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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Directive No. 11

This list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is divided by topic to help you to find the information you need quickly and easily. To ensure that you receive current information, each answer is dated to indicate the site's most recent update.

To submit a question to the FAQ list, please send an email to: directive11@fullerton.edu

  1. Types of Expenses Covered by Directive No. 11

  2. Approval Authority for Directive No. 11 Form and Expenses

  3. The Directive No. 11 Process

  4. Event Attendance

  5. Guests

  6. Help with the Informed Filler Application

  7. Hospitality Expenses

  8. Memberships

  9. Memorial Donations

  10. Promotional Items

Types of Expenses Covered by Directive No. 11

  1. Our department has a regularly-scheduled, weekly departmental seminar that is connected to supervised upper division and graduate courses. Students in our department enroll in the appropriate level course that is connected with these seminars and they are expected to attend all seminars. Members of scientific community off-campus present seminar papers and discussions at these seminars, and students, faculty, and staff attend and participate in these seminars. In the past, we have paid (from state funds) these professionals from off-campus an honorarium of $50.00. Is this honorarium a Directive 11 expense, or is it a programmatic expense?

    Honoraria provided to off-campus professionals and guests who present papers or other classroom instruction as a component part of and for the benefit of a specific course at CSUF should be considered as programmatic expenses at this time and are therefore not Directive No. 11 expenditures. (9-19-2001)

  2. I have a question regarding payment of an invoice for a free lance photographer who was hired for an event hosted by an alumna that was attended by President Gordon. The pictures were taken to use for future University fundraising print material and outreach pieces. What funds should be used to pay this invoice? Thank you for your help.

    You can use General Fund dollars to pay this invoice. Submit a purchase requisition approved by the person responsible for the account you are charging, the invoice from the photographer, and a Vendor Data Record (204) form (available at finance.fullerton.edu) to Accounts Payable, CP-300. Payment will be mailed directly to the photographer. (9-19-2001)

Approval Authority for Directive No. 11 Form and Expenses

  1. Can an individual who does not have the title of "Vice President" be a Division Head and approve Directive No. 11 expenditures and sign Directive No. 11 forms?

    Yes, this is possible. A "Division Head" may or may not have the title of "Vice President." Authorization to sign the Directive No. 11 form and approve expenses has been given to those individuals who are Vice Presidents or their equivalent. Those who have equivalent positions but do not have the specific title of "Vice President" include the university's Chief Financial Officer, Sherri L. Newcomb, Division Head for Business and Financial Affairs, and Mike Parker, the university's Chief Information/Technology Officer and Division Head for Information/Technology Services. ( Monday, April 18, 2005 )

  2. If an account is owned by two Divisions, which Division Head should sign the Directive No. 11 form?

    If you have an account owned by two divisions, either Division Head may sign the Directive No. 11 form, unless a pre-existing agreement exists that indicates that only one or the other may sign for a specific type of expense. (9-19-2001)

  3. Can my division's Vice-President delegate his approval authority to another individual in our division? Are there any limitations on such delegated authority, if it can be done?

    Yes, your division head can delegate their approval authority for many Directive No. 11 expenditures to a designee and, in some cases, Division Heads have delegated this responsibility to specific individuals. The delegation of approval for Directive No. 11 expenditures must be made in writing to the Chief Financial Officer. Since delegations may change over time, be sure to check the list of Division Heads and their designees. (9-19-2001)

    Keep in mind that there are some expenditures that only your Division Head can approve. These expenditures are identified under the categories of Event Attendance, Miscellaneous Division Expenses, Recognition Awards, and Memberships in Educational, Business, Professional, Civic/Service Organizations. The list of Division Heads and their designees also references these situations. (9-19-2001).

The Directive No. 11 Process

  1. Under the Community Relations Policy P-cardholders were required to obtain pre-approval on some of the purchases. Under Directive No. 11 is pre-approval necessary, or do the cardholders just supply the Directive No. 11 form and documentation and receipts with the P-Card statement?

    No pre-approvals are necessary unless Divisions wish to implement additional requirements for departments within their divisions. At this time, some Divisions and some Colleges do implement internal controls.

    For more information on internal controls for the Division of Student Affairs, please contact Karen Wall, Assistant Vice President for Budget and Human Resources.

    For more information on internal controls for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, please contact Patricia Balderas. (9-14-2001)

  2. If we are submitting our Directive No. 11 form and accompanying documentation in paper form, do we wait to get approval of our Division Head until after the purchases or should we get them before purchasing?

    If the D-11 form is submitted electronically, it may be forwarded to the appropriate processing unit (P-Card, Contracts and Procurement, etc.) at any time as long as it references either a Procurement Card statement month or a purchase requisition number so that the form can be matched with the backup documentation during the review process. However, if the form is being submitted in paper form, please send it with either the P-Card statement or purchase requisition. If you are submitting an electronic requisition, please send the form electronically. Each division may add internal controls and require units within the division to submit the D-11 form for Division Head approval in advance of the purchase. (9-14-2001)

  3. Once a Directive 11 is approved by the Division Head, but the expenses wind up being more than what was originally indicated on the form, does a revised Directive 11 form need to be completed? Can expenses exceed the approved amount by $10, $20, $50 (what would be the ceiling amount) without having to redo the form?

    The form needs to accurately reflect what the Division Head is approving unless the Division Head gives the unit that will process the form (BFA, UAF, CSUFF) some official notification that his/her signature is still good even when and if the actual expenditures exceed the approved amount. This decision and the degree to which expenses can be exceeded need to be determined by the Division Head. (9-14-2001)

Event Attendance

  1. Which expense subsection of Directive 11 should be referenced for our department's sponsorship of a Professional Association Awards Luncheon to be held at the Marriott in celebration of a National Professional Association Day? We "sponsor" by contributing to the organization. The organization then provides us with a complimentary table of ten at the luncheon so that our employees can attend.

