Technology Recharge Fee
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Rates
How much is the FY 2016 Technology Recharge Fee?
- The Technology Recharge Fee for fiscal year (FY) 2016 is:
- $55.51 per month per capita for all academic and administrative units
- $50.91 per month per capita for the Medical Centers
The rates represent a 1.9 percent increase for FY 2016, the first net increase since the fee was implemented in FY 2011. The increase is necessary to address escalating costs of IT operations, including enterprise software licensing, network security, geographic resiliency and critical facilities infrastructure.
What is the invoicing schedule? How will I be invoiced?
- Each May:
UW Information Technology will send unit administrators a template, which may be used to allocate charges to the appropriate budget numbers.
- Each July:
UW Information Technology will charge budgets for the technology recharge fee via an Internal Sales Document (Technology Services and Equipment Billing).- The charge will appear as a service order, charging object code 03-09-00.
- In the Technology Services and Equipment Bill Viewer the Technology Recharge Fee will show under the Non-Recurring Charges tab/section.
- The description field on the Technology Services and Equipment Bill will show the quantity of headcount @ rate (monthly billing $55.51, quarterly $166.53 for academic and administrative units).
- Monthly or quarterly invoice frequency:
An organization may choose either monthly or quarterly billing (but not a mix). If you choose quarterly billing, the charge will occur during the first month of each quarter—July, October, January and April.
How do you determine what budget number gets charged?
- The budget number is provided to UW-IT by the unit administrator.
How frequently will UW Information Technology revise rates?
How much warning will we have when rates change?
- Rates will be reviewed annually, published by spring, and effective the following July.
I purchase other services from UW Information Technology (self-sustaining services). Will there be changes in those rates?
- UW Information Technology offers dozens of self-sustaining services on a fee-per-usage basis. These self-sustaining areas need to recover all costs associated with providing the service to the UW community. Rates for all self-sustaining services are reviewed by UW Management Accounting & Analysis (MAA) annually to ensure the service is self-sustaining and the rates comply with University and federal requirements. The self-sustaining rates are adjusted as necessary to ensure those two goals are met. The self-sustaining rates are published each spring, effective the following July.
Finances
How does UW Information Technology use its centrally allocated General and Designated Operating Funds?
- These funds go directly to supporting basic services for UW campuses. The Technology Recharge Fee supplements those resources.
How do centrally mandated budget reductions impact the Technology Recharge Fee?
- Budget reductions are implemented by reducing costs. They are not passed on to campus as an increase to the Technology Recharge Fee.
Per-Capita Count
Who is included in the per-capita count?
- The per-capita count includes all salaried employees whether full- or part-time and regardless of job responsibilities or location. Excluded are graduate students, hourly and student hourly employees.
Why does the Technology Recharge Fee apply to my staff using little or no technology?
- Although some employees appear to use little or no technology, they have access to all of the services and benefits of the per-capita bundle, including payroll, other administrative systems, UW NetIDs for access to resources such as Employee Self-Service (ESS), email or email forwarding, and UW Directory information. In addition, mobile devices and other forms of technology are becoming more prevalent and used by increasing numbers of employees in the field. Furthermore, everyone benefits from security efforts to protect our personally identifiable information, and from emergency notification systems.
- The services in the bundle were included because they are available to everyone employed by the UW; they are used by all, or almost all.
- When a two-tier rate structure was investigated and the experiences of other universities were evaluated, most that started with a more complex rate structure abandoned it once it became clear that the cost of maintaining it did not warrant the increased delineation. The difficulties of defining and identifying individuals who use less technology, as well as the complexity of implementing such a system, would add significant overhead and cost.
Why does the Technology Recharge Fee apply to faculty and staff who are located off campus?
- Faculty and staff located off campus benefit from technology services in the Technology Recharge Fee, including, for example, UW NetIDs, email and email forwarding, antivirus software, security, payroll and other administrative systems. In addition, off-campus facilities often require significant effort to establish and support the communications infrastructure.
