The College of Education Business Office is the administrative support unit for financial and personnel matters for all College of Education departments. In this role the office staff review, secure College level approval for all transactions in a timely manner, and ensure documents concur with established University policies and procedures. The staff provides assistance and advice to the College of Education staff and faculty as well as written reports on account status.

The objective of the Business Office section of the College of Education Web site is to direct staff and faculty to the relevant University policies and procedures for financial and personnel matters. It should be considered a living document, one that will grow, change, and sometimes need interpretation. The University of Arizona is a typical bureaucracy - one in which it is sometimes difficult to locate the correct way to accomplish a particular transaction. This section is not intended to duplicate any of the existing University manuals but to provide assistance for common transactions and dilemmas. All relevant UA policy and procedural manuals are available on-line and should be consulted for the most current policies. In addition many hyperlinks have been added that go directly to these sources.

Taking time to become aquainted with the Business Office section of the College of Education website, and with current University policies available on-line, hopefully will spare you aggravation and frustration in the future. If there is any doubt about a transaction, checking first is always easier than trying to recover after the fact. Properly prepared documents will achieve the desired outcome much faster than those that are not. This document is written to help the reader succeed in "doing business" at the University. It should be noted, as well, that the use of University of Arizona facilities and resources is intended for University Business.

The online Business Office Guide is divided into three main sections:

• Finance

• Human Resources

• Contracts and Grants

The Finance section focuses on areas related to FRS (the Financial Reporting System) while the Human Resources section focuses on the various aspects of personnel matters. The section on Contracts and Grants will address topics unique to those awards.

Business Office Procedures

All financial (to include Travel Documents, Check Requests, Inter-departmental Billing Forms (IDB/F), Requests for Accounting Assistance (RFAA), Distribution Of Deposit forms (DDF), etc.) and personnel documents (Recruitment/Hiring Forms (RHF), Personnel Action Form (PAF), Position Control Form (PCF), Termination Reports, etc.) are to be routed through the College of Education Business Office. On-line requisitions are automatically routed electronically through the Business Office for college-level approval.

Typical procedures for processing financial and personnel forms are as follows:

Documents are prepared in the department/unit initiating the transaction.

Original receipts are submitted to Financial Services with documents requesting reimbursement. Since the Business Office keeps only copies of the University form, the home department should keep copies of all receipts submitted with the departmental copy of the transaction.

After relevant departmental signatures are obtained, the document is submitted to the Business Office for review, approval, and forwarding to the appropriate campus destination for approval and action. Incomplete or incorrect documents submitted to the Business Office will be returned with an explanation to the initiating department for correction.

The Business Office is available to provide assistance and advice; however, appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure that lead time is available to prepare a report or gather appropriate information, and that adequate time is scheduled for the appointment.

To request an account report, please submit an email or memo to the Business Manager, Sr. at least 2 days in advance to ensure a complete and accurate report.