University Updates Travel Policy

Reimbursement of Travel Expenses, E-5-1 has been updated and attached for your review. The policy primarily was updated to address TRIP functionality and clarify areas certain compliance concerns.  

Please forward any comments/questions to Patty Brophy by 10/21/16. Another notification will be sent when policy published to the web.  

Substantive Changes

·        Added language about obtaining advance approval in department and the need to disclose if applicable plans to combine personal with business travel in both general policy section and traveler responsibility section.

·        Added language in traveler responsibility section to complete absence record.

·        Added requirement to register foreign travel in International Registry

·        Clarified travel dates are based upon business start and end dates in policy section, including examples.

·        Accountable plan section strengthened to explain reasonable time period to substantiate travel expenses. With TRIP, we will have ability to determine if a traveler has made timely substantiation and will have ability to tax if necessary. Our plans are to track information during 2016 and educate travelers. Taxation on reimbursed amounts not substantiated will not be enforced until early 2017.  Use of Procard and advance planning will greatly reduce the potential for any tax.

·        Multiple trips without an overnight stay must be reported on at least monthly basis.  Current policy has in procedures section option for a traveler to defer reimbursement for up to six months or until reimbursement $100, whichever occurs first. We have learned that individuals often don’t track ongoing basis and this is an areas of significant noncompliance. We have modified policy to require at least monthly reporting. 

·        Sponsored Project Accounting section, item C 3, will require the preparation of journal voucher if department wants to reimburse an employee using University rates on state grant. TRIP has edits to validate the appropriate per diem rate is used. The current manual process allows individual lines to be charged to different cost objects. TRIP allows multiple cost objects to be charged but on a percentage basis allocation rather than an identification for specific lines. This is a Uniform Guidance compliance issue which we had to address.

·        Deleted detail instructions in section on combining personal with business travel and instead linked to Travel Services webpage for instructions.

·        Actual lodging expenses will be paid for travel within United States, District of Columbia, Canada and US territories. Previously Canada wasn’t included but this is a change to support how handled for federal awards.

·        Foreign lodging continues to be reimbursed up to the OCONUS federal rate and TRIP will require any overage entered on separate line. Departments can approve up to 10% overage to address rate conversion changes but amounts greater than 10% are to still be approved in advance by exception.

·        All instructions on how to determine per diem rates deleted as TRIP will compute. Have created separate instructions page and added to AP webpage in case area needs ability during the transition period. ( Once the new policy published to web and earlier version taken down)

·        Subsistence is reimbursed using the rates established by federal government, based upon traveler’s destination for that date. TRIP will compute amount.  Previously per diem was based upon location of hotel for each date.

·        Added travel by faculty on sabbatical or non-contract periods requires advance approval on page 15.

E-5-2 Travel Advances and Repayments was also recently updated and published without comment period, due to its minor changes.