[Minor revision–posted 8/23/22 (replaces 8/24/20 edition)]
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Operating Policy and Procedure

OP 48.02: Legacy Telephones, Equipment, and Services

DATE: August 23, 2022

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) is to set forth a policy to govern legacy telephone services and related equipment for all Texas Tech University (TTU) campuses. This policy defines the requirements to help ensure availability, stability, and efficient operational management of these services. This policy applies to all students, employees, and guests who utilize the TTU legacy voice infrastructure. This policy does not cover Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, which is administered by the Office of the TTU Chief Information Officer (CIO) and governed by OP 52.03, Telecommunications Services.

REVIEW: This OP will be reviewed in May of even-numbered years by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for TTU System (TTUS) and the CIO for TTU.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

1.  The legacy voice infrastructure includes all TTU owned or leased equipment and related cabling utilized to support legacy voice services. This may include, but is not limited to, fiber optics and copper cabling, telephone handsets and accessories, voice mail servers, call center servers, blue light phones, elevator lines, and fax lines. Communication Services (CS) is responsible for planning, implementing, maintaining, modifying, upgrading, and terminating legacy telephone equipment and services on the infrastructure. Modifications to the legacy telephone infrastructure (including components purchased with grant funds) are prohibited without prior approval by CS. Problems experienced with any of these services should be reported to CS at 806.742.2000.

2.  CS maintains contracts with external vendors for the purposes of providing Public Switched Telephone Network access and additional voice-related services. All requests for goods and services through these contracts shall be made through CS. If a department's needs cannot be met by the existing infrastructure, CS will work with the department and outside vendors to develop effective and compatible alternatives. It is recommended that each department evaluate its communication needs during an emergency, power outage, or hazardous incident to ensure it has appropriate procedures and backup modes of communications in place.

3.  In accordance with agreed upon practices with Facilities Planning & Construction, CS shall be included during the requirements, design, and construction phases of all major construction projects. For work orders requiring modification or attachment to a TTU building or structure, CS will coordinate with Building Maintenance. All material, equipment, and labor charges for building modification or required changes to the legacy telephone infrastructure shall be billed to the requesting department.

4.  Non-business use of the TTU telephone systems (legacy or VoIP) that results in any direct cost to TTU is not allowed. Non-business use of a local telephone service is permitted as long as that use is of minimal duration, does not impede employee function, and does not result in additional cost to TTU. In the event that it is necessary for an employee to incur an additional charge from a TTU telephone for non-business use, a personal calling card, collect, or third-party charge should be used. If the non-business usage of telephone services results in a direct cost to TTU for any reason, it is the employee's responsibility to reimburse the cost to TTU. The use of the telephone system for private, commercial, or political purposes is strictly prohibited regardless of whether or not it results in an additional charge to TTU.

5.  The TTU and TTUS Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and CIOs will be responsible for formulating an annual communication fee for each department to cover the costs for providing base legacy and VoIP telephone services. The communication fee will be established each year prior to the budget prep cycle for the upcoming fiscal year. For non-base services such as circuits, university-owned cell phones, and satellite phones, the FOP/FOAP account manager will receive a monthly statement listing all equipment and services for his/her area of responsibility for the previous month. The account manager is responsible for reviewing the statement to ensure the accuracy of charges at published rates, detect billing errors and unauthorized telephone calls, and for maintaining telephone logs and records in accordance with state records retention requirements. Review must be complete and any unauthorized calls reimbursed by the employee within 30 days after reports are received.

OP Categories

01 Chancellor
02 Development
04 Audit Services
10 President
30 Academic and Student Affairs – General
32 Academic Policies – Faculty
34 Academic Policies – Students
36 Academic Programs
40 Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
48 Communication Services
52 Information Technology
60 Environmental Health and Safety
61 Facilities Management
62 Financial and Accounting
63 General Services
64 Graduate Programs (Faculty and Students)
65 Research Accounting
66 Libraries
67 Mail Services
68 Communications and Marketing
69 Payroll and Tax Services
70 Human Resources
72 Purchasing, Contracting, and Payables
74 Research
76 Security
77 Student Services and Registrar
78 Traffic and Parking
79 Travel
80 Vehicles