Policy handbook
Copy, edit and adopt. Adjust the limits to your own spend history before rollout.
1.0Purpose and scope
This policy governs travel and business expenses for faculty, staff, student employees and invited guests whose costs are paid by the university from any fund source, including state appropriations, tuition, gifts, endowment income and sponsored awards. It meets IRS accountable plan rules and, for federally sponsored work, Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200). Where sponsor terms are stricter than this policy, the sponsor's terms apply.
2.0Roles and approvals
Department chairs approve faculty travel, and the department business manager checks fund availability and coding. The principal investigator approves travel charged to a sponsored award, and the sponsored programs office confirms allowability. Deans approve their chairs' expenses, and the provost approves deans' expenses. Accounts Payable reviews every report before payment. No one may approve their own expenses.
3.0Faculty conferences and professional development
Faculty may attend conferences to present research, serve in professional roles or maintain expertise, funded by the department up to $975 in registration per conference and by research or professional development accounts beyond that. Employees should register at early rates and stay at the conference hotel or a lower-cost option. Personal days added before or after a conference are allowed when the airfare is no higher.
4.0Grant-funded travel
Travel charged to a sponsored award must be necessary for the project, consistent with the approved budget and the sponsor's terms, and treated the same way as travel on other fund sources. Foreign air travel on federal funds must use U.S. flag carriers as the Fly America Act requires, unless a documented exception applies. Alcohol, entertainment and gifts are never charged to sponsored awards.
5.0Student travel
Trips involving students, including athletics, competitions, field courses and conferences, need an approved itinerary, a responsible faculty or staff leader and a roster filed with risk management before departure. Group meals and lodging are booked by the trip leader and paid on the university card where possible. Cash advances for student group meals must be reconciled with a signed roster and receipts after the trip.
6.0Recruiting and candidate visits
The university will pay for faculty and senior staff candidates' airfare, lodging and meals during campus visits, booked through the department. Meals with candidates are reimbursed up to $62 per attendee, with no more than three university hosts at dinner. Spouse or partner travel is paid only for finalist visits approved by the dean. Candidate expense reimbursements need receipts, as for employees.
7.0Lodging and meals
Travelers are reimbursed for a standard room up to the GSA locality rate, plus taxes, or the conference hotel rate when noted on the report. Meals and incidentals are paid at the GSA M&IE rate, at 75% on the first and last days and reduced for provided meals. Per diem does not need meal receipts, but each day must show date, place and purpose.
8.0Alcohol and entertainment
Alcohol is never reimbursable when students are present or from sponsored awards, state funds or tuition revenue. Alumni, donor and advancement events may include alcohol from gift funds with dean approval, and a licensed vendor must serve it. Entertainment is nondeductible for taxable activities under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and is unallowable on federal awards, so it is always coded separately.
9.0Ground transport and mileage
Travelers should use transit, standard ride-share or university fleet vehicles. Personal vehicle use is reimbursed at the IRS standard mileage rate, logged by date, destination and purpose. Student groups larger than six must travel in fleet vans driven by certified drivers or by chartered transport. Commute miles between home and campus are personal, and parking fines are never reimbursable.
10.0Personal and mixed expenses
Personal expenses, including companion travel, upgrades and in-room entertainment, are not reimbursable. When a trip combines business and personal days, the university pays only the costs of the business itinerary and the traveler must document the comparison. Visa fees for personal travel, passport renewals not required for university business and personal cell phone plans are not reimbursable.
11.0Receipts, timing and returning excess
Expenses must be submitted within 60 days after they are paid or incurred, with amount, date, place, business purpose and fund for each line. Itemized receipts are required for all lodging, any expense of $75 or more and any sponsored award expense of $25 or more. Advances are issued no more than 30 days before travel, and unspent amounts must be returned within 120 days after the expense was paid or incurred.
12.0Audit, pushback and consequences
Accounts Payable reviews every report, and every flag raised by audit software is reviewed by a person, such as alcohol charged to a sponsored award or a conference hotel above the documented rate. The software may draft clarification requests citing this policy, but the department business manager or AP approves each message before it is sent. Repeated violations are referred to the dean and may lead to discipline.
