Allocation Guidelines

Allocation Guidelines for the Student Computer Usage Fee (SCUF) Budget
July, 2016

The Student Computer Usage Fee (SCUF) Advisory Committee, reporting to the Information Technology (IT) Council, will have the responsibility to administer this budget.

Ten percent of the anticipated budget will be held back as a reserve. This reserve will be allocated by the IT Council as deemed appropriate to meet emergency or unanticipated needs. Effective FY99, the SCUF Advisory Committee will retain a permanent reserve. Effective FY00, all of each year's SCUF revenue will be awarded during a single allocation.

Proposals

Proposals will be solicited in January of each year--use the Missouri State SCUF Proposal Form. Academic college proposals will be submitted by the college IT committees.  In the absence of such committee a college Dean, Provost, or Vice President may submit proposals.

The submission deadlines for completed proposals are listed on the SCUF Proposal Form. Units submitting multiple proposals will be required to prioritize their requests. The SCUF Advisory Committee will review submitted proposals each March. The committee will attempt to prioritize collectively all proposals and provide input to IT Council for funding awards.  The committee’s goal will be to arrive at a division of funds which serves the University system’s best interests. Recommendations will be presented to the IT Council for approval. The SCUF Advisory Committee and/or the IT Council may request presentations from the originators of the proposals for the purpose of clarification and explanation of need. Award allocations will be announced in April.

Criteria:

All proposals must meet the following criteria to be considered for funding:

All items purchased from the SCUF budget must provide a direct benefit to student computing. Items such as faculty computers and associated desktop software, classroom presentation equipment, and technical personnel devoted less than 100% to direct student support will not be considered for funding.

Requests will be prioritized based on the following general categories:

  1. Requests for expenses required to maintain and operate the open-access computer labs including full-time positions
  2. Requests to fulfill contractual obligations on software
  3. Requests for student workers and graduate assistants
  4. Ongoing and/or life-cycle commitments
  5. Fully fund the ten percent SCUF Reserve

Reallocation and Disposal of SCUF-Funded Items

When SCUF-funded items reach the end of their life for the original intended use, the "owning" department/college should notify the SCUF Advisory Committee of this in writing and indicate any suggested student uses. The SCUF Advisory Committee will assist in identifying other student computing needs elsewhere if needed. If no valid student computing needs are identified for which the items can be used, these items will be used for other non-student computing use as feasible. If the items are not feasible for use by any unit within the University, these items will be disposed as surplus property per established guidelines.

Investment of Funds

Units receiving SCUF awards must invest the funds as stated in the approved proposal(s) within one year of the date of award unless prior approval from the SCUF Advisory Committee has been received. If these funds are not invested by this deadline, all remaining funds must be returned to the Office of the Provost. All SCUF Reserve funds not used to meet emergency or unanticipated needs will be redistributed during the next fiscal year.