BLINN COLLEGE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS MANUAL

Transcription

1 BLINN COLLEGE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS MANUAL SUBJECT: Travel EFFECTIVE DATE: April 27, 2004; amended June 29, 2010, October 6, 2010, February 3, 2011, May 1, 2012, February 12, 2013, August 6, 2013, September 10, 2013, July 14, 2015, August 25, 2015, and November 28, 2017 BOARD POLICY REFERENCE: DEE and BBG PURPOSE The purpose of the Blinn College Travel Procedure is to inform all Blinn College employees of the travel policies associated with their assigned duties at Blinn College. OBJECTIVES Blinn College will pay expenses for approved travel only. Employees are expected to keep travel expenses at the lowest practical level. When traveling to the same out-of-town function, employees will utilize as many cost-saving strategies as possible. These strategies include coordination of travel when two or more employees are traveling to the same destination at the same time and/or sharing a hotel room when possible. The decision to fly or drive will be examined to determine what is in the best interests of Blinn College. When conferences or seminars are offered in multiple locations, employees should attend the one that is the most cost effective for the College. In an effort to manage institutional expenses, the College may limit the number of employees attending the same conference and/or the overall number of conferences attended by any given employee. APPROVAL All travel must be approved in advance using the Chrome River Pre-Approval request. Approval requires the signature of the employee s supervisor, budget manager, the appropriate vice chancellor for overnight travel and same-day trip meals. Vice chancellors have the same approval and delegation authority for travel as for other expenditures. This authority includes the approval of adjustments within the travel budget. Approvers have the ability to designate a delegate to approve a Pre-Approval. The Chrome River Pre-Approval request must detail all estimated trip expenses including meals, hotel, airfare, car rental, registration fees and parking. Each employee may fill out his or her own form or they may assign a delegate. For travel including students, the originator of the Chrome River Pre-Approval request must include on the form the names of all those traveling together. All persons approving travel shall insure that all employee or student travel is processed by the Blinn College Purchasing Department. All out-of-country travel must be approved by the Blinn College Executive Council prior to an employee making any arrangements or commitments on behalf of Blinn College. Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 1 of 6

2 PAYMENT/REIMBURSEMENT Travel arrangements that include airfare, bus travel or any other large travel expenditure will be processed by the Purchasing Department. To process travel by the Purchasing Department the employee must submit a Chrome River Pre-Approval request containing all the appropriate signatures to Purchasing. A travel card will be issued by the Purchasing Department to a Blinn College employee for a specific trip to cover lodging, meals, car rental and/or parking expenses that are expected to be incurred and are not paid by Purchasing in advance. Employees are not allowed to use their Blinn College p-card to make travel purchases, unless use of the p-card is approved in advance. Reimbursement for travel and/or travel-related expenses is permitted only up to the allowable and budgeted amounts approved by the College or funding source. If these procurement procedures are not followed, the employee will be personally liable for the travel costs incurred. PERSONAL MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT Reimbursement of personal mileage will only be considered for approval to/from the employee s home to/from the allotted destination if that distance each way is greater than the employee s daily commute to/from their home campus. See chart below for actual reimbursement amounts. Registration Fees Registration fees must be processed by the Purchasing Department. Registration fees can be processed 60 days in advance if payment discounts apply. This information must be included on the Travel Request and Authorization form that is submitted for the initial travel approval. TRAVEL BY PUBLIC CONVEYANCE Airline reservations must be made by the Purchasing Department and require a minimum of three weeks advance notice/approval for processing. Airline reservations can be processed 60 days in advance only if it is in the best interest of Blinn College and by the most economical method. Charter Bus reservations must be made by the Purchasing Department and require a minimum of four weeks advance notice/approval to insure the requested dates of travel. AUTOMOBILES, SUBURBANS AND BLINN BUS Employees are encouraged to use a College vehicle for approved business travel, when available. College vehicles are charged to the employee s budget code at the following rate: Automobiles - $60/day Suburbans - $95/day Blinn Bus - $250/day ($125/day if less than 4 hours) All college vehicle travel shall be reserved by utilizing the Vehicle/Transportation Request form found on the Purchasing/Transportation page on the Blinn College website. Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 2 of 6

