Reimbursement For Professional Memberships Policy - Northern Michigan University

Reimbursement Criteria

Northern Michigan University encourages membership in professional organizations and will consider reimbursement for such membership if the membership:

a.       is required for University or program accreditation or licensing, or by contract or other obligation, or

b.       provides information, contacts, or resources of value to the operation of the University whether or not an individual would also benefit from it, including memberships of use to multiple personnel in the department even if limited to a membership held in one individual’s name (the burden of establishing these rationales rest with the requestor), or

c.       is necessary for participation in an organization which benefits any University “customer” (i.e., students, Conference Center users, athletes, etc.) group.

Northern Michigan University will not consider imbursement for membership if the membership primarily:

a.       serves the value of keeping an individual up-to-date in his or her professional field, or

b.       allows a person to maintain a license, certification, etc. which is a prerequisite to his or her position.

Membership Category

Memberships shall be categorized as follows:

1.       University Membership:  University memberships are those for which the University pays and is named as the member for the membership.  An individual or an organization within or outside of Northern Michigan University may request the University to become as member of a particular association, affiliation, agency, fellowship, or society.

2.       Administrative Subdivision Membership:  Administrative subdivision memberships are those for which an administrative subdivision is named as the member and the University pays for the membership.

3.       Individual Memberships:  On occasion, access to benefits of membership in an association, affiliation, agency, fellowship, or society are available only through individual memberships, and yet the benefits of such a membership accrue primarily to the University.  On these occasions the University may reimburse the individual for membership dues and/or expenses associated with membership.

Approval Procedure

In those situations where University membership is being considered, all applications, prior to submittal, must be approved by the President of the University.  Application material and supporting documentation about the organization will be submitted through the respective University Vice President who will include their recommendation for membership to the President.  The cost of an approved University membership will be paid from the University dues account.

Applications for subdivision or individual membership must be approved by the appropriate department head or director.  The cost of an approved administrative subdivision or individual membership will be paid from the appropriate departmental account.