Office of Research Travel Guidelines

The USU travel policy is linked to the right for your reference. The Office of Research specific guidelines are noted below. Please contact your Business Manager with any questions.

Pre-Travel

Travel Authorization submission guidelines: The TA should be submitted and approved prior to travel. Best practice please submit a minimum of 4 business days prior to travel to allow time for review and approvals.

Discuss travel plans with your supervisor prior to submission. Relevant topics may include:

• Late return flight to SLC, the need to have another night’s lodging. (No extra day of per diem)
• Road conditions/Weather 
• Actuals vs Per Diem for Meal reimbursement  

Airfare

Office of Research limits reimbursements to main cabin/economy tickets.

Mileage

Logan, UT to Salt Lake City International Airport = 174 miles roundtrip. Any other departure city/destination city requires a google mileage map attached to the TR.

Note: Be aware that there may be limitations on your personal insurance or USU’s insurance coverage when driving a personal vehicle for business purposes. Review your personal insurance policy. Consult risk management for USU coverage at risk@usu.edu.

Post-Travel

A Travel Reimbursement (TR) should be submitted within 14 days of return from travel. There can be multiple Travel Reimbursements submitted for a TA. For example, pre-paid expenses such as airfare can be reimbursed before travel.

Parking

Daily fee up to $15 to be reimbursed for SLC airport parking.

Per Diem

When meals are provided by hotel (breakfast, for example) or at a conference make sure to reduce meal count accordingly.

Other Considerations

Conference Travel

Cost of additional activities/tours to be paid for personally. Attach the conference agenda to the TR. Generally, the day before and the day after conference dates are travel days.

One-Day Travel

In most cases have no meal reimbursement. If the travel lasts more than 12 hours, but doesn’t require overnight stay, the allowed meal expenses will be at the actual cost as supported by an itemized receipt or 75% of the per diem rate and will be reported as taxable income in accordance with Internal Revenue Service regulations. (Per USU travel policy 515.2) Please provide justification for the length of day in the comments section of your TR.