3 An employee may use their personal vehicle for approved College business travel and will be reimbursed at a rate equal to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mileage reimbursement rate only if properly requested no later than 30 days after travel and before fiscal year end. See Personal Mileage Reimbursement above for details. College vehicles may not be used for personal business (see Administrative Procedure for Vehicle Usage). An employee may be authorized to rent a vehicle during out-of-town travel. Rental vehicles must be approved in advance on the Chrome River Pre-Approval request. Blinn College only pays for physical damage insurance on rental cars. Any other insurance is purchased at the employee s expense and must be paid for at the time of rental. Only the Director of Transportation and the Purchasing Department are authorized to rent vehicles locally. STUDENT TRAVEL A complete list of all students who are traveling must accompany the Chrome River Pre-Approval request when submitted for approval. MEALS Meal Allowances: Administration, faculty and staff: Students: $45.00 daily maximum $30.00 daily maximum Meal allowances are maximums and not per diem. Itemized receipts for individual meals are required. If a receipt is lost, please contact the Accounting or Purchasing Office for instructions. Employees should document the actual amount spent per meal on the employee expense form. Reasonable tips for meals (15-20% max) can be included as part of the cost of the meal; however, tips and gratuities are not allowable costs within certain grants; therefore, refer to the governing document before expending funds. Charges for alcoholic beverages are not reimbursable unless an exception is approved by the Chancellor for such expenses to be paid from auxiliary funds. Meals are not reimbursable for one day or same day trips. Requests for meal reimbursement for same day trips must be made and approved in advance by the appropriate Vice Chancellor and submitted on the Chrome River Pre-Approval request. Group meals (2 or more persons) must be approved in advance on the Chrome River Pre-Approval request. Receipts are required for such meals and should be submitted with the employee s expense form. The names of those in the group and the purpose of the meal must also be included on the employee s expense form. Group meals are subject to the individual meal allowances. The maximum meal allowance may be exceeded if approved in advance by the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor, Business and Finance/CFO on the Chrome River Pre-Approval request. Receipts for such meals are required. Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 3 of 6

4 LODGING All employees are encouraged to book the most economical housing that is appropriate to the nature and location of the meeting or event they are attending. When multiple persons are attending the same event, persons will be expected to share rooms, as appropriate. Blinn College will pay the single occupant rate for hotel rooms unless more than one Blinn College employee is sharing the room. The single occupant room rate must be shown on the hotel bill if the room is being shared with a person that is not a Blinn College employee. If there is reason to be concerned about hotel availability, an employee is encouraged to use a College p- card or personal credit card to hold a reservation during the approval process. Actual purchase of hotel will be made at check-out with a Blinn-issued travel card. Blinn College will pay for the room rate approved on the Chrome River Pre-Approval request, plus appropriate taxes. Blinn College is exempt from Texas state sales tax and employees are expected to provide documentation to the hotel to waive such charges. A hotel occupancy exemption certificate may be obtained from the Blinn College website prior to your trip. Some hotels may also have this form. This should be given to the hotel at the time of check-in and state sales tax will not be added to the bill. Other taxes are acceptable College expenses. Employees are responsible for all additional room charges such as, but not limited to, in-room movies, personal phone calls and internet, unless internet services are specifically needed for Blinn College business. Blinn College does not pay for lodging in private homes. An original hotel receipt must always be submitted. Credit card statements are not acceptable as receipts. INCIDENTAL EXPENSES Parking: Employees should seek the most reasonable and practical parking rates available. Charges for valet and premium parking services are not reimbursed unless there is no other parking available. Original receipts must be submitted for overnight hotel and airport parking charges. Receipts are not required for self-pay parking lots. However, employees should submit an explanation of the charges with their expense report. Personal: No personal expenses are reimbursed by Blinn College. Any charges for extending a trip for personal reasons are the responsibility of the employee. Vehicle Repairs: Charges for emergency repairs to Blinn College vehicles will be covered by the College. If practical, the employee should contact the Director of Transportation or the Vice Chancellor, Business and Finance/CFO before authorizing major repairs. In any case, the employee should notify the Director of Transportation as soon as possible. If possible, charge the repairs to Blinn College. If this is not possible, the employee should pay for the repairs and submit the receipt with their expense report for reimbursement. Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 4 of 6

5 ISD from Brenham from Bryan - Villa Maria from Bryan - Leonard Road Travel miles from Sealy from Schulenburg A&M Consolidated 8 9 Allen Academy 3 Anderson-Shiro Bellville 21 Brazos Christian 5 Bremond 46 Brenham 3 Brenham Christian 3 Bryan Bryan Collegiate 1 7 Burton 13 Caldwell Calvert 31 College Station Columbus Cornerstone Christian 5 Dime Box 33 Faith Academy 21 Fayetteville Flatonia 14 Franklin Giddings Granger 90 Hearne 23 Hempstead 24 Iola 25 Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 5 of 6

6 James Earl Rudder 4 10 KOR 5 LaGrange Lexington 50 Madisonville Milano 45 Miracle Farm 14 Mumford 20 Navasota North Zulch 25 Providence 21 Richards 47 Round Top-Carmine 22 Royal Schulenburg 1 Sealy 32 4 Snook Somerville St. Joseph 1 St. Michael's 1 Still Creek 16 Weimar 53 8 Blinn College Administrative Regulation Travel Page 6 of 6