Regents approve institutional funds rules and software capitalization policy with enforcement amendment

The Board of Regents’ finance committee approved two systemwide policy changes on Thursday: a policy limiting permissible uses of institutional funds and a software asset capitalization policy that the committee amended to add stronger enforcement language.

Controller Annette Pavone told regents the institutional funds policy clarifies that institutional funds (excluding foundation and agency funds) may not be used for departmental social events or staff gifts and distinguishes donations from sponsorships, which require a clear institutional return. "You should not be using institutional funds for that sort of thing," Pavone said, listing acceptable uses such as reimbursable business meals for recruiting and HR‑approved employee milestones.

Pavone also described a proposed software asset policy she drafted to align CSCU with recent updates to the state property control manual. The policy sets a $5,000 capitalization threshold for one‑time software purchases (or applicable subscription costs under GASB 96) and requires internal labor capitalization for major implementations over $1,000,000; each institution must assign a software librarian to track assets.

Vice Chair Santiago proposed an amendment to the software policy’s enforcement section to add the phrase "up to and including termination from employment." The committee voted first to adopt the amendment and then to approve the software policy as amended. Chair Balducci called the voice votes and the panel adopted both policies.

The committee recorded one vocal opposition on the institutional funds vote but otherwise approved the measures. The policies will guide campus controllers and managers on allowable spending and asset reporting as the system continues Banner SaaS and other major IT implementations.