BRYN MAWR COLLEGE

Office of the Treasurer

BRYN MAWR COLLEGE TRAVEL POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Purpose
The purpose of this travel policy and its guidelines is to:

1. Define the policy pertaining to the use of College travel funds.
2. Define policies regarding travel arrangements.
3. Provide guidance about the types of expenses which are reimbursable and about the method to obtain advances and reimbursements.
4. Describe each person’s responsibility in reporting travel expenditures.
5. Describe the College travel insurance policies.

Scope
Travel costs are certain necessary costs incurred when an individual must travel away from his or her home or the campus to conduct authorized College business. These costs usually are limited to the individual’s conference registration fees, transportation, lodging and meal expenses. The travel policy and procedures cover most ordinary travel situations but are not intended to describe every situation.

This policy does not cover moving expenses, or meals and entertainment expenses not associated with travel. The travel policy and its procedures apply to all individuals whose travel is paid by the College, regardless of the funding source. This includes not only faculty and staff, but also students, guest lecturers and other visitors, trustees, and alumnae. Principal investigators of grant-funded projects are responsible for determining if travel supported by the grant is subject to requirements and restrictions beyond those stipulated in this policy.

The Use of College Travel Funds
There are three sources of travel funds listed below along with the approval process for each:

1. Individual departmental budgets.

The use of departmentally-budgeted travel funds can be approved by the department head.
2. The College’s administrative travel budget.
   
College staff members can apply to the Treasurer’s Office for administrative travel funds. To request an application form contact the Treasurer's Office. Approval is determined by the Treasurer based upon the benefit to the College of the purpose of the travel.
3. Faculty travel funds administered by the Provost’s Office.
   
Faculty members can request faculty travel funds from the Provost’s Office. Instructions for faculty travel are included on the Provost’s web site.

Making and Paying for Staff Travel Arrangements

See the Provost’s Web Site for Faculty Travel

Travel arrangements should be made by the person traveling or a staff person in the office of the traveler. The least expensive reasonable arrangements should be made. It is the responsibility of the traveler and his or her supervisor to ensure that low-cost travel arrangements are made.

Travel arrangements will be audited by Comptroller’s Office or Treasurer’s Office staff to determine if the arrangements were reasonable. Staff members may be required to have travel approved in advance by the Treasurer’s Office if it is determined that they are not making the most cost-effective travel arrangements.

Travel agencies often charge fees and do not always inform customers of the lowest available fares. Therefore, it is recommended that staff members make travel arrangements directly with airlines, hotels, etc. or through a travel web site. Travelocity.com, expedia.com and priceline.com are web sites that work well for making reasonable travel arrangements.

Travelers should consider using a travel agency when one offers discounts for particular conferences or meetings. If there are discount travel arrangements, the conference information usually includes the necessary information. For international travel or for complicated arrangements it may be advisable to utilize a travel agency. For international travel arrangements, College employees have found Jet Set Travels to be a good agency. The contacts at Jet Set are Lee Darden Reynolds and Roxanne Butler, and the telephone number is 215-885-6690. Jet Set does now charge $25.00 per ticket and should only be used if the traveler cannot make comparable arrangements on his or her own.

A credit card will often be needed to pay for travel. Personal credit cards can be used, and staff members will be reimbursed for College travel expenses paid by personal credit cards. If a personal credit card is used, annual fees, interest and late fees are the responsibility of the traveler. Reimbursement procedures are described below in this policy document.

College credit cards can also be used to pay for travel. College credit card procedures are described in the Bryn Mawr College Credit Card Policy and Procedures document. If a traveler does not have access to a College credit card and prefers not use a personal credit card, the Treasurer’s Office can assist in paying for travel using either a College credit card or an advance check.

Travel Guidelines: Costs Charged to the College

See the Provost’s Web Site for Faculty Travel

Airplane or Train
Coach fare or other economy class of transportation should be used. If such accommodations are inconvenient or unavailable, the individual authorizing reimbursement must provide an explanation of the circumstances. In order to receive the lowest fares, travelers should consider staying over Saturday nights, changing planes rather than taking direct flights, making reservations at least 30 days in advance whenever possible, purchasing non-refundable tickets, etc. Travelers should speak with supervisors about the cost and convenience of alternative travel arrangements. Parking, taxi, limousine, train, bus, subway and shuttle fares to and from airports and train stations are allowable costs. Normally, train, bus, subway and shuttle fares are less expensive than taxis and limousines and should be used if it is convenient to do so.

Private Vehicle
When an individual uses a private vehicle for transportation on College business, the College reimburses on a mileage allowance basis, provided that the total reimbursement does not exceed coach fare or other economy transportation. The College will also reimburse travelers for tolls and parking expenses. The College insurance policy does not cover accidents which occur when an individual is using a private vehicle for College business. It is the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle to carry adequate insurance for the driver and passengers of the vehicle. The College does not pay for repairs necessitated by use of a private vehicle for College business nor traffic or parking violation fines. It is recommended that staff members rent a car for a business trip that requires driving a substantial distance.

