Voice/Telephone

UW-Madison Telephone Usage Policy

The State Telephone System (STS) for long distance on centrex lines and University-owned cellular telephones are to be used for calls that are primarily University business. Personal use is not a permitted practice, even if reimbursement is subsequently made to the University by the individual. Unavoidable personal calls are to be made using a personal calling card or credit card, as a collect call, billed directly to the individual's home telephone number, or from a pay telephone. There is a charge for calls to directory assistance made from an office telephone. Therefore, directory assistance calls should be limited to those that are essential. Employees should be judicious and not make excessive use of their telephones for personal purposes, including local calls. You should make certain that all faculty, staff, and students are informed of the policies regarding use of the telephone system and the policies should be communicated in the orientation provided to new employees.

Each department is responsible for monitoring the use of telephones under its jurisdiction; however, the specific procedures you use may vary depending on your situation. You should make certain that adequate procedures have been established and are being followed. You should also remind department personnel that long distance calls are to be made by dialing "8-1", the area code, and the number being called; they should NOT dial "9-1", area code and number. International calls should be made by dialing "8-011", country code, city code and local telephone number. Toll free calls (800, 888, 877, 866, etc.) should be made by dialing "9-1", 800 (or 888, 877, 866, etc), number.

All policies for desktop telephones also apply to the use of UW-Madison-owned cellular telephones. Per minute charges apply on all cellular usage, even campus and local calls. Since each department is responsible for monitoring the use of its own telephones, departments may wish to encourage the use of desktop telephones rather than cellular whenever possible.

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) distributes monthly telephone usage reports listing all long distance telephone calls and all cellular usage. These reports should be used to screen for questionable telephone use. Where it has not already been done, a specific individual in the department should be assigned responsibility for coordinating the review of telephone usage reports. If questionable calls are noted, it is the department's obligation to check them out in detail and take necessary corrective action if abuse is verified. Proper use of the system depends upon the efforts made at the departmental level.

Revised January, 2002 by DoIT Voice Services.