Policies and Procedures

These are our most frequently referenced Finance and Administration policies and procedures. If you have additional questions, please contact a member of our team.

Travel and Entertainment

You may incur business and travel expenses on behalf of Columbia University or in support of sponsored research activities. The University reimburses legitimate expenses that conform to federal and state law and the restrictions placed upon sponsored projects. To receive your reimbursement, you'll need to submit an approved Travel and Business Expense report. Read the full travel expenses policy.

• Learn how to submit the Travel and Business Expense Reimbursement (TBER) form. You can also download the form as an Excel spreadsheet.
• Review the roles, responsibilities and approvals for TBER, which include obtaining all proper documentation for each expense, and the roles played by approvers.
• TBER Training Schedule: Held once a month, these sessions cover University travel and business expense policy and processing basics as well as how to speed up payments and reimbursements.

Procurement

Working directly with schools and departments, the Purchasing Department is divided into the following four teams:

• Business Services: For information on office supplies, furniture, computers, and other commodities
• Construction Sourcing: For information on construction, engineering, and waste removal
• Medical and Laboratory Sourcing: For information on medical and lab equipment, services, and other related commodities.
• Consultants/Service Providers: For information on obtaining consultant-based services
• Capital Equipment Leasing: For information on obtaining lease financing services.
• Facilities/Purchasing Policy: See a Word document or view all policies
• Minimum Insurance Requirements for Contracts (.pdf)

Columbia University Records Retention Policy

Columbia University’s Records Retention policy establishes the Records Retention Schedule (RRS). The RRS lists the types of University records and their retention periods. Based upon legal and operational requirements, it provides a framework for the life cycle management of University records.