Policies and Resources for Student Organizations

Purchase Orders

Vendors/suppliers that frequently work with the University of Pennsylvania are on Penn’s purchase order system. If a vendor is on the purchase order (PO) system, a purchase order should be used for payment.

• All PO system vendors/suppliers
• Approved apparel/promotional-item vendors/suppliers (Use of other vendors is prohibited.)
• Preferred caterers

To pay a vendor that is on the PO system, please follow these steps:

1. Request a quote from the vendor. Please make sure the quote does not include tax.
2. Complete and submit a Purchase Order Form at least 5 business days before the event. (You will need to upload the quote as well as an event flyer or attendees list)
3. The Undergraduate Division will process the request and provide you with a PO number that you must then provide to the vendor.

Please keep in mind that meal limits are $25 (breakfast/lunch) and $45 (dinner).

Purchases under $100 can be made through reimbursement using the Concur system; however, tax will not be reimbursed if the vendor is on the PO system.

Reimbursements

Students with out-of-pocket expenses that do not fall into the non-reimbursable categories below must submit expense reports for reimbursement through the Concur Travel & Expense Management (TEM) system within 5 business days of the transaction. Instructions can be found below.

If you have never submitted a reimbursement request, please contact the Undergraduate Finance Office at ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu to be added to the system. You will need to include your full name and Penn ID in the email request.

To receive a payment through Concur, you will need an active United States bank account available for direct deposit. After the Expense function is added to your account, you can go to your profile Settings in the upper right-hand corner, then to Bank Information to complete the process. If you try to submit a reimbursement before your banking information is validated, you will receive an error message.

Please note that only current students may be reimbursed through Concur for purchases they have personally made. If a family member or other individual needs reimbursement for a payment made on a student’s behalf, they will need to be reimbursed via a non-PO payment method and will be subject to tax.

When submitting a reimbursement through Concur you must include the following:

1. Itemized receipt
2. Proof of Event
   • For Supply Purchases:  An Attendees list or event flyer
   • For Meal Purchases:  An Attendees list
3. Proof of purchase such as an image of the card used with only your name and the last 4 digits of the card showing or a bank statement showing both your name and the expense may be used.  (Note that the bank account or credit/debit card must be in the name of the person submitting the reimbursement request.)

The Undergraduate Finance Office will reject reimbursements that are missing any of these requirements.

Non-reimbursable items

The following are items that the University will not reimburse students for:

• Any expenses in amounts over $100 per invoice or receipt—These must be procured using a PO. Splitting charges to avoid this limit is not permitted.
• Meals that exceed these limits—above $25 (breakfast/lunch) and $45 (dinner) per person including tip and tax.
• Flights (when booked outside of Concur) – Please use the travel tab in Concur to reserve air travel.
• Campus Copy—Prior to ordering from Campus Copy, you will need the Undergraduate Division three-digit code as your form of payment.  Email Ariel Robbins (aarobbin@wharton.upenn.edu) if you are in need of the code. Once you pick-up your order from Campus Copy, please write your name and the club’s name on the receipt and take a picture and email it to ug-finance@wharton.upenn.edu and a copy to Ariel Robbins. Please note that if you submit a reimbursement for Campus Copy via Concur, you will not be reimbursed for the tax.
• University Club—Please ask your assigned staff member for a local account form and the appropriate account number/card and for this vendor at least 3 business days in advance.
• Tax (Some tax is reimbursable, but Penn is tax-exempt in almost all cases. If a Concur reimbursement is done for a PO vendor, the tax will not be reimbursed.  Tax on digital goods/services and on allowable dues/memberships is also not reimbursable.)
• Alcohol
• Copying or office supplies—Use one of the above PO vendors or ask your assigned staff member for assistance at least 10 business days in advance. Examples of office supplies: notebooks, pens, highlighters, tape, etc.
• Gifts of any sort—Wharton- and Penn-branded items of less than $100 may be purchased from approved promotional-item PO vendors or the Penn Bookstore.
• Honoraria for speakers or payments to independent contractors—Please see your assigned staff member at least 10 business days in advance, as these must be paid via check.
• Deposit holds for future events—Wharton never provides vendors with deposits.
• AirBnB, HomeAway/VRBO, Flipkey rentals—Students should use the Concur travel tab to book hotel lodging.

