Travel Expense Reports: H&S Instructions

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Instructions for Completing Travel Authorization and Expense Report Forms in H&S

GENERAL GUIDELINES
 

• Expense Reports must be completed within 10 days of return from a trip to allow for prompt reconciliation of accounts and budgets. Failure to turn in Travel Expense Report Forms in a timely fashion may jeopardize reimbursement.
• You must complete a Travel Expense Report Form even if you are not requesting reimbursement, in order for expenses paid by Ithaca College to be properly closed out.
• If you traveled in a group, include on the Travel Expense Report Form only those expenses that you personally paid for (e.g., if your hotel was covered on another traveler’s credit card, do not list that expense here; conversely, if you paid for more than one person’s hotel and/or meals, include the total expense here, and indicate on the receipt the names of the travelers you paid for).
• If the purpose of travel was for faculty professional development to attend and/or present at a conference, include proof of conference and presentation (e.g., a copy of the conference program, letter of invitation, etc.)
• The completed form must be signed by both the traveler and the Department Chair, and turned in to your Department Assistant. The Department Assistant will review the form for completeness and accuracy, and then forward it to the Dean’s office for final review and approval.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

Trip Information
Trip Purpose-please use one of the following options:

• Conference and Research Presentations (include name of conference)
• Research and Fieldwork
• Professional Development – Workshops (include name of workshop)
• Faculty Recruitment
• Student Recruitment
• Co-Curricular Student Activity (include name of organization or course, if relevant)
• Internship or Student Teacher Supervision

If your trip does not conform to any of these choices, please consult the Dean’s office prior to completing the form.

Number and Type of Travelers:

• This is a required field.
• If you traveled alone, select “1” for the number of travelers and indicate your status.
• If you traveled as part of a group, put the total number of travelers in the first column, separated on each line by status. E.g., if you and a colleague are taking a group of 5 students to a conference, on the first line, type “2” and choose “faculty” and on the second line type 5 and choose “student.”

Trip Expenses
1. Expenses paid for with a personal check, personal credit card, traveler’s check, or cash should be listed in the “$ Paid by Traveler” column

2. Expenses paid for with an Ithaca College Corporate Card, a Voucher Authorization Form, or a direct department charge (e.g., college vehicle rental), should be listed in the “$ Paid by Ithaca College” column

3. Originals of all receipts should be taped (not stapled) to an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper. {this is a change from last year}

• Use separate pages for receipts for expenses Paid by Traveler and for receipts for expenses Paid by Ithaca College, and label the pages accordingly {this is a change from last year}
• Receipts for expenses must show itemized purchases (e.g., a restaurant check stub is not sufficient; the receipt must list individual expenses); credit card receipts showing the total spent are not sufficient.
• If you charged expenses for another traveler (e.g., for meals or hotel room), include that expense here, and write the names of the travelers on the relevant receipt(s)
• All expenses, including for meals, taxis, etc., must have a receipt for approval and reimbursement purposes; Ithaca College does not grant per diems.

4. If you drive your own vehicle for the trip, you may claim only mileage (i.e., do not include gasoline receipts). {College policy limits mileage reimbursement to 180 miles.}

5. If travel was international, you must provide conversion of foreign currency for each day of travel on each receipt (see the guidelines for international travel for additional information).

• for international receipts in a language other than English, please write on each receipt the nature of the purchase

6. Under “maximum funding authorized,” include the total amount you have or are eligible to receive to cover the cost of the trip.

Reimbursement Funding Sources and Amounts
Although the form asks for account numbers, you are not required to include these here.
We prefer that you insert the name of the funding source in the different account boxes, as on the Travel Authorization Form. Include here information about all trip expenses, not just those for which you expect to be reimbursed. Be sure to indicate how much of the total cost of the trip is being covered by the different funding sources.

• In the case of external grant funding, it is helpful if you insert the project code to be charged in the appropriate box.
• The Dean’s office will work with financial services and other campus departments to insure that the funds are properly charged and/or transferred, as appropriate.

Note: All faculty who use an Ithaca College Corporate Card to charge expenses are required to review and submit their statements every month.

• The statements must be signed by the card holder and by the Department Chair.
• Submit the signed statements to your Department Assistant, who will keep your original receipts on file after you have submitted the Travel Expense Report Form.
• The Department Assistant will forward signed statements and original receipts to the Dean’s office

Comprehensive information about College Travel policy and procedures can be found at the Travel Services website.