Rental Vehicle
Staff members may rent a vehicle for College business using a College credit card or a personal credit card. When renting a car for College business, travelers should use the College address for insurance purposes. The optional insurance should not be purchased (the coverage should be waived) since the College policy does cover rental vehicles. The rental agency may ask for the College’s insurance company, which is Pennsylvania Manufacturer’s Association Insurance Company. The College will reimburse staff for the rental, gasoline, tolls and parking. The College does not pay for traffic or parking violation fines.

Lodging and Meals
Hotel reservations should be made using a College credit card or a personal credit card. Lodging expenses should be the least costly available while providing for the safety and comfort of the traveler. There is usually a conference rate available for meetings, and the traveler should always request that rate. It is expected that hotel costs will not exceed $125.00 per day. However, there are areas where hotel costs will exceed this amount, and the College will pay the full cost of the hotel room. It is expected that meal costs will not exceed $50.00 per day. However, meal costs may exceed this amount when there are meals associated with meetings or conferences that are expensive, and the College will pay the full cost of these meals. The College will pay for the reasonable costs of meals for business guests during travel.

Registration and Conference Fees
The College should be requested to pay registration and conference fees directly and in advance. Meal expenses included in conference fees are allowable business expenses, but tours, golf or other optional recreational programs are not allowable business expenses.

Other Expenses
Determining the reasonableness and legitimacy of travel costs is equally the responsibility of the traveler and his or her supervisor. Other allowable expenses may include the following when such expenses are incurred for College business: computer use fees, telephone calls, fax and photocopying charges, postage, customary tips, conference registration and conference materials charged separately. Since hotel telephone call rates are very high, a credit card should be used whenever possible. Personal expenses are not allowable and include, but are not limited to: fitness center, childcare, videos, movies and other personal entertainment or recreation, alcoholic beverages, dry cleaning, laundry, the cost of lost items and travel insurance. The College will pay for one personal phone call per day, including a hotel phone usage fee, for a reasonable amount of time (normally, less than 15 minutes).

Authorizing Travel Expenses
For all travel costs, the person authorizing the travel expense is required to determine that the costs are reasonable and are consistent with the guidelines included in this policy. If hotel or meal costs exceed the guidelines, the person authorizing the travel must determine whether or not the higher costs were necessary. If the costs are found not to be necessary, the traveler must pay the difference between the actual costs and the amount of costs that were necessary.

Travel Advance and Expense Report

The College’s yellow Travel Advance and Expense Report should be used to request advances, reimbursements, and direct payments, and to account for the use of a travel advance. Side two of the form has a helpful worksheet to assist in organizing the paperwork to avoid oversights and errors. It is acceptable to use a different worksheet or format which provides the same information.

Receipts should be organized in some fashion (grouping receipts by categories listed on the yellow form is preferred.) The yellow form should be securely attached to the top of your receipts and other supporting documentation. Travelers should keep copies of the receipts and the yellow travel form.

The Travel Advance and Expense Report must be completed in full according to the instructions on the form, and the traveler must sign the form.

The supervisor of the traveler must sign the travel form authorizing the travel expenditure. The Treasurer will sign the form for staff members who report to the President.

Documenting Travel Expenses

Applies to all reimbursement requests for all travel costs charged to the College.

The College, in its role as an employer, has a responsibility under IRS regulations to obtain original receipts from employees for expense reimbursements. Receipts should show vendor name, date, item or service purchased, cost, and method of payment. The following should be considered when obtaining receipts that will be used to request reimbursement:

• Original itemized receipts marked "paid", showing method of payment and a zero balance due are required. For receipts which ordinarily list the customer’s name (hotel, airplane tickets), the name on the receipt should be the name of the person being reimbursed by the College; if the names do not match, please explain. This is the preferred type of documentation.

• Photocopies of original itemized paid receipts are acceptable if:
  • the reimbursement is to someone who is not a College employee and the College is not reimbursing the full amount of the costs, or
  • the reimbursement is to a College employee but costs are being shared by an outside organization which also requests original receipts. Although in this instance copies may be acceptable, the College prefers to receive the original receipts and to provide a letter stating that it has received such receipts from the employee and what portion of those receipts has been reimbursed. Many organizations will rely on an affidivit directly from the traveler. Please contact Maria Wiemken (x5177) for help in such instances.

• Reimbursement can be requested for items for which receipts cannot be obtained if the cost of the item is less than $25.00. On the reimbursement request form a description of the item, date, and the reason a receipt is not available should be provided.

Records Retention

 The Comptroller’s Office retains all documents it receives for advances, reimbursements and direct payments for seven fiscal years. If, for any reason, you need to have a copy of receipts submitted to the Comptroller’s Office, please contact Maria Wiemken.

College Travel Insurance

Travel Accident Policy
All employees, student volunteers, and trustees traveling for College-related purposes are covered by the travel accident policy which provides a $250,000 benefit for loss of life or significant disability.

Foreign Travel Insurance

Contact the Treasurer’s Office for more Information about the College travel insurance policies.

April, 2003

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College Credit Card Policy