Instruments are available on a fee-for-use basis. Instrument usage fees will be charged for any purpose, including research, tours, demonstrations, and student use during laboratory courses. Unassisted user fees will be charged for unsupervised use of the instruments. Assisted usage fees will be charged for instrument use by KPIF staff to fulfill service requests or training new users on the instruments.
The user rates for equipment and services are established in accordance with UMBC’s policy on Service Units, and are reviewed and approved by UMBC’s Cost Accounting & Analysis office. Rates are reviewed annually, and new rates are effective around the beginning of each fiscal year.
Billing
Instrument usage and services are billed in arrears, and billing is processed approximately two weeks after the end of each month.
UMBC users: Chart string information will be requested the first time a PI is billed for instrument usage, and the chart string will be verified as valid or active for subsequent billing. However, it is the PI’s responsibility to make sure the instrument usage is charged to the correct chart string for each billing, and to provide an updated chart string if a new or different account needs to be charged for a particular request for work or services.
External (non-UMBC) users: Non-UMBC users need to provide the phone number, email, and address of the business contact person in the accounts payable department of their organization as well as their organization’s federal Tax Identification Number (TIN).