Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development

[Procedure] Last Updated: September 2016

Non-Credit Conferences, Seminars, and Other Continuing Education/Public Service Activities

Non-credit programs include conferences, workshops, institutes, symposia, clinics, online courses and other such continuing education, professional development and public service activities which do not award academic credit, but for which fees are charged and collected through cash, checks or credit cards. Outreach Conference & Registration Services (OCRS) are provided through the Division of Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development and this unit is charged with billing, collecting, receipting and depositing income associated with non-credit programs. Departments or groups with a compelling reason to administer programs independently of OCRS must have written approval from their own vice president and the Vice President of Outreach, Engagement, and Regional Development. The standard business practices for receipting, depositing and record keeping outlined below apply to all such programs.

All programs must have a published policy for charging fees, offering discounts, and issuing refunds. The policy must be followed consistently.

All billings to external individuals or groups must be made through the university billing and accounts receivable system administered by the Bursar. Online registration and payment by credit card can only be made through approved, secure university sites. Contact the Director of Treasury Operations for information on the approved sites. When payments are received via the internet, by phone, or mail, confirmations may be issued to the registrant rather than receipts.  Such confirmations must provide a means for the sponsoring department to track total registrations received and accepted.

OCRS in cooperation with the Department of Information Technology maintains the official non-credit registration software system. This system, commonly known as Ungerboeck or USI, contains the official university record of all non-credit registration activity.

All proceeds from non-credit programs must be deposited intact at the Bursar’s Office. Receipts must be issued through USI or by use of pre-numbered receipts and issued to each registrant with copies maintained either by the sponsoring department or OCRS, as appropriate. A supply of pre-numbered receipt books can be obtained at no cost from the Bursar’s Office. A representative of the department must sign out each receipt book. At the conclusion of the function, either OCRS or the sponsoring department must account for all pre-numbered receipts issued. In the case of year-round activity, these receipts should be accounted for periodically.

For all registrations received, the following information must be maintained: A list of people who attended the activity, the amount paid, method of payment, and the date payment was received, along with copies of individual receipts for all registration payments processed. This list should include information on who attended the activity free of charge as guests of the university.  These lists should be retained by OCRS and/or the sponsoring departments as part of the activity’s permanent record for future auditing purposes. Additionally, these records will be used to provide data for various university reports.

OCRS charges fees for their services as approved by the university. In all cases, OCRS and the departments requesting the use of their services should have a written document disclosing the services to be performed and the fees to be assessed. The fee will be invoiced following the conclusion of the non-credit activity or annually at the end of the fiscal year for ongoing programs. When a non-credit continuing education or public service activity is conducted at a site other than the DeKalb campus, the travel, transportation, lodging and per diem expenses of OCRS personnel must be covered by revenue from the activity and will be invoiced in addition to the fee for registration services.

Fee Collection at Off-Campus Locations

If fees are collected at locations distant from the DeKalb campus and it is not possible to deposit income with the university in accordance with university policy, the cash income received should be converted into a cashier’s check (or similar instrument) made payable to “Northern Illinois University”. This check, and other checks, money orders and credit card payments received from registrants, are to be deposited with the Bursar’s Office on the next business day in compliance with requirements summarized under “Deposits to University Accounts”.

Contact Us

University Business Procedures Directory

eco@niu.edu

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