    You should reference the Event Attendance category on the form and have your division head approve the completed D-11 form. (9-14-2001)

  2. Our department will be hosting a day at a local attraction as a student activity. Students have already paid money for this activity and we have deposited the money into a Foundation account set up for this purpose. We will be purchasing the tickets in advance and then sending the invoice to Foundation. Do I need to complete a Directive 11 form for this? Is this considered an Event Attendance or Recognition/Retirement?

    This expenditure does not fall within Directive 11 provisions due to the fact that students are paying fees for this activity which are deposited in a Foundation account previously set up for that purpose. Although you do not have to provide a Directive No. 11 form for this expenditure, please do remember to submit the check request and all necessary backup to the Foundation for processing as usual. (9-14-2001)

  3. Event Attendance is discussed in the Directive No. 11 policy (5.B.1). Since any off-campus event requires a Travel Authorization does the D-11 form accompany the travel paperwork or the P-Card statement, or both?

    The Directive No. 11 form should accompany the payment documentation, in this case the Procurement Card statement. (9-14-2001)

Guests

  1. Our department held a retreat at which faculty and staff were in attendance, including a professor that was not officially an employee yet at the time, but who currently is now employed. Would the new professor be considered an official University guest?

    This individual would not be considered an official University guest unless the Division Head was willing to certify to that effect by approving use of General Fund dollars for this expense. (9-14-2001)

Help with the Informed Filler Application

  1. I understand that the Directive No. 11 form works better with the most recent version of Informed Filler (version 3.0.2). How can I get or upgrade to this most recent version of Informed Filler?

    To update Your Informed Filler application so that you can more easily access the Directive No. 11 form: 1) click on Informed Filler Update; 2) You will see "File Download" popup window appear; select "Run this program from its current location"; 3) if you see a "Security Warning" popup window appear, click on "Yes" and the Informed Filler Installation program will begin running automatically. Once the Informed Filler 3.0.2 update has finished, close all of your currently running applications and restart your computer. If you experience any difficutlies, contact the Titan Help Desk at extension 7777. (9-14-2001)

Hospitality Expenses

  1. Our department inadvertently used a Procurement Card to charge meeting rooms and food for our off-campus meeting. What do we need to do now?

    Your payment with the P-Card for the meeting rooms is okay since these types of expenses can be paid for with General Fund dollars. However, your hospitality expenses (food, snacks, drinks, and other consumables) will have to be abated with Special Funds or Auxiliary Funds if no official University guests are expected to be present at this event. Be sure to complete and process a reimbursement to your P-Card account and submit it with your P-Card statement. (9-14-2001)

  2. When a Director of Development has a lunch meeting with a potential donor for cultivation purposes, would the applicable expense subsection of Directive 11 be Section 5.A.1 (Hospitality expenses when official university guests present)?

    Yes, that is correct - "fundraising meetings and events" are referenced as examples of activities that fall into that category. (9-14-2001)

  3. Our department has a series of seminars each semester inviting prominent speakers from other universities to discuss their research. Some of the speakers are applicants for our current faculty searches. We typically have refreshments prior to and take the speaker to dinner after their talk. Refreshments run $20-25 and dinners approximately $50-75 depending on the number attending. Is it possible to do one form for the entire series of talks for refreshments and another for the dinners?

    Remember that the purpose of the Directive No. 11 form was to provide Division Head approval for a specific, identified expense or expenses. Completing a Directive No. 11 form and forecasting food expenses on it is, at this time, not possible because it would require absolute certainty and an advanced identification as to the dollar amount and specific types of each food purchase that would be consumed. It is unlikely that a Division Head would approve food expenses without knowing what the final cost would be or having itemized receipts to ensure that university and state guidelines were followed regarding the purchase of alcohol and other items. If a blanket form were possible, keep in mind that if event costs exceeded the total for that individual event or if alcohol were consumed as part of the event and submitted as part of the combined costs of the event, you would have to re-submit new Directive No. 11 forms and make arrangements for payment of the alcohol costs with auxiliary funds. It seems unlikely that you would want to submit a forecasted Directive No. 11 form when the possibility of having to revise the form and re-submit it seems so strong. (9-14-2001)

Memberships

  1. Our department must reinstate an expired certificate for a C.P.A. Certification. Is this allowed? This is a Professor who works for CSUF and is required to have this certificate no matter what company he works for.

    Yes, licenses are covered by D-11 under category G.2 (Memberships or dues to professional organizations or licensing bodies in the name of a University faculty or staff member that benefits the University). Division Head approval is required for this expenditure. (9-14-2001)

Memorial Donations

  1. Are bereavement flowers for an employee who had a family member pass away allowable under Directive No. 11?

    Yes, bereavement flowers fall under the category of Memorial Donations. In the event of the death of a University employee, a member of a University employee's immediate family, someone external to the University who had a close educational, community, business or philanthropic relationship with the University, or a student (with approval by the Division Head or their designee), a floral or other arrangement may be provided if approved by the pertinent Division Head. Arrangements generally may not exceed $75 unless the Division Head has approved an expenditure more than $75. Remember that any card accompanying the arrangement must note that the donation is made in the name of the appropriate unit. (1-20-2004)

Promotional Items

  1. How would Directive No. 11 apply to the cost of a booth at a meeting or convention?

    Would this be considered promotional expenses/travel related expenditures under 5C? Booth rentals at meetings and conventions do not come under the purview of Directive No. 11 and would not be considered promotional expenses or travel related expenditures under 5C. (9-14-2001)