Abbreviated Travel Guidelines
Policies and Procedures
You may view the travel policy online.
Please contact either Teresa or CJ if you need further clarification.
Guest Traveler
A guest traveler is a person who needs to be reimbursed for travel expenses by The University of Tennessee, but who has had no previous association with UT (does not have a personnel number).
Examples of possible guest travelers include an applicant interviewing for a position, a student being recruited for an academic program, a guest speaker/lecturer, a member of an advisory committee, and a student traveling for the university (possibly attending a conference) who is not an employee.
A guest traveler worksheet must be sent to the guest either electronically or by mail. If the traveler is requesting that airfare be direct-billed to the Law School, he/she must provide date of birth and entire name as listed on the ID they will use to check into the airport. We can also make hotel accomodation reservations to be direct-billed to the Law School. Please contact either Teresa or CJ if you need assistance with this.
Travel Request Form
Travel Request Form must be completed and approved prior to trip. The Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Chris Cimino, requires a concise explanation that speaks to the business purpose of the trip and should state the “what” and “why” very clearly. Explanation of trip must include details of benefits to the College and the University. Email approval from Dean Blaze does not preclude the completion of the form. Estimate of expenses should be included on the Travel Request.
Registration Fees
Registration Fees can be paid in advance by the College if the completed registration form is submitted to the Business Office at least two weeks prior to the deadline for registration. Persons paying registration themselves must obtain an itemized receipt, which can be submitted for reimbursement upon return from the trip.
Hotel Reservations
Hotel Reservations must be made by the traveler using their credit card to confirm reservations. Hotel per diems are based on rates published by the U.S. General Services Administration (CONUS). The CONUS rates applicable for all cities can be found at the U.S. General Services Administration web site. Select per diem rates under Travel Services for per diems by city and state for lodging. If staying in a designated conference hotel, documentation must be included with your Travel Expense Report that provides this information. Original hotel receipt must include name of the traveler, the daily room charge, applicable tax and total charges, and indicate a zero balance. A maximum hotel check-in and baggage handling fee of $5.00 will be allowed at each check-in.
To expedite reimbursements and minimize staff time in locating rates within the CONUS schedules, World Travel (the university's designated travel agency) can assist travelers to secure CONUS rates. In the event World Travel cannot secure a CONUS rate for a trip, a World Travel consultant will document that a CONUS rate is not available and the rate booked is the lowest rate available at the time of the booking. The documentation will be in the form of an email and must be attached to the reimbursement request along with the hotel receipt.
Transportation
Reimbursement for travel will be based upon the most direct or expeditious route possible. Employees traveling by an indirect route must assume any extra expense incurred. As an example, if you elect to drive to Florida rather than fly and cost of mileage is greater than lowest available flight cost 21 days prior to trip, you will only be reimbursed the amount of the airfare. You must furnish supporting documentation. If travel is to an event that other faculty members attend, we will use lowest airfare cost from their tickets as a basis of camparison. It is the responsibility of the employee to be familiar with and adhere to established travel policies. In-route expenses are limited to one day each way.
Air Travel is limited to standard coach fare. Employees must purchase their own airline ticket and are encouraged to work through the University's Designated Travel Agency Program, World Travel (Kim Money - 777-1680). Acceptable receipts for airfare reimbursement must contain passenger name, dates of travel, complete trip itinerary, amount and method of payment, name of airline, and class of service (Coach or economy or letters W, S, Q, L, etc). Employees may be reimbursed for non-refundable and international airline tickets before the departure date by submitting receipt to the Business Office with a completed Travel Expense Report.
Baggage Fee charges for first checked bag will be reimbursed with proper receipt from airline.
Personal Travel Combined with Business Travel if Change in Destination
If the traveler is combining personal time with business travel and a change of destination occurs, reimbursement will be based on the cost of fare to and from the location of the business travel for the dates of travel specifically for the event. To document what that cost would be, purchase the ticket for the full trip, then obtain a quote on the same day from the same source for what the business portion would have been, and include the printed quote with the documentation for your expense report. Quotes obtained after the date the ticket was purchased are not considered sufficient support.
