Body
Overview
UNLV maintains a centrally managed OpenAI API organization for approved institutional projects.
Faculty, staff, and sponsored student researchers may request access for university-related work. Access is granted per project, with an approved usage limit and billing source.
UNLV IT provides technical administration and centralized billing. Project owners are responsible for funding, monitoring usage, and ensuring compliance.
Who Can Request Access
Eligible Requestors
Student Participation
- Students may participate only under faculty or staff sponsorship.
- A full-time employee sponsor must submit the request and serve as the project owner. Students may not submit requests directly.
- Student API use may not be for production systems.
How to Request Access
Step 1: Submit an OpenAI API Project Request
Submit the OpenAI API Project Request form to request access, including:
- Project name and description
- Project type (research, instructional, administrative, pilot)
- Expected project duration
- Project team members (including faculty sponsor for students)
- Data classification and confirmation that restricted data will not be submitted
- Third-party tools or integrations (if applicable)
- Requested project usage limit (USD)
- Billing source (must be a grant or department funding source. Personal credit cards are not permitted for institutional projects.)
About Usage Limits (Important)
Every OpenAI API project has a project usage limit, expressed in U.S. dollars. This limit represents the maximum amount of OpenAI API usage allowed for the project.
Project owners are responsible for actively monitoring usage.
How to Estimate Your Usage
If you are unsure how much usage to request, start small. Many projects require far less usage than expected.
As a general guideline:
- Pilot or testing projects: $50–$100
- Active semester-long projects: $250–$500
- High-usage or grant-funded projects: $1,000+
Usage depends on which model you use, how often the API is called, and the size of inputs and outputs. You can request an increase later if needed.
Step 2: Review and Approval
Requests are reviewed by UNLV IT for data risk, policy alignment, appropriateness for OpenAI-hosted APIs, and availability of an approved billing source. Approval is based on the use case, not the individual.
Step 3: Project Setup and Access
Access to the OpenAI API organization is managed by UNLV IT. Once a project is approved, UNLV IT will create the project, set the usage limit, and add approved members.
Project owners may request that additional team members be added using the Add OpenAI API Member form.
Billing
OpenAI API usage is billed based on consumption. UNLV maintains a central billing account, and costs are recovered via IDR to the approved funding source.
Monitoring Usage
Project owners are responsible for monitoring API usage. If you exceed your quota, API calls will fail immediately and applications will stop working.
To request additional usage, please submit an IT Help Desk ticket.
OpenAI Restrictions
Users must follow all NSHE and campus policies. Additionally, users cannot use personal accounts for institutional projects, add personal credit cards, or submit restricted data without approval.
ChatGPT vs OpenAI APIs (Quick Clarification)
ChatGPT access is not the same as OpenAI API access. You do not need a ChatGPT license to use the API. APIs are intended for applications, scripts, integrations, and automated workflows.
For questions, contact the IT Help Desk.