Planning & Publicizing Meetings & Events

IAS staff is available to help arrange the logistical aspects of meetings (public and private), and to be a resource as you plan public events (regardless of whether they are in person, virtual, or hybrid).

Please note that events should not be scheduled for Thursday afternoons (3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. CT), as these conflict with the other IAS programming, the IAS Thursdays series. Once you decide to plan an event, you might seek IAS support in identifying and securing the right location for your event, consult with IAS staff on hybrid or virtual Zoom event setup, collaborate on a comprehensive communications and publicity plan for your event, or even work with IAS staff to involve larger U of M media or partners when appropriate. The sooner you approach the IAS with your ideas and plans, the more opportunities and resources can become available to you! For general inquiries/consultations, contact Carolina Gustafson, IAS Program Manager ([email protected]).

Public Event Publicity & Reporting

For reporting purposes, it is essential that the IAS gather basic information about all Collaborative-organized events. We need your help gathering details about Collaborative-organized events, including number of audience attendees. This allows us to communicate the impact of IAS programming, which in turn ensures we can fund IAS Collaboratives for many years to come. Your reporting is essential to this work.

SUBMITTING TO U OF M CALENDARS
Each system campus has its own campus-wide event calendar with its own submission process. Instructions on how to submit events to these calendars can be found on each campus calendar.

Twin Cities based Collaboratives: Scroll to the bottom of the UMN Twin Cities calendar page, and click on "Request a Departmental or Group Calendar." You will be set up with an account, and can also add the IAS as a "co-sponsor" on all your events. The calendar user guide, help email, and all information about how to post on this calendar is publicly accessible here.

Honoraria & Payment Requests

Honoraria for event speakers are processed by Skyler Dorr, IAS Program Specialist (612-626-5054, [email protected]). To request an honoraria payment, please submit your request via the IAS Payment Request Google Form. Other payment requests can also be submitted via this form (learn more about this via the Payments tab). 

• Be aware that when you pay honoraria to any U of MN employee (faculty, student, or staff) the payment must go through payroll and your collaborative will be charged for fringe benefits.

Space Use & Reservations

Contact Skyler Dorr, IAS Program Specialist (612-626-5054, [email protected]) to rent space in Northrop for a meeting or event, at minimum 4–6 weeks in advance of your preferred date. Please note that space is limited and is shared with all resident units. Frequently rented spaces in Northrop include:

• Crosby Seminar Room (240 Northrop) NOTE: FREE RENTAL for IAS Collaborative use
• Conference Room (106 Northrop)
• Lindahl Founders Room (260 Northrop)
• Best Buy Theater (4th Floor)
• See additional Northrop spaces

If you are interested in hosting your event elsewhere, the IAS may be able to assist with this as well. The IAS has a membership at the Campus Club. Collaboratives may use the IAS membership for lunch meetings. Please check with Susannah Smith, IAS Managing Director ([email protected]) at least 48 hours in advance to reserve guest cards. You must collect all meal receipts and submit them to Susannah with the Campus Club Departmental Use form (available at the Campus Club front desk). Contact Skyler Dorr or Saengmany Ratsabout if you have another campus space in mind and aren’t sure how to go about making reservations.

Space notes:

• TECHNOLOGY: Please tell Skyler Dorr and Carolina Gustafson if you intend to use any of the room technology when you make the room reservation, and if you will require a training session. IAS staff often works from home, and any technology tutorials will need to be scheduled in advance of your event!
• CLEAN UP: Be sure to clean up after your event. It is your responsibility to ensure that all food is removed from the room. Close the door when you are finished.
• Please note that the IAS staff does not usually work past 5 p.m. or on weekends. If you wish to have an event in the evening or on a weekend, you will need to make arrangements for support. Additional fees for opening the building may be charged.

Catering

Contact Skyler Dorr, IAS Program Specialist (612-626-5054, [email protected]) if you intend to have catering at your event or meeting. Catering orders must be submitted at least 10 business days (two weeks) in advances. Costs will be charged to your Collaborative. If your meeting or event is in Northrop, you will likely be required to work with Northrop’s official caterer. 

