When paying a student, it is important to ensure the payment has been classified correctly in order to satisfy compliance requirements with federal and state regulations, IU policies and donor intent.
At Indiana University, there are only four acceptable ways to provide funds to students. It is important to understand which method is correct for each set of circumstances in order to facilitate accurate treatment and reporting for both the student and the university. In the order of prevalence of use, the methods are:
- Student Information System (SIS)
Awards to support the student's direct cost of education-related expenses (generally scholarships/fellowships, grants). - Human Resource Management System (HRMS)
Compensation for services performed; employment. - IU Travel & Expense System (Chrome River and/or SIS)
Reimbursement or pre-payment when a student travels on behalf of IU (for university business), or for their own educational or developmental benefit, alone or as part of a group. When travel is not for IU business, funds provided are also recorded in the SIS. - Buy.IU Check Request
Used rarely, for such unusual circumstances payment of a cash prize in a contest not restricted to students, or non-IU students participating in IU programs with IU funding.
It is not appropriate to circumvent these systems to provide compensation or other funding through other means, for example, by crediting a student's Crimson Card or by giving them a guest card.
This document will assist users in determining the nature of a payment and how to make the payment correctly. The decision tree on the next page illustrates basic rules for characterizing payments, recipients and intent in a way that leads you to the correct payment method.