Scope

This policy applies to all Faculty, Staff, and Students within Luddy.

Policy Statement

Faculty, Staff and Students should follow the standard procedures below by ensuring travel has budgetary authorization and is deemed reasonable. In addition, all University Travel policies should be followed.

Reason for the Policy

The reason for this policy is to provide guidance on travel by both ensuring travel has funding approval and travel expenses are within reasonable IU norms.

Procedures for Ensuring Funding

1. Budgetary approval for travel is required before trip begins.
2. With the new Chrome River system, IU Travel pre-authorization is no longer required, however the traveler must ensure funds are available prior to setting up their travel.

• • Students who are traveling should work with their advisor and/or graduate office for approval before their travel.
  • Staff will need approval from their supervisors,
  • Faculty traveling on:
    • Grant funds - should only be used if the travel benefits the grant, and the travel is within the approved budget. Justification should be provided after the trip when submitting receipts for reimbursement.
    • Faculty Research/Center funds - should confirm funds availability prior to travel.
    • Department funds - will need approval from the chair.

Guidelines for Reasonable Travel Expenses

1. Hotels - GSA.gov shows acceptable hotel rates for federal employees for most cities. These can be used as a guideline for Luddy travelers too. Sometimes conference hotels can cost above the federal rate and occasionally might be in a 5 star hotel, this is normally an acceptable exception to this guideline. Normally staying in a 5 star hotel, even if the cost is within the federal guidelines, would be perceived as an unreasonable use of IU resources.
2. Airfare - IU Travel Policy does allow first/business class seats if the trip is more than 8 hours. While Luddy recognizes this policy, traveling first/business class can be very expensive and create both budgetary and perception issues. If travelers plan to travel first/business class, they should check with the following people prior to booking:
   1. Grant funded - NOT ALLOWED on federal grants. Federal grants also require "Fly America" so it is important to choose a US carrier.
   2. Faculty Research/Center/Department funded - Department Chair
   3. School Funded (most staff/admin travel) - Supervisor and Sr. Director Admin & Finance
3. Per Diem - IU Travel Policy states if meals are provided then they must be reduced from per diem so please follow this policy when requesting reimbursement (see gsa.gov link above for per diem rates)

Responsible Parties

The travelers are responsible for ensuring they have budgetary approval and are being reasonable with their travel expenses.

Last reviewed/updated June 25 2020

Definitions

Per Diem - An allowance or payment made for each day for food and miscellaneous expenses, paid in-lieu of actual incurred expenses.