Catering notes:

• You must provide a list of participants if you are serving a meal or if you are buying refreshments and you have 15 or fewer participants. In any case, it’s a good idea for your own records to retain a sign-in sheet. 
• The University follows strict dollar limits on ordering food: no more than at total of $10 per person for light refreshments, $25 per person for breakfast or lunch, $50 for dinner, tax and tips included. (See more about rules regarding meals on the Reimbursements page.)
• If you plan to serve wine or beer at your event, you must apply at least 15 days in advance for a permit to serve alcohol. The form is available at https://policy.umn.edu/forms/operations; search for “alcohol use.” Funds in your collaborative budget may not be used to purchase alcohol.

Travel & Accommodations

Contact Skyler Dorr, IAS Program Specialist (612-626-5054, [email protected]) to arrange travel and accommodations for any visitors traveling to the University. It is important to do this as early as possible (months in advance) as hotels around the University fill up, and airfares also have peak seasons. When possible and unless otherwise requested, we book guests at The Graduate Hotel. Please note that while IAS staff will prepare and share essential reservations, YOU will be responsible for sharing a final agenda and itinerary with your visitor.

To make flight and lodging accommodations, IAS staff will require:

• Visitor full name
• Visitor email address
• Visitor phone number
• Visit dates (preferred arrival/departure day and time, and any flexibility within this schedule)

Payments Procedure

Collaboratives may make payments to non-University people, companies, or pay honoraria to visiting speakers or consultants. Please follow these instructions to use your IAS funds to make payments.

All payments on the Twin Cities campus using Collaborative funds must be processed via IAS staff. Do not submit any forms to your departmental administrators. Conveners on other system campuses may find it simpler to work through their departments. Please contact Susannah Smith, IAS Managing Director (612-624-2921 [email protected]) to discuss the best procedure for your Collaborative.

Payment & Honoraria Guidelines

• If you plan to pay anyone for any kind of work, please discuss this with Susannah Smith, IAS Managing Director (612-624-2921, [email protected]) in advance of the work. Examples include hiring a student on an ad-hoc basis to develop a web page, paying for tech support for a performance, or working with a designer on publicity materials. Please do not assume we can easily take care of all payments after the fact—it is always better to discuss plans and procedure in advance!
• When a speaker comes for an event, Skyler will provide paperwork for signature, an expenses worksheet, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for returning of itemized receipts. Work with Skyler ([email protected]) in advance to insure that you have all the necessary paperwork to process the honorarium payment. 
• Honoraria payments are processed after the event; to ensure efficient processing, we still recommend you submit payment request details prior to the event itself and share final confirmation following the event. If the speaker has incurred travel expenses which you plan to reimburse, payment processing will not occur until after all itemized receipts are in hand. The goal is to have one check cut per guest speaker that includes both honorarium and incurred travel expenses.

Payments & Honoraria Over $2,999

• If you will be paying more than $2,999 for a service (this includes honoraria of $3,000 or more), we must execute a Contract for Professional Services. This should be initiated IN ADVANCE of the work. Fill out forms 1669 (Professional Services Information Sheet) and 1697 (Statement of Work Attachment for Professional Services). Both are available at the University’s Forms Library.
• Similarly, an honorarium of $3,000 or more requires a Contract for Professional Services (see above). All honoraria over $600 may be taxed.

International & Non-Citizen Payees

• If you are paying honoraria to international visitors, they must provide a copy of their current passport and the visa stamp on which they entered. Payment to non-citizens is not possible without confirmation of visa status, so please remind your international visitors to bring their passports when they come to the IAS office. If they leave the U.S. without giving us a copy of their passport and visa, we might not be able to process payment at all.
• Non-citizens who do not have a Social Security number or Individual Tax ID Number (ITIN) may be charged 30% tax on honoraria. It behooves these visitors to apply for an ITIN in advance of their visit to avoid this tax. Other taxes may apply, depending on the tax treaty with that country.
• Honoraria for international speakers may be charged additional taxes, depending on what country the speaker is from. Honoraria for international speakers will also be taxed if the speaker does not provide a U.S. Social Security or Tax Identification number.

