Travel & PD Policy

CMU Policy

Guidelines

  • Professional Travel for University Libraries faculty and staff will be supported as appropriate to the employee’s position and involvement in projects and will be granted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the supervisor as budget and other constraints allow.
  • Employee involvement in research, scholarship, professional societies, and professional training is encouraged and supported by the university libraries as appropriate to faculty/staff positions. Employees are encouraged to present original work at conferences and workshops when possible and to be an active and engagement member of their professional community beyond Carnegie Mellon. When requesting travel time and funding employees should explain their role, any presentations, and how the trip supports their professional development, scholarship, or a specific University Libraries project or initiative.
  • In general, staff and faculty can expect to be granted permission and funding for 1-3 trips per year depending on their level of involvement in scholarly and professional communities. Faculty whose work includes greater involvement in research and scholarly communities at the national and international level may make a case for additional travel as it is relevant to their work.
  • Employees should neither gain nor lose funds while conducting university business. The goal is to minimize costs to the university while still keeping in mind the safety and convenience of the employee traveling. Please follow the procedures and guidelines below for purchases and reimbursements related to business travel.
  • If you have any questions about allowable expenses please contact the Hunt Administrative Office.

Reimbursement Procedure

  • Input the expense details of your business trip on the Library Travel Expense Reimbursement Form. As expenses occur, save original, itemized receipts electronically. Only include expenses for which you are seeking reimbursement. Do not include any CMU prepaid expenses.
  • Submit this form along with your electronic receipts to the Library Business Office via the Expense Reimbursement Request form within 30 days of completion of travel. If you have any questions about how to submit the form, reach out to a Library Business Office member or write to our general inbox at ul-procurement@andrew.cmu.edu.

Forms

Travel Expense Detail Form [.xlsx] updated Aug. 11, 2022

University's Travel Advance form [.pdf] (*Firefox browser recommended, or open with Adobe Acrobat)

Procedures

Requesting Travel

Any travel by University Libraries employees should be submitted through a request form in the UniLib intranet. A request should be completed for all travel including travel for which funding is requested from the University Libraries as well as travel funded through other means but for which release time is requested.

Procedures for Travel Purchases and Reimbursements

Registration

  • Registration fees can be paid directly by the Hunt Admin Office (Dawn Caldwell) via Purchase Card. Contact them to find a time to complete the registration together. If you choose to purchase registration yourself you may be reimbursed by submitting an expense report and receipts either in advance of travel (together with airfare if needed) or when you return from your trip.

Airfare

  • Airfare can be booked through a CMU partnered travel agency or can be purchased by the employee and reimbursed.
    • If you choose to use the university’s travel agency please contact the Hunt Administrative Office with your flight details (Dates, Times, Locations) as well as: Your Name as it appears on ID, Date of Birth, Cell Phone # and TSA/Global Entry Number (if applicable).
    • This process can begin once the Travel Request has been approved. Once a request has been submitted to the travel agency, they will return a tentative booking for the traveler to approve. A Ticket Request form must then be signed by the traveler and the Business Manager before the purchase can be made. Typically, the agency will hold the tentative booking until 4pm that day.
    • If you choose to purchase airfare yourself you can be reimbursed for standard coach tickets either in advance of travel or following your return by submitting an expense report form and your receipt to the Hunt Administrative Office.
    • If you are adding any personal travel onto a business trip please provide screenshots with dates of airfare comparisons between the dates traveled and the dates you would have traveled for business only. If there is a significant difference, you may only be reimbursed for the amount up to the airfare on the dates of travel for business.

Meals

  • Employees can choose to have meals and incidental expenses reimbursed based either on itemized expenses verified with receipts or at Federal Per Diem rates for the city visited. In either case the same method of reimbursement must be used for every day of a particular trip.
  • If using Per Diem rates meals provided by conferences should be removed from the reimbursement request according to the Breakdown of M&IE for the corresponding daily total.
  • Note that hotel accommodations are not subject to Federal Per Diem restrictions and can be reimbursed for single occupancy of a standard room. Your name must appear as the hotel occupant on a receipt with the hotel name
  • See related Business Meals guidelines

Transportation

  • Mileage Rates for driving personal vehicles are reimbursed at the federal level. If you drive your own vehicle to the Pittsburgh airport you may include mileage from CMU or your home to the airport. You can document mileage using a printout from Google Maps or the like. http://www.cmu.edu/finance/controller/bte/mileage-rates.html
  • Rental Cars – if you will be renting a car for CMU business travel, Visit the University Procurement page to get the corporate code for Enterprise or Hertz, and make the reservation yourself. https://www.cmu.edu/finance/procurementservices/supplier-directory/index.html 
    • Per University Policy, do not sign for the additional insurance option when making your reservation.
    • Standard-sized rental cars will be reimbursed except in cases where it can be shown another car was of equal or lesser cost.
    • Gas, parking and tolls may also be reimbursed for a rental car. 

Documentation, Travel Advances, and International Travel

  • Provide Documentation - All travel expenses, with the exception of meals if opting for the Per Diem rate, including airfare, baggage fees, hotel, internet, registration, parking, taxis, tolls, or any other ground transportation or incidentals should be documented with itemized receipts with dates. Photographs or copies of itemized receipts may be submitted instead of originals. A smartphone app, such as Expensify, can be used to manage your receipts.
  • Typically, costs for hotel and meals will be reimbursed following your return from travel however an advance can be arranged if you will need it to cover these costs. After a travel request is approved, please download and complete the University's Travel Advance form [.pdf], and submit to Associate Dean for Administration, Planning, and Assessment (Joelle Pitts). 
  • For international business travel, complete the CMU International Travel Registration Form before traveling so the university can provide travel and health insurance to you while abroad if necessary http://www.cmu.edu/hr/international/visiting-int/index.html

Last updated: 

02/03/2020