C. Travel Policies

The information in this section is intended for the use of faculty members traveling on University business for which a University budget provides funds, e.g., travel authorized by the Dean of the Faculty for purposes of faculty recruitment, or travel to a professional conference or meeting authorized by a division director, the Colgate Faculty Development Council or the Colgate Research Council. (For information on University funding of travel to professional meetings, see Section III.J.9.)

1. Obtaining Advances Advances for the estimated cost of a business trip are available. A request for advance form must be completed and sent to the Accounting Office. Amounts under $350.00 may be picked up at the cashier's window. Amounts over $350.00 will be paid via check. Requests for checks should be submitted to the Accounts Payable Department one week in advance of the date the check should be issued. A voucher that is submitted where the desired issue date is not listed will have the check produced within 5 working days after receipt by the Accounts Payable department. Advances will not be issued more than 7 days prior to departure.

When obtaining an advance, you should request only that amount which cannot be charged to a credit card or directly billed to the University. Colgate strongly discourages employees from traveling with excess amounts of cash. If readily available funds are needed, travelers checks should be purchased. Please contact the Accounting Office for more specifics on obtaining travelers checks. Employees should never have more than $500 in University cash in their possession at any time when traveling. Lost cash in excess of that amount will not be reimbursed.

Only one advance may be outstanding at any time. Exceptions to this are faculty with research/travel grants and study group directors.

2. Clearing Advances Upon completion of the trip a Travel Advance Summary must be submitted to the Accounting Office for review. Reimbursement will be made after documentation is submitted and reviewed. All expenditures must have supporting documentation. Please refer to the details below to determine what supporting documentation is required. All expense receipts must be converted to U.S. funds.

It is expected that all advances should be cleared within 30 days from the date of the completion of the trip or activity. In order to meet IRS regulations, an advance not cleared within 120 days of the due date must be considered a salary advance, and the full advance amount deducted from the employee's next scheduled check.

Travel Expense Summaries will be reviewed in a timely manner by Accounting personnel. If a refund is due to Colgate, a check should be attached to the Travel Expense Summary Form. If a refund is due the employee, a check will normally be generated within 5 days, and no more than 14 days after receipt of the Expense Summary. When travel occurs outside the US and foreign currency is involved, please indicate the exchange rate in effect during the travel period to expedite processing.

3. Travel Related Expenditures:

a. Meals:

A $25.00 maximum per diem allowance will be permitted for unreceipted meal charges by employees away from campus on University business. The per meal guideline would be $4.00 for breakfast, $6.00 for lunch, and $15.00 for dinner.

With receipts, which should be attached to the Travel Expense Voucher, a $40.00 daily reimbursement is normally permitted. The maximum for each meal is $5.00 for breakfast, $10.00 for lunch, and $25.00 for dinner. Amounts spent in excess of the guidelines are normally paid by the individual. Exceptions to this guideline may be granted in unusual circumstances by the division head.

If University guests are covered by the receipt, the persons for whom the meal was purchased should be named and a brief description of the meeting purpose should be given.

Example:

Who ­ John Doe/Barbara Smith
What ­ Luncheon for 2
Where ­ Denver, Colorado
Why ­ "discuss prospective gift"
"discuss presentation at conference"
"interview candidate for position"
When ­ 1/15/96

Note: This information is required by the IRS in order to treat the payment as a non-taxable reimbursement of business expense. Failure to supply complete information could create taxable income for the employee upon audit.

b. Lodging

The University will reimburse employees the actual cost for moderately priced accommodations up to the single room rate. The hotel/motel billing statement must be attached to the Travel Expense Summary report. NYS sales tax will not be reimbursed. Sales tax exemption certificates are available at the Accounting Office and should be presented to the hotel when checking in. Certificates are also available for New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida. Please contact the Accounting office for further information.

The University will not reimburse for any in-room movie or mini-bar charges. The University will not reimburse charges for laundry services or health club fees for stays less than 4 consecutive nights.

When it is convenient for the employee to stay with friends or relatives, the reasonable cost of a gift or meal is reimbursable. The cost of the gift or meal must be supported by a receipt and an explanation on the report. In no case should the cost of the meal or gift exceed $50.00 . The University cannot reimburse for a "cash payment" made to the host, again due to IRS regulations. Only one gift or meal per trip is allowable.

1. Personal Car

The use of your personal car for business travel will be reimbursed at the federally approved mileage rate as communicated by the Accounting office. For the 1999/2000 budget year the approved rate is 31 cents per mile. Mileage reimbursement may never exceed the cost of alternative transportation.

It is important for employees to be aware that the vehicle owner's insurance policy will always provide the primary liability coverage. (The University will not provide reimbursement for the deductibles associated with the primary insurance under these circumstances.) All incidents should be reported to the Treasurer's Office for review by the University's insurance carrier to determine whether there is secondary liability coverage under the University's automobile liability policy.

The University's commercial automobile policy cannot provide collision or comprehensive coverage when an employee's vehicle is used for business travel. The vehicle owner's policy will provide the only coverage for these types of claims.

2. Rental Car

Employees should rent a car only when it is required for daily use at the business destination or there is no other or less expensive means of transportation. If a vehicle must be rented for greater than 14 consecutive days, the rental must be coordinated through the Purchasing Office.

Employees should not purchase the collision damage waiver option.

You are requested to investigate the fuel policy of the rental agency to avoid excessive refueling charges when returning the vehicle. Whenever possible, travelers should refuel the car before returning it to the rental agency if this will prevent the University from being charged with excessive refueling rates.

Gas receipts along with the rental invoice must be attached to the Travel Expense Summary.

d. Other Costs

Any necessary expense over $10, not previously described, must be receipted.

e. Entertainment

Personal entertainment expense (other than meals) is not normally reimbursable. If an employee is entertaining University guests for business purposes, names of those being entertained should be provided along with the purpose of the entertainment. Failure to provide that information may result in the IRS treating the reimbursement as taxable income to the employee.

f. Air Travel

Employees must fly coach class and are strongly encouraged to coordinate air travel needs with the University's designated travel agent. Employees wishing to use an agency other than the University's designated travel agent must complete the Request For Alternate Air Travel form which will ask why the use of a different agency is being requested. For example, it would be appropriate to use an alternate carrier in cases where the University's designated travel agent was not the lowest cost provider. This form should be submitted to the Accounting Office for approval before placing the reservation.

Advances can not be taken for air travel.

g. Taxi, bus, subway, parking, tolls

Any individual expense exceeding $10 must be receipted. Items under $10 should be separately listed on the Travel Expense Summary.

h. Spouse

Expenses for a spouse are not reimbursable unless the spouse is an employee of the University whose attendance is necessary for business purposes.

i. Telephone

All business calls made while away from the office will be reimbursed. Calls home will be reimbursed at the rate of one call per day (of reasonable length). Direct long distance calls from a hotel room can be expensive and should be avoided. Employees are encouraged to use an ACC calling card or other phone credit card and submit the bill for reimbursement. Please contact Judy Wester at extension 7488 to request an ACC credit card if your position requires frequent travel.

j. Miscellaneous

Any necessary expense over $10, not previously described must be receipted and described.

4. Non-Reimbursable Expenses

The following are items which will not be reimbursed by the University:

Fines for parking or moving violations
Movies, health club fees, other personal entertainment for stays under 4 consecutive nights.
Laundry services (for stays under 4 consecutive nights)
Lost or stolen personal property (including cash)
Costs incurred at home, such as child care
Personal expenses such as haircut, toiletries, clothing.
Life, flight or baggage insurance
Companion expenses