Reimbursements Procedure

There are two general kinds of payments made for Collaborative activities: reimbursements to University of Minnesota employees, and payments to non-University people or companies. This sheet deals with reimbursements to University of Minnesota employees. For payments to others, please see the Payments tab. 

All reimbursements must be submitted through the Chrome River system, but you must follow these steps to insure that your activity is paid for with your Collaborative funds and approved by the IAS.

Chrome River Submission for IAS Collaborative Expenses

• Complete a Chrome River expense report as you normally would, attaching detailed receipts as necessary.
• In the “Allocation” field, type in the string for your collaborative. This string will be 1000-11000-20090-CF2. The CF2 is the 10-digit Chartfield2 for your collaborative that Susannah Smith sent to all collaborative conveners on July 15, 2021.
• Submit the expense report. Make a note of the expense report number.
• Instruct your direct supervisor to IGNORE this expense report. They should neither approve nor send it back. After you submit the expense report, you should get a Report Status Notification that states “Pending approval from ___.” That’s the person to tell not to approve—for faculty, this is usually your department chair.
• Send an email to Lori Smith ([email protected]) and Matt Kerttula ([email protected]) that includes your name and Employee ID# and reads:

I have incurred an expense that is related to an Institute for Advanced Study Collaborative. I have submitted Chrome River report # [fill in the expense report number here]. Please re-route this report to Susannah Smith at [email protected] for approval, bypassing my supervisor.

General Reimbursement Guidelines

• The University’s policy, based on IRS rules, is to process reimbursements within 30 days of the original purchase. Submit your itemized receipts via Chrome River in a timely manner so we can adhere to this standard. Our accountant has advised us that reimbursements submitted more than 60 days after the original purchase WILL BE DENIED. Please submit your reimbursement requests immediately after you have incurred the charges. 
• Only active University employees may be reimbursed for expenses. Faculty and staff are University employees. Most undergraduate students and many graduate students are not. A fellowship or scholarship does not constitute employment. The safest way to avoid having students take on expenses that are not reimbursable is not to ask students to pay for anything unless that student has been hired as your Collaborative’s paid research assistant.
• The person requesting reimbursement must be the person who incurred the charge. 
• The IAS cannot reimburse Collaboratives for alcohol purchases.
• All reimbursements must be processed within the same fiscal year, which ends on June 30. Contact Susannah in advance if you will have expenses incurred in the month of June. Due to University financial year-end closing, processing occurs a couple of weeks earlier.
• Itemized receipts are required for all hospitality and purchases, including food and beverages. An itemized receipt means that each individual item is listed. This is particularly important to demonstrate that no alcohol is being charged to the account.

• Your justification of the expense or purchase must include a description of who, what, where, when, and why. 
  If you have a group of 15 or fewer at a meal, you must list all names and affiliations (include departments for UMN people)

Using University Funds for Meals

The University has recently updated and clarified its policies on reimbursements for food for employees. Please note these rules; failure to follow them may result in your reimbursement being denied.

• The per-person cost cannot exceed the following limits: $10 for light refreshments, $25 for breakfast or lunch, $50 for dinner. These amounts are inclusive of beverages, tip, and tax.
• Reimbursement for a meal is allowable when the employee(s) may not leave for a normal meal due to the time constraints associated with the meeting.
• Reimbursement is not allowed when two or more employees choose to have a meeting together to continue their business or when the meeting could have been scheduled during regular working hours. In other words, the U will not treat you to lunch, even though you discuss your Collaborative business, unless that is the only time you can meet—see the point above.
• You may take visiting speakers out for meals. The University’s policy is that no more than four University faculty, staff, or students may attend the meal. (Others may attend, but University funds may not be used to pay for their meals.) If there is more than one visitor, you may request a waiver for this; please check with Susannah (624-2921 [email protected]) at least two weeks in advance. Be aware that waivers are not always approved.
• It is permissible to include food at an event for which the primary audience is students (e.g., a grad student lunch with a visiting speaker that includes pizza). Food is apparently considered integral to gatherings of students. 

