University of Houston

 

Graduate College of Social Work

 

 

General Statement

 

The Graduate College of Social Work operates according to the Operational Procedures Policy outlined in this document.  Questions pertaining to procedures described herein should be directed to the Associate Dean for Administration and/or the individual’s direct supervisor, and/or the college Business Administrator.  The Graduate College of Social Work also has specific, detailed policies addressing areas including, but not limited to: (1) Cash Handling, (2) Personnel,  (3) Travel, (4) Contract Administration, (5) Fund Raising, (6) Wall Posting, (7) Additional Compensation.  All employees of the Graduate College of Social Work are responsible for complying with those policies as well as the procedures described below. Failure to adhere to these policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action being taken against the employee per University rule.

 

 

Each full-time faculty and staff member in the Graduate College of Social Work has a unique telephone number assigned.

 

I.        Voice Mail

 

Telephone instruments are equipped with voice mail that allows users to record outgoing messages, as well as allowing incoming callers to leave recorded messages.  Specific detailed instructions about the phonemail system are found in the Rolm reference guides.  Everyone is strongly encouraged to take advantage of the phonemail capabilities.  Please make arrangement to clear your messages and respond to inquiries when you are away from the office for any length of time, i.e.. out ill, out of town on business, vacation, etc.  Employees are expected to inform their supervisors of their voice mail password in the event of employee’s unexpected, extended absence from the office.

 

II.      Long Distance

             

          1.    Authorization Codes

All long distance calls (except 1-800 numbers) require a six-digit long distance authorization code in order to complete the call.  These access codes are to be kept strictly confidential.  Loss or suspicion of abuse must be reported immediately to the College or Department Business Administrator.  The Business Administrator will notify the Telecommunications Department to deactivate the code immediately and, if sufficient evidence indicates that unauthorized charges are being made against the access code, the Business Administrator will contact UH Police.  Please guard your access code, as each individual is personally responsible for all calls made on assigned codes. 

          2.    Personal Calls

Per University policy, employees are prohibited from charging long distance personal telephone calls to the access code.  If the need arises to place a personal long distance call, your personal long distance credit card must be used.  There are to be no exceptions.  In the event that a personal call is made in error using the access code, the employee must:

                a.      acknowledge in writing to the College Business Administrator that the call was made in error, and

                b.      reimburse the Graduate College of Social Work for the cost of the call. 

Repeated violations may result in the employee's loss of his/her long distance authorization code.

 

          3.   Monthly Billing

A detailed monthly bill of all long distance charges will be given to employees each month.  Employees are asked to verify for accuracy and to certify that all calls billed were business-related.  The reports must be verified and returned within one (1) week of receiving.  Failure to return these certified reports may result in the loss of the long distance authorization code.  When significant increases in monthly charges exists, internal audit has requested employees forward a memo of explanation to the College Business Administrator.

 

Each access code is linked to both an individual and a budget account in the University's telecommunications system.  When there are multiple budgets to be charged, each budget needs a unique access code.  All telephone equipment and access codes should be properly charged against the appropriate departmental/program budgets.

 

          4.   Terminated Employment

In order to prevent unauthorized charges against any of our accounts, long distance access codes are to be promptly cancelled when an individual terminates employment with the Graduate College of Social work.  It is the responsibility of the director or supervisor to notify the College or Department Business Administrator of the cancellation of the departing employee's access card; it is the responsibility of the Department Business Administrator to insure that the long distance authorization code is deactivated by the Telecommunications Department.

 

          5.   Reconciling

All long distance bills must be reviewed and reconciled by the College and/or Department Business Administrators each month.  The College and Department Business Administrator will periodically review the accuracy of the access codes and telephone costs that are associated with all accounts in the Graduate College of Social Work.

 

II.      Collect And Third Party Calls

 

          Collect and third party calls are prohibited.

 

 

 

The Graduate College of Social Work Postage Mailroom is located in 237.

 

I.        Metered Mail

 

In order to assure proper account billing, all outgoing mail to be metered must be logged and have a bar code label affixed to the front of the mailing card.  Individuals using the metered mail system are responsible for:

                a.   properly logging the mail—include number of pieces, non-regular sized description, and proper account to be charged

                b.   properly coding the mail—mailing card must contain the proper bar code and account to be charged 

                c.   mail should be deposited in the appropriate box

           Mail not properly coded will not be picked-up by Postal Services.  If at all possible, envelopes for outgoing mail should be typewritten.  Hand written mail requires special handling by the Post Office and may delay delivery.

