These processes and procedures are arrayed so as to guide a traveler through the various phases of travel:

1. BEFORE YOU TRAVEL section — covers pre-trip arrangements;
2. WHILE YOU'RE TRAVELING section — covers items related to the travel period itself;
3. WHEN YOU RETURN — covers what needs to be done once the trip has been completed and, lastly,
4. GENERAL TRAVEL INFORMATION — covers items of general interest related to travel (e.g., university credit cards, etc.).

Planning travel — It is always a good idea to discuss a trip request, at least in general terms, with your supervisor before working with administrative staff to prepare a pre-travel approval form, "Travel/Training Request". This form summarizes the purpose, dates, costs associated with a trip and funding; it is prepared by the respective administrative support staff, with the help of the traveler, and then submitted to the traveler, his/her supervisor, director and business analyst for approval prior to non-refundable costs being incurred. All costs are itemized; they should be exact costs where known or reasonable estimates. The traveler should be prepared to provide the administrative staff with following information:

• Purpose of trip
• Destination city/state
• Event dates and travel dates
• Information about any meeting registration*
• How you expect to travel to your destination as well as any local transportation*
• What hotel(s) or general areas where you would like to stay*
• Any other travel-related costs

*Note: Administrative staff can assist in determining options and cost estimates, as well as making the arrangements upon approval of travel.

Travelers are encouraged to submit their travel requests as far in advance as is reasonable to maximize any available discounts for early registration, special hotel rates, air travel advance purchase requirements, etc. Planning ahead also helps ensure the traveler has the broadest set of available options from which to choose. If emergency travel arises, the administrative staff will work with the traveler to expedite approvals. Once approval is received, the administrative support staff and/or the traveler can proceed with formalizing the arrangements. In most cases, the administrative support staff will provide the traveler with a complete travel package for whatever elements of the trip planning they were involved with.

Foreign travel — When traveling outside of the United States (including travel to Canada and Mexico), please consult with the local administrative support staff to understand special documentation requirements and to understand how currency conversions will be performed for reimbursement.

Changes to travel plans — If changes are necessitated prior to beginning travel, please work with administrative support staff to ensure that costs are minimized and that the traveler understands any penalties involved. If penalties and/or costs change significantly from those submitted for pre-travel approval, the employee should discuss the changes and associated costs with their supervisor to determine if they should proceed.

Arranging flights — Although the university allows flights to be booked on line or through a travel agency, if the university Travel Office is used, the airfare and associated costs can be billed directly to the unit's account number. This obviates the need for advances and reimbursements for the air travel portion of the trip. Also, additional negotiated discounts may be available only through the university Travel Office.

Registration fees and other advance payments — Administrative support staff should process the payment of any registration fees or other advance payments such as hotel deposits. Employees are discouraged from putting such fees on personal credit cards and submitting for reimbursement.

Rental cars and/or use of personal vehicles — For personal liability reasons, the university actively discourages staff from using personal vehicles for travel, especially when the employee will be transporting any other individuals during part or all of the trip. Instead, they recommend that employees rent vehicles even for short or one-day trips. As the university frequently modifies its policies surrounding rental car vendors and insurance provisions associated with rental cars, it is best to consult with the local administrative support staff for the most up-to-date information and guidelines.

Parking at Ithaca airport — When traveling on university business, show your Cornell ID at the parking booth to obtain Cornell's parking discount.

Meals — Employees will need to choose one of two methods of reimbursement for meals: per-diem (rates determined by the university) or exact cost. The former requires no receipts while the latter requires detailed receipts for each meal; the two methods may not be mixed on a given trip. If any meals are provided as part of the registration fee or otherwise provided, the per-diem rate is adjusted using a university-provided formula; likewise, the per-diem rate is slightly less on outbound and return dates of travel. The local administrative support staff can assist a traveler in making this decision and provide detailed information depending on the individual trip. (This determination should be made when the trip is being planned although a traveler may change their mind during or after the trip as long as they are able to provide any documentation required for their final reimbursement choice.)

Travel Advances — If the traveler has a need for a "cash" advance for their travel, please see the local administrative support staff for assistance.

Reimbursement prior to completion of trip — Employees who pre-pay certain travel expenses (e.g., airline tickets) may request reimbursement if their credit card bill containing those charges comes due prior to the completion of their trip. Please see the local administrative support staff for assistance.

Traveling within New York State — For intrastate business travel, the traveler is expected to carry and use Cornell exemption forms (for both NYS sales tax as well as New York City Occupancy Tax). Please see local administrative support staff for these forms and to understand how to use them. Failure to use these forms will result in the traveler bearing the cost of any sales or occupancy taxes paid unless they can document that a vendor would not accept the exemption form.

