Penn State Policies Updates

The following financial policies have been comprehensively revised to strengthen stewardship, improve internal controls and compliance, and to align with the University’s shared services business model. The policies have been streamlined by relocating procedural operations to the reference procedure. Policy FN10 Policy FN10 Other Business Expenses and Activities has been comprehensively revised to strengthen financial stewardship, improve compliance clarity, and better align with the University’s shared services operating model. The revision modernizes the policy structure by separating...

Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Form Templates Appearing in the General University Reference Utility , has been revised to align with the launch of the Finance Shared Services business model and to support a more consistent and efficient financial operations framework across the University. Key updates include: The Office of Systems & Procedures has been renamed to the Budget and Finance Policy and Procedure Office to better reflect its expanded role and responsibilities. The purpose statement has been enhanced to emphasize the University’s commitment to responsible stewardship...

Policy FN07 Electronic Payments: Credit Cards revised Policy FN07 Electronic Payments: Credit Cards has been rewritten to define Finance shared services business processes, including: Modernize and clarify requirements for accepting electronic payments. Incorporate updated PCI DSS 4.0 standards. Address gaps identified during benchmarking against Big Ten institutions. Establish stronger University-wide governance over merchants, payment platforms, and third-party service providers. Reduce risk of cardholder data exposure and financial/brand penalties. Standardize responsibilities between the...

Editorial changes to Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals Central Procurement has launched a new Software Request Form. This form is referenced in Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals and the link to the form has been updated. Effective March 13, 2026

With the launch of the finance shared services business model, it was necessary to create a new Central Procurement section within the Policy Library website. Those Business Services (BS) policies that pertain to Central Procurement have been renumbered and relocated to the new Central Procurement section, including: CP01 Authority and Procurement (formerly BS07) CP02 Initiating Purchases from Vendors Outside the University (formerly BS09) CP03 Penn State Purchasing Card (formerly BS14) CP04 Payment of Vendor's Invoices (formerly BS13) CP05 Responsibilities after Initiating Purchases from...

Policy AD00 Policy on Policies has been updated to include: Adding statement clarifying Responsible Official as the Policy Steward within the Policy Library website Adding Central Procurement policies section to the Responsible Official table Changed travel policies responsible official from Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance to Associate Vice President for Procurement, Contracts, and Accounts Payable/Chief Procurement Officer Updated title of Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to Senior Vice President for External Affairs and Chief of Staff Effective: February 24, 2026

The Associate Vice President for Procurement, Contracts, and Accounts Payable/Chief Procurement Officer has authorized the retirement of the following policies: BS06 Goals of the Department of Purchasing Services BS08 Information Inquiries BS10 Blanket or Standing Orders BS16 Limited Orders These policies have been removed from the University Policy Library. Archived versions will be maintained in the University Archives for record retention and historical reference purposes. Effective: February 17, 2026

The Senior Vice President for Finance and Business has authorized the following revisions to Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals: Added Joint Appointment Agreements to the Associate VP for Research/Director of Research Administration Services (AVPR/DRAS), the Assistant VP for Research/Director of Office of Sponsored Programs (AVPR/DOSP) and the Associate Directors of the Office of Sponsored Programs delegations Added Certificates of Confidentiality (IRB) and National Institutes of Justice Privacy Certificates (IRB) to Associate Vice President for Research/Director...

The following revisions to Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals have been approved by the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business: Department of Procurement Services section retitle to The Chief Procurement Officer, Director of Procurement and the Assistant Directors of the Office of Central Procurement. This was to indicate the limited delegations to individuals/roles, not the department as a whole. Policy Stewardship changed from Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance to the Associate Vice President for Procurement, Contracts, and Accounts Payable...

At the direction of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, Policy AD27 Commercial Sales Activities at University Locations has been renumbered to FN35 Commercial Sales Activities at University Locations, effective August 29, 2025. This change reflects the policy’s reclassification from an administrative (AD) policy to a financial (FN) policy, aligning with its updated ownership and scope.

FN36 Residency Classification for Tuition Purposes is a new financial policy, requested by the Office of the Bursar. The information contained within this policy was previously available on the Bursar's website. The policy will be labeled as "new" for the next 30 business days during which time comments may be submitted. Comments should be submitted using the "Contact Us" section on the About page of the Policy Library website. On October 3, 2025, the comment period will close and the "new" label will be replaced with the "active" label.

Policy FN32 Credit Card Marketing is a new policy. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania General Assembly amended 1949 Act 14 requiring institutions of higher education establish a policy regulating the marketing of credit cards on campus. The Pennsylvania State University is directly referenced in the amendment and this new policy addresses the requirements of the Act.

PR01 University Payroll updated Policy PR01 University Payroll has been updated. The Salary Advance business process has been replaced with the Off-cycle Payroll payment request business process. Salary advances will not longer be issued through SIMBA. Off-cycle payroll payments must be processed through WorkDay. The overpayment section has been updated to reflect that Human Resources (HR) is responsible for notifying the employee of overpayments. These changes are effective April 11, 2025.

Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals has been revised at add the Applied Research Laboratory - Director(s) and Associate Director subsections within the Associate VP for Research/Director of Research Administration Services section of the guideline. The changes were authorized by the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business. Effective: February 7, 2025

Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approvals had editorial changes to update the Office of Physical Plant titles. These changes were requested by the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance.

Policy FN10 Other Business Expenses and Activities continues to be under review; however, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business authorized e ditorial changes to the Events Involving Students section to remove the approval requirement of the budget executive, for events involving graduate students, and the Vice President of Student Affairs, for events involving undergraduate students. These editorial changes are to align with Policy AD18 Possession, Use and Distribution of Alcoholic Beverages. The editorial changes were published December 11, 2024.

FN29 Student Financial Hold is a new financial policy, requested by the Office of the Bursar. This policy was drafted after a gap-analysis indicated no formal policy statement existed declaring the University’s right to place a hold on a student account due to an outstanding financial obligation. The business practice existed; however, there was no official policy. The policy will labeled as "new" for the next 30 days during which time comments may be submitted. On November 22, 2024, the comment period will close and the "new" label will be replaced with the "active" label.

Poliy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approval revised The Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance has authorized the following editorial changes to Policy Guideline FNG02 Limited Delegation of Contract Approval: References to Senior Vice President for Finance & Business/Treasurer changed to Senior Vice President for Finance & Business Delegations to the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning added Delegations to the Assistant Vice President of Operations, Design, and Construction added Delegations to the Assistant Vice President of Facilities...

Policy FN18 University Approval Authorization editorial changes Policy FN18 University Approval Authorization had an editorial change. The Separation of Duties section was updated to indicate that "Budget and Finance Approvers should never approve a requisition for which they are the Shopper. This editorial change was requested by the Associate Vice President of Budget and Finance.

Policy FN27 Establishing and Billing Service Center User Rates was revised. The editorial changes included: Senior Vice President for Finance & Business must approval all Finance & Business rates Senior Director of Research Administration position eliminated. All references removed from document Removal of approval of OPP rates by the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance as these rates will now be approved by the Senior VP for Finance & Business The changes are effective as of August 1, 2024.