however, state funds may not be used to pay for memberships.
6. No institution may subscribe to political publications for other than instructional purposes.
7. An institution may subscribe to newspapers within its service area for public information and instructional- related purposes only. The only exceptions to the above are that the athletic department may subscribe to newspapers outside the institution's service area, and that subscriptions to newspapers with national distribution may be held for instructional purposes.
8. Newspaper clipping services must be approved by the President. The need for the service shall be clearly set forth in writing. The written justification should address the following points:
   1. The subjects to be clipped.
   2. The type of clipping service requested. (For example, statewide, all daily newspapers.)
   3. The use of information provided by the service.
      1. Who the clippings are circulated to in the institution.
      2. How the clippings benefit the institution.
   4. A statement that the clipping service is the most economical means of fulfilling the institution's needs.

V.  EXCEPTIONS

1. Exceptions to these guidelines may be approved by the President.

Sources

Corresponding Policies

TBR Guideline G-080

History

December 20, 2005; Reviewed - February 20, 2007; approved by the Leadership Council on December 9, 2016; effective date: January 1, 2017

Responsible Party

Vice President for Finance & Administration