Using Your University Purchasing Card

Your departmentally issued University purchasing card (P-card) is for purchases for your own department, and it is linked to your departmental accounting staff for approvals. Do not use your P-card for Collaborative purchases. If, however, you forget and do use your P-card for a Collaborative, please work with Susannah (612-624-2921 [email protected]) to arrange processing by the IAS accounting staff.

Managing Your Budget

Collaboratives funded in July 2021 will find their budget amount and Chartfield 2 (CF2) number in the email from Susannah Smith, which was sent to Collaborative conveners on July 15, 2021. Those funded starting July 2022 will receive this information around July 1, 2022.

Collaborative conveners are responsible for monitoring their budgets. You may not spend more money than you were awarded. All expenditures must be allowable within University guidelines.

We expect that the bulk of your collaborative’s activities will take place during the academic year. However, since it sometimes takes longer than anticipated for Collaboratives to organize their work (particularly if it involves bringing in visitors from elsewhere), your funding is available for 18 months. Funds from 2021-22 awards may not be carried over past December 2022. 

Pulling Basic Reports

There are two reports in the PeopleSoft Financial System which will be useful to you in reviewing your Collaborative’s financial status. These are Chartfield String Budget Status for Current Non-Sponsored Funds and Transaction Detail. To access them, follow these instructions. 

• Go to your MyU page www.myu.umn.edu. Log in with your internet ID and password.
• In the navigation bar at the top, click on “Key links.” From the drop-down menu, click on “Reporting Center.” 

• On the Reporting Center page, click on the angle bracket next to under Finance (first option), to get a drop-down list. Click on “Budget/Actual Management,” which is the first choice. A drop-down list will appear. 
   

To get an overall picture of where you are with your budget:

• Click on “1) High Level Balance Review.” A drop-down menu will give you several options. Choose the third, “Chartfield String Budget Status for Current Non-Sponsored Funds.”

• The next screen has a number of prompts. The default for fiscal year and accounting period (both required) will be the most up-to-date information available, but you can change these if you want. Enter the following: 
  • DeptID – 11000
  • Fund – 1000
  • Program – 20090
  • ChartField2 – this is your collaborative’s 10-digit CF2. 
     
• Each time you type in the field, there will be a pause and then you will see the item you typed highlighted in yellow. Click on it to enter. Leave the rest of the fields blank. Your screen should now look like this:

• Click "Apply."
• This is your Collaborative’s budget report. It shows what has been transferred in, how much has been spent, and what remains. 

To see what exactly you have been spending money on:

• Go back to the Budget/Actual Management screen. Click on “3) Transactional Level Review.” A drop-down menu will give you several options. Choose the last one, “Transaction Detail.”

• The next screen has a number of prompts. At the top you are asked to prompt by Accounting Period or Date Range. The default is an accounting range of the current month in the current fiscal year. Note that the default “From” and “To” are both the current month; if you want to see what has happened for the full year, change the first option “Between“ to 01-Jul. Enter the following: 
  • DeptID – 11000
  • Fund – 1000
  • Program – 20090
  • ChartField2 – this is your collaborative’s 10-digit CF2. 
     
• Each time you type in the field, there will be a pause and then you will see the item you typed highlighted in yellow. Click on it to enter. Leave the rest of the fields blank.

• This report shows what you have spent, which is in the “actual” column, third from the right.

To interpret this report:

To interpret what those transactions actually are, you need to know what the “account” is, the 5th column from the left. To understand these, you need to reference the Chart of Accounts, http://www.finsys.umn.edu/coa/coa_b_intro.html. Choose the heading “Account” and either scroll down or search in that page for the 6-digit account number. Basically, the Account defines the kind of transaction it was—what sort of thing the money was paying for. So, for example, if you have a charge and the account is 720103, search for “720103” in the Chart of Accounts, you will see that this was for Food and Provisions. You can conclude that this was a payment for refreshments for a meeting, or feeding a speaker, etc.

The IAS cannot pay for alcohol purchase by Collaboratives, such as wine for receptions or hospitality dinners for visitors. Alcohol purchases must be paid either by members of the collaborative, or through cosponsorships by departments that have more generously funded foundation accounts than the IAS. You may, if you wish, give a donation to the University of Minnesota Foundation on behalf of the IAS that is earmarked for alcohol purchases for your Collaborative, or you could donate wine etc. to the IAS for specific use by your Collaborative. Speak to Susannah Smith about how to do this.

