Individual Travel

Fill out the Request to travel for a team contest/ recruiting/ or individual form and give it to the Athletic Business Manager for approval. If recruiting is involved in the trip, the Compliance Coordinator must approve it as well. Once the trip has been approved, the account clerk will assign a trip number to the form. The traveler will then fax the form to the travel agency and give the original copy back to the account clerk. The account clerk will determine if a form 17 is required based on the information provided. If a form 17 is required the traveler's signature must sign the form. The traveler is responsible for working the details of the trip out with the travel agency.

Other than registration fees (prepaid by the Account Clerk) and airfares (prepaid by P-Card) all other expenses are to be initially paid by the traveler and reimbursed after the fact. Convention and other registration fees require a copy of the brochure and can be paid in advance by the University.

No direct billing of travel expenses - Policies of the university and outside funding sources typically require that public employees pick up their own expenses and be reimbursed afterwards. Direct billing could subject the university to unallowable expenses.

Payment of your expenses only - payments made on behalf of someone other than the traveler are impossible to track for reporting and auditing purposes and leave University accounts vulnerable to fraudulent claims.

Provide detailed purpose of travel - detail is required so that trips can be linked to the goals and guidelines of the funding account and thereby facilitate responsible stewardship of university-managed funds.

Original receipts - provide proof that travel actually took place and that no other institution is paying any portion of the travel costs reimbursed through the University.

Subsistence - guidelines apply to all accounts and are set by the State Board of Accounts. Even when contract and grant account guidelines are more generous than state guidelines, the state guidelines must be applied.

Original itemized hotel bills - reimbursements are for single room rate or for the prorated amount if the room was shared with a non-university traveler (i.e. spouse). Requiring payment of the single room rate ensures that each traveler is paid only for his or her portion of the room. Paying lodging separately avoids the confusion of accidental duplication of payment. Lodging receipts must show the bill was paid and include the following: name of company on official letterhead, name(s) of person(s) staying the room, dates, room rate/tax and address/phone number of the hotel.

Mileage computation - Mileage reimbursment rates apply to all personal vehicle use.

University vehicles - to use a university vehicle inform the Account Clerk of: dates of use, departure and return time, destination, and purpose (recruiting, scouting, etc.) Do this as soon as your schedule is set as there are limited numbers of vehicles and you will want to reserve your use early.

Official workstation - the address to which the reimbursement check is mailed is assumed to be the official workstation unless otherwise noted. In most cases, payment of mileage from home is inappropriate since employees are normally expected to cover the costs associated with getting to the office.

Signature of Traveler on Reimbursements - facsimile and photocopied signatures are not accepted, nor signatures by delegates. Since the reimbursement request is a personal attestation, the traveler must sign for himself or herself.

Meal deductions - Subsistence is intended to cover actual expenses incurred for meals. When meals are provided by an external agency or person or included in registration fees they must be deducted from the allowance.

Out of State Authorization - prior authorization is required for any trips outside the state of Indiana. Prior authorization helps protect the traveler in case of accident and stipulates approved funding so that the traveler's financial liability is limited. Inform the Account Clerk of: dates of use, departure and return time, destination, and purpose (recruiting, scouting, etc.) with the Request to travel for a team contest/ recruiting/ or individual form as much in advance as you can. One exception has been made for athletics. If you are recruiting out of state and air travel is not involved you may submit your completed Request to Recruit form in place of Request to travel for a team contest/ recruiting/ or individual form.

Return to Athletic Business Manual

Copyright © 2002 Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Send comments and corrections on this web site to Tim Heffron

Revised: October 28, 2004
URL: http://users.ipfw.edu/heffron/indtravel.html