Purchasing technology equipment requires budget money to be available. This article describes how department directors and division chairs can request money for technology equipment.

Please talk to your staff about how their technology is working for them, what needs to be replaced and what new items may be needed.

Each department and division is responsible for budgeting for and purchasing the technology that they need. Technology equipment is budgeted using Zero-Based Budgeting, which means every requested piece of hardware or software must be justified on the Equipment Needs tab of the budget worksheet that you will receive from the Business Office.

If you do not request any technology equipment line items, the budget you receive will be $0. If you then have technology needs during the year you will need to transfer funds from another of your accounts to make the purchase.

Step-by-step guide

The Business Office will send a budget spreadsheet each fall to everyone who manages a budget.

  1. Open the budget worksheet and select the tab named "Equipment Needs". For type of item you are requesting:
    1. Item request: Description of item. Example: "Desktop PC", "Laptop PC", "24 inch display".

    2. Qty: number of items requested.

    3. Bullet Point itemization of Explanation/Justification of Request: List each person who will be assigned to each computer, or the specific purpose if the item will serve multiple people. Specify how old the items are that are being replaced to help justify replacement.
    4. Mandatory: usually 'N'. Ask the Controller if you think you should use 'Y'.
    5. Requested amount: Total amount for number of items requested.