- Even if a case could be made that faculty and staff off campus use a different level of basic services (and in some cases, that level of service may be higher), University systems have no way to track location to identify these off-campus faculty and staff. As with the idea of a differential rate for individuals who use less technology, the number of exceptions from every college, school and administrative unit would add complexity and cost to the system. In the end, the oversight committee recommended the use of all salaried employees for the per-capita rate as the best proxy for the amount of basic technology used by each unit.
Why are students not included in the per-capita count?
- The existing state appropriations and tuition paid by students, which UW Information Technology receives in the form of General Operating Funds, is being applied to student costs associated with per-capita charges.
Will my per-capita count change each quarter?
- No. The per-capita count is a static count. It is based on a four-quarter average of the previous fiscal year. The per-capita count for the FY 2016 rate was taken on August 15, 2014; November 15, 2014; February 15, 2015; and will be taken April 15, 2015. The per-capita count for the FY 2017 rate will be taken on a quarterly basis in the fiscal year 2016.
- As a result of the timing, your per-capita count may include employees who have separated from your unit, and not include new employees who have recently joined. This is a result of our need to obtain a static count in which to calculate the rate.
Services
How will you ensure UW Information Technology is providing the services the University wants, and doing so in the most efficient way possible?
- The IT Service Investment Board is charged by the Provost to conduct an annual review of the fee level, methodology, process and services included in the basic bundle. Throughout its FY 2016 review, the committee was mindful of the continuing resource constraints at the University. The Board's recommendation reflects the advice of the Technology Recharge Fee Advisory Committee, comprised of UW School and College administrators representing academic and administrative units and UW Medical Centers, which was charged with supporting the Board in its annual TRF review by providing in-depth analysis and counsel. The Board will conduct a review of the FY 2017 rate in 2016 using a consistent methodology to provide due diligence in reviewing costs and to accommodate any changes in total costs or service levels.
- In addition, the IT Service Management Board is charged with optimizing the design, delivery, operation and sourcing of UW-IT services, conducting an annual review of the UW-IT Service Catalog, and providing recommendations to the IT Service Investment Board for adding, changing, and removing services and for any associated recommended changes in investment levels.
How are phone rates impacted by the Technology Recharge Fee?
- The fixed cost components of the telephone infrastructure that support the entire University are included in the basic bundle of services supported by the Technology Recharge Fee. This includes the labor and investments needed to support the infrastructure that provides service on each of the campuses, including all emergency phones.
- The variable cost component of providing a phone to any specific location will be provided on a self-sustaining basis. These are the direct costs of actually placing a phone on a desk.
Are there any limitations to UW Information Technology services?
- Yes, there are some limitations on service levels. For example, the basic bundle covers the existing infrastructure for the wired and Wi-Fi network connectivity; it does not include moves, additions or changes. Each person is also limited to one personal UW NetID. Details on service limits are available in “FY 2016—Basic Services” at /uwit/reports/FY2016BasicServices.pdf
Can I expect to have access to Wi-Fi as a basic service?
- Access is limited to the current Wi-Fi infrastructure and coverage. The Technology Recharge Fee includes funding that has enabled UW Information Technology to continually expand coverage.
Is Exchange email included in the bundle of services funded by the Technology Recharge Fee?
- The new cloud-based "UW Exchange" service is included as part of the basic bundle of services funded by the Technology Recharge Fee. The service includes calendaring and 50GB of mailbox storage.
Grants and Contracts
Can the Technology Recharge Fee be charged directly to grants and contracts?
- The Technology Recharge Fee cannot be charged directly to federal (or federal flow-through) grants or contracts, but it can be charged to non-federal grants or contracts if the sponsor does not specifically disapprove the cost in the award or in other notices it gives to the University.
Can UW-IT services paid on a fee-per-usage basis (e.g., database consulting, videoconferencing) be charged directly to a sponsored project?
- Yes, see the Self-Sustaining Services rate sheet.
Recharge Centers
Can the Technology Recharge Fee be charged to UW recharge and cost centers?
- Yes, the Technology Recharge Fee can be charged to approved UW recharge and cost centers. The charge should be proportionate to salary, i.e., if 50 percent of a faculty or staff member’s salary is charged to a recharge or cost center, 50 percent of their Technology Recharge Fee can be charged to the recharge or cost center.
Help
Who do I contact if I still have questions?
- Send email to help@uw.edu