Assigned Staff Members

Student Group	Assigned Staff Member
Clubs	Ariel Robbins
Cohorts
	Lisa Podolsky
JWS Society	Isabelle Glass
WAB	Jen Murphy
WEDIG	Teran Tadal
Wharton Ambassadors	Amanda Simpson
Wharton Council	Jen Murphy
Wharton GUIDE	Lisa Podolsky
Wharton Wellness	Lisa Burton-Grika

Resources

Instructions for submitting a Concur reimbursement request

Instructions for booking travel using Concur

Concur Travel & Expense Management System

Ben Helps Portal – Travel & Expense Management

Ben Helps Ticket – submit a ticket for help with the mechanics of creating a report/updating banking information or general how to. Help Line Concur Travel & Expense – 215-746-4357 Option 3; doftemsupp@pobox.upenn.edu

At the beginning of both the fall and spring semesters, clubs are allocated budgets by the Wharton Council.

Club budget and funding policies

A club may only spend up to the total amount allocated for its semester budget. A club spending in excess of this total amount will only be reimbursed for the total approved amount.

Clubs may spend their total allocation of funds as they see fit amongst their events but must spend in accordance with Wharton Council funding policies, which are listed in detail below. In addition, Wharton Council funds can only be spent on events listed in a club’s budget breakdown.

Wharton Council funding policies:

• Wharton Council funds will be applied toward expenses prior to the use of a club’s corporate funding. In other words, a club’s corporate funds will not be utilized to pay for expenses until all Wharton Council funds allocated to that club have been fully depleted.
• A club that maintains a surplus of Wharton Council funds at the end of the semester will not be able to rollover this amount to the next semester or academic year.
• Student clubs may not use Wharton Council funding for private dinners, gifts, one-time banner use, or alcohol.
• Student clubs may not use Wharton Council funding or corporate-sponsorship money to make donations to charitable organizations.  Only the net profit from an event held to raise money for a charitable organization may be donated to that organization. Student clubs that wish to donate event profits must get approval from Ariel Robbins, Associate Director, at least 30 days prior to the event.

Wharton Council contingency funding

Contingency funds* have been set aside for ad-hoc events, i.e. events that were not planned for and were not included in your semester budget. Contingency funds can also be used for club banners, which are requested on an as-needed basis. Contingency requests must be submitted at least 15 days prior to the event. To apply for contingency funding, please submit a contingency funding request through the Wharton Council website. If you have any questions, please contact the Wharton Council Finance Committee at whartoncouncilfinance@gmail.com.

Note: Contingency funding is the only funding option available for Wharton Undergraduate Clubs currently in their trial period.

Wharton Council transportation policies

Transportation costs can be covered through Wharton Council funding. Below are the maximum transportation funding amounts, but please note that there is no guarantee that a club will receive the amounts stated below. Due to funding constraints and the needs of all Wharton undergraduate clubs, the amount of funding allocated towards a club’s transportation costs is at the discretion of the Wharton Council Finance Committee.

Please note the following policies:

Flights:

• All plane reservations must be made using Concur travel; no reimbursements will be issued.

Trains/buses/subway:

• Amtrak—To purchase Amtrak tickets (non-Acela only), clubs must use corporate funding. However, with prior approval from the WC and the Undergraduate Division, WC funding may be used to purchase tickets for speakers.
• SEPTA—Maximum of two fares/rides per passenger per event.
• Bolt, Mega, etc.—Maximum funding of one round-trip fare per passenger per event.

Contact Ariel Robbins, Associate Director, to purchase tickets or tokens. Regardless of payment method, you must submit the ticket stubs and names of travelers after the travel has taken place.

Taxis:

• In certain situations, you may be reimbursed for taxi services; however, you will need permission in advance from the WC and/or Division.

Transportation for guest speakers:

• If you need to purchase tickets of any kind for your guest speakers, please discuss this with Ariel Robbins, Associate Director, in advance.

Wharton undergraduate clubs and any other student groups affiliated with the Wharton Undergraduate Division are not permitted to engage in profit sharing or charge or receive fees from clients (including companies or nonprofits). However, clubs and students may continue to provide pro bono consulting work.