       

All secretaries and support staff should have their own logs, which they will maintain in accordance with Graduate College of Social Work Procedures, stated above.  All logs will be reconciled monthly against the appropriate accounts.  Any discrepancies will be investigated.

 

Failure to comply with the procedures outlined may result in postal       privileges being revoked.

 

Metered mail must be University of Houston Business related only. Under no circumstances can mail of a personal nature be processed through the metering system.

 

II.       Incoming Mail

 

For employee security, individual locked mailboxes have been provided. Incoming mail is deposited in your individual locked mailboxes.

  

III.     Inter-Office Mail

 

Internal mail for distribution should be deposited in the appropriate labelled slot in the Mailroom.  This mail will be distributed each morning and afternoon. 

 

IV.     Inter-Campus Mail

 

Inter-Office envelopes are provided for campus mailings.  These do not require a budget number.  Be sure to use the appropriate mail code for all inter-campus mail; mail codes can be located in the Faculty/Staff Directory.  Inter-Campus mail should be deposited in the appropriate labelled slot in the mailroom

 

V.       Airborne/Federal Express

 

For emergency situations, the Graduate College of Social Work has accounts with Airborne and Federal Express.  These services must have prior approval from the Dean, Director, or Business Administrator.  All charges need to be cleared monthly and charged to the appropriate account.

 

VI.     E-Mail

 

Whenever possible, you are encouraged to move toward the paperless society of using e-mail technology.  Increasingly, e-mail is becoming the communication style of choice.  The UH Directory includes e-mail addresses for everyone in UHS, and the internal GCSW Directory includes those for faculty and staff in the College.  For additional information, see the computer technician in the Social Work Computing Annex

 

 

Given sufficient lead-time, secretarial support includes the tasks described below. Lead-time should be at least three days, depending upon the nature of the project and the secretary's workload.  For special items, lead-time may be longer, and in some instances (e.g. preparation of Tenure and Promotion documents), lead-time may be several weeks or months. Work submitted with less than three days will be attended to only if time permits. Faculty must produce all internal memos on personal computer or utilize voice mail or E-mail.  No telephone dictation can be accommodated.  First draft disks should include appropriate formatting, and an initial spell check.  Secretaries will do more precise formatting as specified. Any concerns related to secretarial support, such as timeliness and quality of completed work, should be brought to the attention of the Associate Dean for Administration.

 

The following sections describe GCSW procedures for secretarial support.

 

I.        Manuscripts

 

Faculty will be responsible for typing the initial/first draft of all manuscripts on disk.  Your handwritten revisions, to the extent that they are minor (grammar corrections or typos, word insertions that can be made on the print copy), are appropriate to send to secretaries, along with the disk, for revisions.  Revision of manuscripts will come back to you on disk as well as in print copy. To the extent that revisions are extensive (Multiple paragraphs and/or pages of insertion and correction), faculty will need to do those themselves on disk.

 

II.       Communications

 

          1.    Memos

                 Reissuing standardized memos or letters (e.g. request for exam copies, etc.)

 

          2.    Documents

Compiling major documents (e.g. Futures Conference proceedings, Tenure and Promotion documents, extensive reports or compilations for university or GCSW committees).  Note: exceptional workload requests should be discussed with the secretary in advance.

 

          3.    Mailings/Distribution Lists

Handling large mailings and developing distribution lists requiring mail merge software for committees or projects (e.g. mailings to Advisory Committees, invitations to special events, survey of graduates). Typing on pre-printed forms (literally typing, not word processing, for example, potential funders often provide forms that must be completed by typing).

 

III.     Copying

 

Faculty are encouraged to copy their own materials. If a faculty member is unable to copy materials then the item(s) should be given to the assigned staff person within the appropriate time frame. The faculty's individual copy code should be used for all the respective copies. Upon completion of copying, secretaries will place photocopy requests in the “Copies Completed” tray in the Copy Room, and place copies in faculty mailboxes.

 

IV.     faxing

 

Faculty are encouraged to fax their own materials. . If a faculty member is unable to fax materials then the item(s) should be given to the assigned staff person within the appropriate time.

                     

V.       Scheduling

 

Scheduling meetings involving community representatives or people external to the Graduate College of Social Work. 

