Amherst College

July 2013

Amherst College is moving toward a stipend model to support a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, in place of College-provided equipment, for employees whose jobs require the use of a mobile device with phone or data service.   

Program Requirements:

If an employee’s job duties include the frequent need for a mobile device he/she may be eligible for a stipend to defray the cost of the monthly fees.   

The stipend will be paid monthly via payroll from the employee’s departmental budget.  The amount will not be added to the employee’s taxable wages.   

This allowance does not constitute an increase to base pay, and will not be included in the calculation of percentage increases to base pay due to annual raises, job upgrades, bonuses, benefits based on a percentage of salary, etc.

The following guidelines identify the business need for a mobile device allowance:

  • The employee must be reachable at all times, for example:
    • Senior College officials
    • Public safety/emergency management officials
    • Critical systems/applications support staff 
  • The employee travels extensively as part of their work
  • The employee must be reachable regularly at nontraditional office hours as part of their work
  • The employee has “the campus is their office” with a high expectation that they can be reached when needed
  • The employee must be proficient with and understand how mobile devices work for the purpose of supporting others

Department heads and the appropriate senior staff member must approve the mobile device allowance for each eligible employee and the reimbursement must not exceed expenses the employee actually incurs in maintaining service. Approval must include a review of the employee’s mobile device service (evidenced by an invoice).

Department heads are responsible for an annual review of employee mobile device business use. This will include an annual verification of the business need of the device and that the stipend does not exceed the cost to the employee.

The stipend amount will be up to a maximum of $40.00 per month. The College will pay only the mobile device allowance even if monthly costs exceed the allowance.

The mobile device contract will be in the name of the employee or a family member who will be solely responsible for all payments to the service provider.   The employee is responsible for the purchase of the mobile device and any costs for cosmetic or technical extras.  Insurance, if purchased, is also the responsibility of the employee.

The College does not accept any liability for claims, charges or disputes between the service provider and the employee.

Recipients of the mobile device allowance must notify their department head and other employees as needed of the cellular phone number and must continue to maintain the mobile device while in receipt of the allowance.

A login password is strongly recommended for any device for which an employee receives a stipend.

No legally sensitive data such as social security numbers, credit card information or other personally identifiable information (PII) should be stored on the device. The employee is responsible for any sensitive College data that is placed on the device. All College policies regarding information security, acceptable use of electronic resources, and electronic account responsibilities apply to the use of such a device. For details go to the IT website and click on Policies in the left-­‐hand menu.

IT can support most mobile devices in connecting to the Amherst College wireless network and in using Amherst College email. It is important to note that in some cases access may not be possible due to device limitations, data security requirements and/or firewall settings. The stipend is only available for devices which can be used successfully to meet the business need.

An employee should set up a Find My Phone type of app to be used to lock and/or wipe clean a device should it be lost or stolen.

Use of the device in any manner contrary to local, state, or federal laws will constitute misuse, and will result in immediate termination of the mobile device allowance.

The College reserves the right to discontinue this program at its discretion with a 6 month notice to participants.