Please note the following:

• Clubs/student groups are not permitted to do pro bono work for companies they also solicit/or have solicited for corporate sponsorship.
• Agreements for pro bono consulting must be submitted to Ariel Robbins, Associate Director, for review with at least 10 business-days notice.

While email is an effective communication tool, many students complain about the number of emails they receive on a daily basis. In cases where you feel an email is appropriate to inform a portion of the Wharton community, the following rules and guidelines apply:

• Wharton students may disseminate information to each other and the wider Wharton community by using email distribution lists, such as club/affinity group lists and cohort lists.
• Creating a new listserv using the Wharton Global Address List is a direct violation of Wharton’s email policy. Any attempts to bypass mailing lists (and their restrictions and requirements) are prohibited.

The use of Wharton email is a privilege. Abuse of these policies could result in the deactivation of your Wharton email account.

The Wharton Undergraduate (WUGR) class mailing lists are a way to disseminate information to Wharton students by class year. Use of these four listservs is limited to Wharton departments and initiatives and, in some circumstances, Undergraduate Division-sponsored student orgs.  To ensure that WUGR emails remain an effective communication tool, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Messages should be original (no forwards or replies).
• Messages should not include attachments, shortened urls (bitly, etc.), or words like “today” or “tomorrow.”
• Messages should contain only one image (does not apply to Campaign Monitor emails).
• Copyrighted images used without permission are prohibited.
• Only one WUGR email should be sent per class year per initiative, course, or event.
• WUGR emails should only be sent to the class year(s) to which the message most directly applies.
• The message should be pertinent to all students on the respective list (this does not mean all students need to take part, just that they are all eligible).
• Multiple messages from the same source, especially around the same time frame, should be consolidated whenever possible to minimize the volume of WUGR emails that go out to undergraduate students.
• Messages will be approved within two business days of the time sent.

Please contact undergradinfo@wharton.upenn.edu with any additional questions.

To advertise your club event on the UGR monitors in Wharton buildings, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Life at Wharton app.
2. Click “Create a New Slide.”
3. Choose your slide template (16:9 wide-screen format is recommended).
4. Add an image title and, if relevant, a link to more information.
5. Upload your image (jpg or png).
6. Select the “UGR Student” channel.
7. Set an activation and expiration date (Your image must be submitted at least 3 days before your activation date, may be posted for a maximum of 14 days, and may not be posted past the date of your event).
8. Add your slide.

Your slide will be submitted to an administrator for approval and will not immediately appear on screen. You will receive an email if there are any issues with the image.

Use of the monitors is limited to Wharton clubs, departments, and initiatives.

The Wharton Communications Office is available to provide resources and advice on media promotion for student conferences, and must approve all press releases prior to distribution. Note that Wharton Communications does not provide any services related to advertising or sponsorship.

Press release approval process

• Notify your conference speakers that you intend to invite reporters to the conference and have your speakers complete the Media_Release_Form. Do this as soon as possible; do not assume that your speakers will not care if reporters are present.
• If your speakers agree to media presence, draft your press release, which should:
  • Be one page with basic who, what, where, when, and why type of information.
  • State that the event is hosted by “a student-run organization of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.”
  • Be on your student organization’s letterhead.
  • Include your contact information (phone and email).
• At least one month before your event (the earlier the better), send your press release to communications@wharton.upenn.edu  for approval.

Wharton Communications can provide you with media contact lists when your release has been approved. They can also provide samples of previous student press releases, as well as boilerplate information about Wharton when appropriate. Tell the Wharton Communications Office if any reporters plan to attend your conference.

Please note that if you send out an unapproved press release you will not be able to use the “Wharton” name for your conference.

Any Wharton undergraduate student who would like to create a social media account representing an organization at Wharton must first reach out to the Wharton Undergraduate Division at undergradinfo@wharton.upenn.edu. The Division will work with you and the central Wharton Marketing & Communications office to review your request and, if approved, ensure accounts are set up properly according to Wharton School guidelines.

Remember that when you are managing accounts affiliated with Wharton, you are representing the school. Be sure the accounts adhere to Wharton’s brand guidelines for students, and any posts, comments or actions taken under the account uphold Wharton’s standards and reputation. Accounts should also:

• Be associated with a shared email address so that access can be transferred when needed
• Include “This is a student-run account” in their bio

Attract the right attention. Make a good first impression. Did you know Wharton has a student-specific logo? Learn more.