 

VI.     Typing

 

Please allow your assigned secretary a three-day lead-time to complete class material and/or correspondence that needs to be typed.  It would be most helpful to advise them in advance if you are working on a project (writing papers, articles, proposals, etc.) that has a deadline so that time       may be reserved for you.  This will assist secretaries in prioritizing their workloads. 

 

VII.    Vacation

 

Secretaries will notify faculty of vacation schedules in advance and ascertain faculty needs during their absence and notify the Dean's Office of faculty support needs for coverage during their vacation time.

 

VIII.  Secretarial SUPPORT aSSIGNMENTS 

 

Faculty secretarial assignments will be made annually by the Dean’s office at the beginning of each academic year.

 

 

 

Full-time faculty and staff have unique copy codes that will operate the copy machines on the second and third floors.   Codes will be set at a 7,000 copy limit for the academic year.  The Dean or College Business Administrator must authorize increases in copy codes.  All copying must adhere to copyright laws. 

 

I.       Copyright Permission Required

 

         Materials, which need copyright permission, should be taken to the UC Copy Center. Students can pay for and pickup their own copies at the UC Copy      Center. Please allow two and a half (2 1/2) weeks for the UC Copy Center to secure copyright permission.

 

a.    faculty will need to fill out Copyright/Course Packet Requisition Form            

b.    form will need to be delivered to the University Copy Center located in the UC-Underground, 741-5200 or fax 741-3602

c.    students will pick-up and pay for copies at the UC Copy Center

 

I.       volume copying for course distribution

         

          Volume copying for distribution in courses should be taken to the UC Copy Center.Students can pay for and pickup their own copies at the UC Copy         Center. 

a.    faculty will need to fill out the Course Packet Requisition Form

                b.    requisition form will need to be delivered to the University Copy Center located in the UC-Underground, 741-5200 or fax 741-3602

                c.    students will pick-up and pay for copies at the UC Copy Center

 

III.     Faculty  Copying

 

Faculty are encouraged to do their own copying. The following procedure should be followed:

                a.    complete the photocopy request information card

b.    place photocopy request in the “Copies Completed” tray in the Copy Room.           

This procedure permits the Graduate College of Social Work to maintain the required record copying for committee work, tenure review, etc.  It will also aid in explaining high levels of copying done on individual codes.

 

NOTE:  State law prohibits anyone from using university equipment or supplies for personal copying or faxing.

 

IV.     Secretarial  Copying

 

If faculty are not able to do their own copying, the following procedure should be followed:

a.    complete the photocopy request and attach it to the material to be copied

                b.    deliver the photocopy request and material to your secretary

Please note that you must provide a minimum of two working days lead-time if you want copying done for you.  When your copies are ready, they will be placed in your mailbox.  All copying must adhere to copyright laws. 

 

 

 

I.        Local Faxes

 

          Faxes requiring local calls may be handled the same way as photocopying:      

                a.     Faculty are encouraged to do their own faxing

                b.     If Faculty are not able to do their own faxing they may ask their secretaries to assist.  Secretaries will not be asked to drop everything to send a fax.

 

II.      Long Distance Faxes

 

Faxes requiring long distance calls need to be done by the individual needing to fax.  These calls require the individual's long distance authorization code, which should be kept confidential.

 

III.     International Faxes

 

          Faxes requiring international calls can be delivered to the Dean's office for transmittal.

 

NOTE:  State law prohibits anyone from using university equipment or supplies for personal copying or faxing.

 

IV.     Incoming Faxes

 

The fax machine will be checked once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  Faxes will be placed in mailboxes of the addressee. Individuals expecting a fax are encouraged to check the fax machine.  Please make sure you are retrieving only your fax and not part of someone else's.  

 

 

The University of Houston has a “mandatory vendor contracts” for office supplies purchased with state funds. All supplies ordered must first be verified as to vendor eligibility prior to placing the order.  The University of Houston can not pay ineligible vendors.  Vendor verification can be obtained through on-line look-up at http://open.cpa.state.tx.us/vendor/tpsearch1.html.

 

Written requests for supplies require appropriate Supervisor's, Director's, or Business Administrators approval prior to ordering.

 

 

I.        Conference Rooms

 

Conference rooms are available to faculty for meetings, etc. Reservations for these rooms must be made through the following persons:

 

                218            Dean’s Secretary           (x38085)

                220            Dean’s Secretary           (x38085)         Not for class use

                227 D        Associate Dean for Administration            (x38101)           

                                  Not available for meetings 11:00-1:30

                341            Dionne Crump               (x38098)

                345