Changes to plans — If flight plans need to be changed, employee should contact the agency or airline with whom the flights were arranged; the flight itinerary and/or associated documentation provided by the vendor should contain information about how to make changes and the costs associated therewith. If you have questions or concerns, contact your administrative support staff to see if they can be of assistance.

Documentation/receipts required for reimbursement — Please be sure to keep all necessary documentation and receipts; this includes, but is not limited to:

• Airline flight receipt (or train or bus ticket), showing zero balance due, proving bill was paid in full; the documentation must also indicate the cost of the ticket and dates of travel.
• Hotel bill showing zero balance due, proving that the bill was paid in full.
• All meal receipts* if not using per-diem reimbursement. (*If meals are billed to your hotel room, you must have the detailed receipt for these meals; the line item on the hotel bill is not sufficient for reimbursement using the receipt method.) If using per-diem meal reimbursement, no documentation is necessary except to note when meals are provided so the required adjustments can be made to the per-diem rate for such days.
• Local transportation receipts (e.g., shuttles, buses, subways, trains, taxi cabs,etc.).
• Parking, tolls and gas (if driving own vehicle or rental vehicle) receipts.
• Receipts for any other expense for which you are requesting reimbursement.

Shared travel expenses — When two or more employees share meals and/or taxis, etc., the receipt for such expenses should indicate the names of the other business traveler(s) and the amount paid on their behalf.

Telephone calls — Caution should be used when placing long-distance calls from hotel room telephones. Hotel surcharges and per-minute charges can be excessive. Travelers are encouraged to obtain a university calling card to use while traveling to keep costs low. More information can be found at http://www.cit.cornell.edu/services/phones/callcard.html. University policy allows travelers to place limited personal calls while traveling; the guideline is that such calls average no more than 10 minutes per day.

Internet access — University policy states that travelers should "use the most economical or efficient means of accessing the Internet". Travelers are cautioned to be sure they thoroughly understand the cost of using such services provided by hotels; usage charges may apply and flat rates can be very high. Likewise, if using dial-up services, travelers should review the above section on telephone calls to be sure they use the most cost-effective method of access to dial-up services.

Upon returning from a trip, the traveler should promptly assemble the required documentation and work with administrative staff to process their travel expenses. Although travel expenses are processed electronically, the university still requires original receipts and other documentation be received prior to issuing a travel reimbursement. Because CIT approvals are obtained during the pre-travel process, reimbursements with proper documentation can be processed very quickly, with only traveler and BSC approvals, as long as actual total expenses do not exceed the pre-travel estimate by any significant amount (normally 10% of the estimated total costs or $100, whichever is more). When actual expenses exceed this threshold, division management and financial approvals will be required to process the reimbursement.

Reimbursement — It is important that a traveler file for reimbursement as soon as possible upon returning from a trip, but always within 30 days of the completion of the trip. Delays can mean lost documentation and difficulty obtaining and filing necessary documentation.

Direct deposit — We recommend that travelers sign up for direct deposit of reimbursement. This facilitates the reimbursement process and travelers are informed via e-mail when reimbursements will be available in their designated accounts. To sign up, forms can be found at: http://www.payments.cornell.edu/APDirect_Deposit.cfm

Clearing advance accounts — All advance accounts must be cleared promptly (within 30 days of the completion of the trip) to maintain travel privileges.

University credit cards — Travelers may apply for a university credit card; both Diners Club and American Express credit cards are available for this purpose. There are many differences between these two credit cards and travelers are advised to read the comparative information available at http://www.payments.cornell.edu/Credit_Card_Programs.cfm prior to selecting one of the two credit cards.

University Forms

Direct Deposit Form
http://www.payments.cornell.edu/APDirect_Deposit.cfm

CIT Forms

CIT's pre-travel approval form ("Travel/Training Request") is completed by the administrative support staff and is not available for general staff use. Please refer to the information in the "Planning Travel" section for the kind of information needed.

University Documents and Policies

University Policy 3.3, Corporate Card
http://www.policy.cornell.edu/vol3_3.cfm

University Credit Card Program
http://www.payments.cornell.edu/Credit_Card_Programs.cfm

University Policy 3.6, Financial Irregularities
http://www.policy.cornell.edu/Vol3_6.cfm

University Policy 3.14, Business Expenses
http://www.policy.cornell.edu/vol3_14.cfm

University Per Diem Rates
http://www.payments.cornell.edu/per_diem_rates.cfm

Foreign Currency Exchange Rates
Note: There are several places to get this information, but this is the one cited in the university travel policy.
http://www.oanda.com/

CIT Documents and Policies

[None.]