ROWAN UNIVERSITY POLICY
Title: Travel Policy
Subject: Accounts Payable
Policy No: Fin: 2015:05
Applies: University-Wide
Issuing Authority: President
Responsible Officer: Senior Vice President for Finance and CFO
Adopted: 12/12/2016
Last Revision:
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7/
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10/
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2023
Last Reviewed:
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7/
...
10/
...
2023
I. PURPOSE
This policy sets forth expenses that are reimbursable by the University for transportation, meals, lodging, registration fees, and miscellaneous items while traveling on official University business.
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- Airline Travel
- Airfares should always be the lowest discounted or economy fare available. Reservations should be made sufficiently in advance to obtain the lowest or most reasonable fare.
- Airfare may be booked online using the Concur website or by calling the contracted travel management company (TMC).
- Airfare: Business Class, First Class and Premium Economy Class travel is reimbursable only with advance written approval from one of the following: President, Provost, Sr. Vice President, Divisional Vice President or Dean and when the scheduled flight time, including stopovers and change of planes, is in excess of 14 hours. For SOM campus, the Department Head may authorize/approve exceptions to the airfare class.
- Upgrades, as described above, are only allowed for non-group travel.
- Flights funded through grants may be subject to the Fly America Act or other restrictions. The Fly America Act is a federal regulation that requires the use of U.S. carriers for travel that will be reimbursed from federal grants and contracts. Travelers who will be reimbursed from federal grants and contracts can also use foreign air carriers with code-sharing agreements with U.S. flag carriers. If traveling with or using funds from a federal grant, refer to the Fly America Act or contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.
- Reimbursement may exceed the lowest fare only if seats are unavailable at the lowest fare or if travel at a higher fare will result in a material cost savings to the University or material timesaving to the traveler, as approved in advance. A documented medical condition will be considered for an exception to these rules.
- Expenses for necessary additional days may be requested if the total costs of the reduced fare plus the additional days' expenses are less than the lowest available fare would have been without the additional days of travel. An explanation for the cost savings to the University must be clearly noted on the Expense Report.
- Train Travel
- Train travel may be booked online using the Concur website or by calling the contracted travel management company (TMC).
- Travel on Acela trains is not permitted except under special circumstances that must be approved in advance by one of the following: President, Provost, Sr. Vice President, Divisional Vice President or Dean. For SOM campus the Department Head may authorize/approve Acela train travel.
- Taxicabs and Shuttle Service
- Charges for taxi, Uber, Lyft and airline shuttle service, including tips at a reasonable market rate of the charge, are reimbursable when other modes of travel are not available or practical.
- Unless properly justified, claims for taxi or shuttle service should be limited to the rate for the regularly scheduled airport or shuttle service.
- Expenses incurred must coincide with the business purpose, performance of official duties and relate to conducting authorized University matters.
- Privately Owned Vehicles
- Employees may use their private vehicles for official University business. Mileage reimbursement will be made at the prevailing IRS business rate. If a personal automobile is used for business purposes, individuals will be reimbursed for miles incurred in excess of daily commute. Note: When using Concur, the Mileage Calculator will round the miles driven to the nearest whole number. The personal mileage reimbursement covers all costs related to the operation of the vehicle, including service, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and gas. Travel between campuses and offsite locations must be authorized in advance by the traveler's supervisor. The supervisor should evaluate what mode of transportation and reimbursement is appropriate given the nature of the assignment. Transportation and reimbursement options are subject to budget availability of the department, and the optimal time and budgetary trade-off for transportation services. Mileage should always be calculated using the route of shortest distance.
- Students/Non-Employees are required to submit driving directions using Google Maps which provides a Google Mileage summary. This one page summary condenses all the necessary information to comply with this policy.
- The Google Mileage Summary should be the supporting documentation for each Day Travel Expense Form, Domestic / International Travel Request Form, and Travel Expense Form. In addition, the Google Mileage Summary is the ONLY supporting documentation accepted by Accounts Payable. Mileage should always be calculated using the route of shortest distance.
- Reimbursement for travel outside of the State shall be permitted when such arrangements prove to be more efficient and economical than other forms of public transportation.
- Travel assignments, where such assignments are on a regularly recurring basis, and it is inappropriate to designate the faculty or staff member's home as the official work station, reimbursement shall be on the basis of total travel cost from home to the temporary work station or from the official work station to the temporary work station, whichever is less.
- In certain cases, where faculty or staff members normally work on field assignments, but do have regular or periodic requirements to report to an official work station, it may be appropriate to designate the faculty or staff member's home as an alternate official work station for all travel except to the primary official station. In such instances, the faculty or staff member will be reimbursed on the basis of total travel cost from home, except that travel from home to the primary official work station shall not be reimbursable.
- Travel on weekends or holidays to a temporary official work station is reimbursable from the faculty or staff member's home. For the most common scenarios, see attachment number 13.
- Day Travel Expense Reports should be submitted at the end of each month. Submission deadline for Day Travel is 45 days after the end of each month. Failure to observe this deadline could lead to denial of reimbursement.
- A standard set of pre-calculated miles has been created for the driving distance between the three University campuses. This eliminates the need to provide a Google Mileage Summary as these locations have been predetermined. For a list of the pre-calculated miles between campuses, please see Attachment 13.
- Automobile Rental
- Automobile rentals may be permitted under extenuating circumstances where commercial transportation facilities are not available or their use is impractical. A justification outlining the expected cost savings to the University must be provided. Especially if the rental vehicle is less expensive than other modes of transportation or when there is no other means of transportation available.
- The President, Provost, Senior Vice President, Divisional Vice President, or Dean must approve the car rental prior to the trip. For SOM campus, the Department Head may authorize/approve use of an automobile rental.
- Approved justification letter must be attached to the travel request form. In Concur, complete the field “Reason for Car Rental” under the Car Segment.
- If the anticipated use of a rental will be sufficiently long enough to justify a weekly rate over a daily rate, then a weekly rate should be booked.
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Please note - To avoid delays in reimbursement, Students/Non-Employees must include directions from Google Maps so mileage calculations can be verified using the shortest route. The Google Mileage Summary provided by Google Maps is the ONLY supporting document accepted by Accounts Payable. To remain in compliance, always submit the Google Mileage Summary with the following forms: Day Travel Expense, Domestic / International Travel Request and Travel Expense.
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Please note - To avoid delays in reimbursement, Students/Non-Employees must include directions from Google Maps so mileage calculations can be verified using the shortest route. The Google Mileage Summary provided by Google Maps is the ONLY supporting document accepted by Accounts Payable. To remain in compliance, always submit the Google Mileage Summary with the following forms: Day Travel Expense, Domestic / International Travel Request and Travel Expense.
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