The following material has been adapted for a policy statement prepared by the New York State Office of General Services at the request of the Division of the Budget. (Issued by DOB as "Budget Bulletin D-1021" of May 10, 1976.)

NEW YORK STATE POLICY:

Division of the Budget Bulletin D1021 points out that State furnished telephone equipment and services are provided for the performance of official State business, except in cases of emergency. Therefore, the use of University business telephones for personal calls should be limited. Toll charges for personal telephone calls must be paid to the University Telecommunications Office at the end of each month, promptly after telephone billing statements are received.

TELEPHONE USAGE GUIDELINES:

A. Local calls:

Local calls are charged based on duration, also known as "message rate service." Message rate service is provided at Binghamton University, and daytime charges are at the rate of $.08 for the first three minutes, $.013 each additional minute.

B. Toll calls:

Calling Cards: Any individual requesting a telephone calling card must have authorization from the Department Chair and/or Dean of the particular school, or Program Director.

Long Distance Calling: Toll (long distance) calls must be limited to those essential to the conduct of University business and should be as brief as practical. All calls should be dialed directly. Rates for person-to-person calls average about double those for station-to-station calls. Direct dial calls eliminate payment of premium rates for person-to-person toll calls and should more than offset the cost of occasional additional calls to contact a particular individual.

Collect Calls: Collect calls should not be accepted, except when directed by a supervisor, or in actual emergencies. Where possible, the originator of the call should be identified by name, calling location and telephone number, and informed that the individual will be contacted by other means. In no instance should collect calls of a personal nature (other than emergencies) be charged to a University number.

Calls from employees to report absenteeism or tardiness are chargeable to the employee and may not be made collect. When possible, the use of University-based credit or calling cards for long distance calls from campus should be avoided. Calls of this type, which involve operator assistance, incur surcharges over and above the cost of a directly dialed call. Third party calls can not be charged to University telephone numbers.

GUIDELINES FOR TELEPHONE SYSTEMS:

A. Measure of line or multiple line need for prime users.

1. A prime user making or receiving 10 calls per day, may be furnished a single line or digital telephone     instrument, depending upon need.

2. Members of the faculty (other than department chairs and program directors) may be requested to     share telephone lines, depending upon need. Arrangements appropriate for essential faculty phone     service should be arranged by the Dean's office.

3. A group of prime users, performing similar duties, and all able to handle any call, may be furnished     single line or digital telephones with appropriate system features, and with the number of lines     determined by usage measurement.

B. Measure of line need for secondary users:

1. Secretarial and clerical staff who make and receive official business calls on a daily basis may be     provided with individual phones with call pick-up to access the principal line in that office.

2. Secretarial and clerical staff who make or receive more than five or six official business calls daily     should have access to a line separate from the principal office line, or the number of principal lines in     the office should be increased as necessary.

3. Occasional users, those making or receiving less than five or six business calls per day, should be     furnished access to phones used by more frequent users.

C. Telephone service or equipment above minimum service level.

Telephone service will be provided to meet minimum office requirements.

1. Intercom Systems: A telephone system provides a basic, efficient, and convenient     intercommunication facility. Intercom service will be provided when requested.

2. Line Lamps, Line Busy Lamps (Visual): Visual features are relatively expensive and should only be     provided where a demonstrable need exists.

3. Interconnection:

 a. Customer provided equipment: Privately owned telephone equipment may be utilized under the following conditions:

• The individual or department is responsible for all maintenance of that equipment.
• The individual or department using privately owned equipment will be billed at rates similar to those for equipment that would normally be provided by the University. This does not include answering machines.
• The equipment is registered with, and installed in a manner approved by the University Telecommunications Office.
• When a customer provides his or her own equipment and asks for maintenance to be performed on the customer-owned equipment, he or she will be billed for applicable maintenance service charges.

b. Data connections: When available, the University may provide data connections. Requests for all data circuits should be initiated through the Computer Center. Faculty, staff or students should contact the Computer Center to have the circuits connected to the Computing Network. Installation charges will be billed to the department or person requesting the service. Data lines will be billed monthly and will have free maintenance service. Those data circuits which are not billed monthly will be charged for maintenance. Modems are to be supplied by the user, who is then responsible for maintenance. The University can also provide telephones with additional components to support data communications for an additional monthly charge, which includes maintenance.

c. Voice Mail / Answering Machines: Voicemail is provided to faculty and staff telephone users. Users may install automatic answering machines, provided installation of such is performed within the guidelines above. The user is then responsible for any maintenance and/or replacement.

5. Installation, relocation, or modification of telephone service, cable, or wire: 

• All off campus connections will be terminated in the University Union B49, which is designated as the Telecommunications demarcation point for the University.
• Installation and service charges for changes or additions of telephone service can be substantial. Plans for new service or changes in existing arrangements should be carefully reviewed with the Telecommunications Office prior to preparation of requests to make changes. Whenever possible, change requests should be combined into a single order to reduce the costs. Preliminary work, such as the provision of floor outlets, partition movement or installation and carpet installation should be completed well in advance of the desired date for the installation of the telephone service in order to preclude duplicate or premium charges.
• Relocation, modification, or removal of telephone equipment, cable, and/or wire by University employees, other than Telecommunications personnel, is strictly prohibited and disciplinary action may result.