Pott College Vehicle Use

The Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education has a small vehicle pool available for class field trips and field research. College owned vehicles are provided for official Pott College business only. Reservation eligibility is contingent upon completion of policy standard requirements.

The purpose of the Pott College Vehicle Policy is to ensure the safe operation of the vehicles used in accomplishing the Pott College mission. The Policy will also delineate procedures for reserving and maintaining the Pott College fleet.

This policy is intended to supplement existing University of Southern Indiana Policies on fleet operations, field trips, and travel. In the event of conflicting information, the more restrictive requirements should be met. Individual departments within the Pott College may supplement this document with their own policies that are more restrictive. This policy applies to all operations with the Pott College vehicles, even if driven by University employees who are not part of the college.

Failure to adhere to this policy could result in loss of driving privileges with the vehicles. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Dean of Pott College or designate.

DRIVERS OF POTT COLLEGE VEHICLES MUST: 

1. Be faculty/staff or faculty sponsored student of Pott College (some exceptions apply for external reservations).
2. Be a USI Authorized Driver or a student driver traveling with a USI Authorized Driver.
3. Read and be familiar with the following policies:
   - Pott College Vehicle Policy
   - Pott College Authorized Driver Policy
   - USI Vehicle Safety Policy
   - Risk Management's Vehicle Accident Reporting Procedures

BECOMING AN AUTHORIZED DRIVER:

Authorized Driver training for faculty and staff must be completed at least 2 weeks before trip. Please fill out the Potential Driver Request Form (Self) to get started.

1. This training is online and takes about 45 minutes to complete.
2. Risk Management will send a notification email when everything is processed to let you know that you are an Authorized Driver.
3. Forward that notification email from Risk Management to the Administrative Associate in the Dean’s Office.

 Student Drivers

1. Student drivers only need to become a USI Authorized Driver if you anticipate they will be driving 5 or more times per academic year.
2. It is the responsibility of the supervising faculty or staff to make sure that the student driver has a current driver's license with them before departing on any trip.
3. If the student will be driving frequently and needs to become authorized, supervising faculty or staff should send the name and ID number of the student(s) to the Administrative Associate in the Dean's Office.
4. If the student is not already an Authorized Driver, the Dean’s Office will begin the process for getting the student authorized by filling out a request with Risk Management. This will prompt an email to be sent to the student asking them to complete the training and MVR request.

MAKING RESERVATIONS

Reservation requests will be made through the vehicle reservation page. Requests for vehicles will be processed through the Pott College Dean’s Office. Students are not allowed to fill out this form. You will receive email notification when your request has been through the approval process. Your vehicle reservation is not final until you receive confirmation from the Dean's office.  An inspection of the Pott College vehicle will take place after each usage. 

VEHICLE USAGE

Vehicle keys will only be released to faculty or staff. They come with a packet that contains a Vehicle Usage Form. These are to be filled out by supervising faculty or staff, not student drivers. Previous drivers sometimes leave the vehicle display on Trip A, Trip B, etc. Please make sure to write down the actual odometer readings, not the Trip mileage. 

FUEL

Fuel for Pott College vehicles should now be included on all travel authorization requests. Fuel purchases should be made using your travel card not the credit card included in the vehicle packet. *Some exceptions may exist for local travel. Speak with office staff in the Dean's Office when you pick up your travel packet if you are not sure which card to use. Please fill up gas tank before returning vehicle.