Student Financial Affairs Policies and Procedures

Financial Affairs policies are available on the Portal under the Olin Community section. Student Affairs can assist you with reimbursements that have been authorized in advance for clubs, Passionate Pursuits, etc. Olin makes all reimbursements to students, faculty and staff via bank transfers, so a bank account that will accept an Olin transfer is required to receive a reimbursement.

Student P-Card Usage Guidelines

All P-Card holders must attend P-card training

There are separate Student Group and SCOPE trainings

Student Group/Team budget managers are the only P-Card Holders for the group unless an exception is made (1 P-Card per group)

P-Cards can ONLY be used by the named holder

except SG1 and SG2 cards, which can only be used for CORe-related purchases following CORe spending policies

P-Cards should generally only be used for the approved Function/role. Some exceptions may include:

Students with multiple approved roles (e.g. Budget Manager for both a Project Team and SCOPE) will only be issued 1 card and have multiple delegates (1 p-card per student, with the exception of SG cards).

Students can use their P-Cards to purchase class project materials or other uses in other Functions, ONLY IF the student has prior written approval from the relevant budget manager/faculty member

Student must obtain the appropriate GL (function and possibly project) code before making the purchase

Student must upload pdf of budget manager approval, including GL code, with receipt in Wells Fargo

Note that this is to reduce the administrative burden for spending across different areas of the College. Students may be responsible for charges outside of their approved area if they do not provide approval.

P-Card holders who are not in specified CORe/SG roles (VP-Finance, CCO) should not use p-cards for SG/ Club-related expenses (those should go through CORe-specified processes)

P-Card holders stepping down for their roles at the end of the year (including graduating) must notify the staff with oversight so the cards can be closed

Students taking on new roles should work with the appropriate oversight staff to order new cards.

Online Marketplace Policy

Reimbursements for purchases made on Online Marketplaces (e.g. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist) are generally not allowed.

In the event that the use of an Online Marketplace is deemed absolutely necessary, students are required to obtain written approval from the appropriate oversight staff member (for clubs/CORe, this is StAR Administrative Assistant, Christina Thompson, cthompson@olin.edu) prior to the purchase being made.

Approval must be requested at least 2 business days prior to the purchase.

The request must include a justification for the use of an Online Marketplace

To attain approval, the following conditions must be met…

Buyers must be able to obtain an itemized receipt from the seller that includes the seller’s name and contact information, the buyer’s name, and indicate that the item has been paid for with the form of payment received.

AND

The item being purchased is unavailable for purchase online or at any establishment within 10 miles of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering’s campus at 1000 Olin Way, Needham, MA 02492

The item being purchased is 20% or more cheaper than if bought in-store or online

Students will be responsible for the cost of the purchase if they do not obtain prior approval.

Spending by Non-Olin Student Group Members

Reimbursable spending by non-Olin (Wellesley/Babson) student group members is not allowed at this time.