Recommended limits
| Category | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic hotel (per night) | Lower of GSA locality rate or actual; conference hotel allowed with note | Sponsored awards follow the sponsor's terms when stricter. |
| International hotel (per night) | State Department locality lodging rate | Field research stays over 30 days may use local rentals with the chair's approval. |
| Daily meals (traveling) | GSA M&IE rate for the locality; 75% on travel days | Conference-provided meals reduce M&IE. |
| Client meal (per attendee) | $62 for donor, partner and candidate meals | Paid from unrestricted or gift funds, never from sponsored awards. |
| Domestic airfare | Lowest available economy fare | Bags for research equipment are reimbursable with receipts. |
| International airfare | Economy; U.S. flag carrier on federally funded trips (Fly America Act) | Open skies agreement exceptions must be documented in the trip file. |
| Ground transport | Transit, standard ride-share or university fleet vans | Student groups over six people must use fleet vans or chartered transport. |
| Personal vehicle mileage | IRS standard mileage rate | Fleet vehicles are preferred for trips over 300 miles round trip. |
| Alcohol | Never with students or on sponsored funds; gift funds only with dean approval | Alumni and donor events follow the advancement office budget. |
| Conference registration | $975 per conference from department funds; higher from grants if budgeted | Early registration rates are expected. |
| Receipt required at | $25 on sponsored funds; $75 (IRS threshold) otherwise | Sponsored research audits test small items. |
IRS Accountable Plan clauses
Keep these in the handbook so reimbursements stay excluded from wages under IRC § 62(c) and Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2.
- A1The university reimburses only expenses with a business connection to services the employee performs for the university, as Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2 requires for an accountable plan.
- A2Meals and incidentals paid at or below federal per diem rates are deemed substantiated as to amount when the traveler records time, place and business purpose, consistent with Rev. Proc. 2019-48.
- A3All other expenses must be substantiated with amount, time, place and business purpose within 60 days after they are paid or incurred, meeting the fixed-date safe harbor in Treas. Reg. § 1.62-2(g)(2).
- A4Itemized documentary evidence is required for every lodging expense and any other expenditure of $75 or more, as Treas. Reg. § 1.274-5(c)(2)(iii) provides.
- A5Advances exceeding substantiated expenses, including student group meal advances, must be returned within 120 days after the expense is paid or incurred, and unreturned amounts are included in the employee's W-2 wages.
Common pitfalls in higher education
- Booking a faculty member on a foreign carrier for grant-funded travel with no documented exception. The airfare may be disallowed and moved back to department funds.
- Issuing a cash advance for a student team trip and never reconciling it. Unreconciled advances to the employee who held them can become taxable wages.
- Charging a candidate dinner with alcohol to a research award. Recruiting meals and alcohol both belong on unrestricted or gift funds.
- Treating travel on a grant differently from identical travel on department funds. Federal cost principles expect consistent treatment regardless of fund source.
- Ignoring sponsor terms that are stricter than university policy. Some sponsors cap per diem or prohibit certain costs, and the stricter rule controls.
Questions
Yes. The university pays the airfare it would have paid for the conference dates alone, plus lodging and per diem for conference days. If the round trip including personal days costs $612.40 and the conference-only fare was $588.90, the traveler is reimbursed $588.90. Keep the fare comparison in the report. Lodging and meals on personal days are the traveler's own cost.
Yes, from department or gift funds, up to the candidate meal limit of $62 per attendee, with the prospective students named on the report. Alcohol is not reimbursable at these meals because students are present. Recruiting meals cannot be charged to sponsored awards, even if the student would join that project, because recruiting is not a direct project cost.
Usually no. The trip leader pays for group lodging, transport and meals on the university card or through an advance and submits one report with the signed roster. Students who pay their own costs on an approved trip, such as a solo conference presentation, submit through the student reimbursement form with the same receipt rules as employees.
The office confirms that the trip is necessary for the project and within the approved budget, that rates follow this policy and the sponsor's terms, and that foreign air travel on federal funds meets the Fly America Act or has a documented exception. It also checks that no alcohol, entertainment or personal costs are included before the charge posts to the award.