University-owned Automobile should be used for travel within driving distance whenever possible. A gasoline card is provided and gas will be included with the car rental which is direct-billed to the department. A vehicle may be reserved by calling Motor Pool (974-2134) and the reservation form may be completed and printed from the website. Completed form should be brought to the Business Office for approvals.
Personally Owned Automobile may be used for official travel provided the university will incur no additional expense above that of other available transportation. Mileage will be reimbursed at $.47 per mile. (Rate may change depending upon CONUS rates.) Number of miles should be documented by MapQuest.com, trip meter, or odometer readings.
Automobile Rental at Domestic Destination - please contact the Business Office for detailed information. The university has contracted with National and Enterprise car rentals.
National/Enterprise
The University has partnered with National and Enterprise to service your car rental needs. To obtain these rates you will need to use the corporate discount code XZ56187. To take full advantage of this partnershipit is recommended that you enroll in their Emerald Club program which is offered for free to Univesity Employees. To view the current University contract rates, enroll in Emerald Club or reserve a car just click on the links below.
To enroll with Emerald Club: https://www.nationalcar.com/offer/XZ56187
Rent a Car with National or Enterprise: http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/deeplinkmap.do?bid=028&refid=UTB
Meal Allowances
The maximum allowance for meals will be in accordance with the rates published by the U.S. General Services Administration (CONUS). The CONUS rates applicable for all cities can be found at the U.S. General Services Administration web site (http://gsa.gov). Select per diem rates under Travel Services for per diems by city and state for meals. Meal receipts are not required.
Reimbursement for meals for the day or departure and return will be calculated on the number of hours the traveler is in travel status.
Day of Departure
| Time of Departure | Hours in Travel Status | % of Per Diem |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 – 5:59 | 18:01 – 24:00 | 100 |
| 6:00 – 11:59 | 12:01 – 18:00 | 75 |
| 12:00 – 17:59 | 6:01 – 12:00 | 50 |
| 18:00 – 23:59 | 0:01 – 6:00 | 25 |
Day of Return
| Time of Return | Hours in Travel Status | % of Per Diem |
|---|---|---|
| 0:01 – 6:00 | 0:01 – 6:00 | 25 |
| 6:01 – 12:00 | 6:01 – 12:00 | 50 |
| 12:01 – 18:00 | 12:01 – 18:00 | 75 |
| 18:01 – 24:00 | 18:01 – 24:00 | 100 |
If any meal is provided as part of a sponsored training session, conference, or entertainment, the employee should deduct the cost of that meal(s) from the per diem for that day.
Meal Allowance for One-Day Trips
Reimbursement for a single meal (or meals) for employees on one-day travel status with no overnight stay is not permitted and no reimbursement will be provided.
Parking Fees
Charges for routine parking while on travel status will be reimbursed. Receipts must be furnished for parking fees of $50 or more. Parking sites and purposes must be identified on the Travel Expense Report.
Taxi Fare
If an individual travels by common carrier, reasonable taxi, bus, or limousine charges to and from airports can be reimbursed. Reasonable taxi fares will also be allowed for travel between lodging and meeting sites and to and from restaurants. Receipts are required for expenses of $50 or more for taxis, limousines, and other types of ground transportation. Regardless of the amount of the fare, the destination and reason for each fare reimbursement claimed must be listed on the Travel Expense Report.
Telephone Calls
Charges for business related local and long distance telephone calls made on official travel are allowed. The Travel Expense Report must list the name and location of each party called, date of the call, and purpose of the call. An explanation for the charge must be provided on the Travel Expense Report.
Tips
Tips are considered a reimbursable expense for meals and taxi service and should be based upon the level of service, but should not exceed twenty percent (total before taxes).
Reimbursement Procedures
Employees should submit claims for reimbursement for travel expenses no later than thirty (30) days after completion of travel. Reimbursement per diem amounts (meals, lodging, and mileage) can be found at the GSA website. Please complete the Travel Expense Report and attach all required original receipts to the form. Original itemized receipts must be submitted with the signed Travel Expense Report for all expenditures of $50 or more. This form should be submitted to the Business Office as soon as possible after return from your trip. Once the Travel Expense Report has been submitted and approved by the Treasurers Office, direct deposit reimbursement should occur within 10-14 days. Traveler will receive an email notification when reimbursement is to be deposited.