Questions?

Contact Susannah Smith, IAS Managing Director at [email protected] or 612-624-2921, who can give you a first-time walk through the reporting system, at your request.

Hiring Graduate and Undergraduate Student Workers

Collaboratives may wish to hire graduate or undergraduate research assistants to help with the Collaborative’s work.

To hire a student worker, you will work directly with Susannah Smith, IAS Managing Director (612-624-2921, [email protected]). Student workers are hired directly by the IAS, but Collaboratives are responsible for choosing their own student employees. Supervision is provided by the Collaborative, either by the convener or another member of the Collaborative. It is not a requirement that student (graduate or undergraduate) positions be advertised, but if you do not have a student in mind for the position, you can post the opening on the University’s Jobs site. Please talk to Susannah if you would like to do this.

Appointments for a semester or the academic year should be made in advance. The IAS should have completed appointment letters (signed by the student) at least two weeks before the beginning of the semester. 

All student workers should be hired in advance of starting to work for your Collaborative. Please let Susannah know if you intend to pay students for any kind of work, even if it is just for a few hours now and then.

Our HR team needs 2 weeks (10 business days) to set up new appointments, ensure the student’s I-9 eligibility, and (if necessary) run a background check BEFORE the student can start work. 

Undergraduate RAs do not incur fringe charges during the regular academic year. Graduate fringe charges are high (more than the salary cost for students who are not ABD); please talk to Susannah to be sure you have budgeted enough if you are hiring a grad RA.

If you are hiring a student (grad or undergrad) who will be working and being supervised on a campus other than the Twin Cities, this process is different. Please contact Susannah directly for a system campus student hire.

Procedure for hiring undergraduate student workers (Twin Cities campus)

1. Identify the undergraduate student whom you wish to hire. 
2. Send Susannah ([email protected]) the following information at least 2 weeks before you want the student to start work:
   
   —Student’s name
   —Student’s email address
   —Student ID number
   —Period of appointment (semester, academic year, other defined period) 
   —Maximum hours per week. Undergraduates are paid only on an hourly basis. The student will have to submit online weekly the actual hours s/he worked.
   —Hourly rate (see below)
   —A general statement of the responsibilities of the position
   —Who the person’s supervisor will be. This person is responsible for reviewing and approving online the student’s reported hours
   —Supervisor’s Employee ID number
    

3. Susannah will write up the appointment letter and send it to the student for his or her signature. The supervisor will receive a copy of the letter.

NOTE: Standard IAS starting pay rate in 2022-23 for undergraduate workers is $15.00 per hour.

Procedure for hiring graduate student workers (Twin Cities campus)

Such as research assistants, administrative assistants, etc.

1. Identify the graduate student whom you wish to hire. 
2. Send Susannah the following information at least 2 weeks before you want the student to start work:
   
   —Student’s name
   —Student’s email address
   —Student ID number
   —Period of appointment (semester, academic year, other defined period)
   —Hours per week. You can either choose a straight percentage appointment (20 hours per week is 50%, 10 hours is 25%, and so on) or hire the student on an hourly basis. If you choose to hire the student on an hourly basis, the student will have to submit online weekly the actual hours they worked, which the supervisor will have to approve. If you choose an hourly appointment, specify the maximum hours per week that the student may work.
   —A general statement of the responsibilities of the position
   —Who the person’s supervisor will be
   —Supervisor’s employee ID number
   —Whether the student is ABD or not (we will reconfirm this). We are charged a much lower fringe benefit rate for ABD students, so we pass those savings on by paying ABD RAs at a higher rate.

3. Susannah will write up the appointment letter and send it to the student for his or her signature. The Collaborative convener will receive a copy of the letter.

NOTE: Standard IAS pay rate for 2022-23 for graduate assistants is $26.73 per hour. Please note that if you are hiring a student from a department with a lower base rate, you may have to pay the student at their departmental rate.

Questions?

Contact Susannah at [email protected] or 624-2921.