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TRAVEL PROCEDURES

All faculty and graduate students traveling on official university business should be familiar with and follow all university policies and guidelines. This specifically includes:

  1. the Comptoller's travel procedures;
  2. the university's Global Travel Policy (Policy 1070);
  3. OSP's Procedure 40002;
  4. The Fly America Act; 
  5. the Global Education Office Procedure on Registering International Travel. 

Moreover, any person traveling internationally on official university business should consult and follow the Comptoller's advise on internation travel found here. Advise from OSP on the Fly America Act can be found here.

All travel authorization and reimbursment vouchers are entered, submitted, and processed through the ChromeRiver Travel System. A travel authorization form is required for all international travel and for domestic travel over $1500.00. See staff for training and authorization to use the ChromeRiver Travel System.

Finally, please consider the Top Seven Reasons for the Return/Recall of Chrome River Expense Reports listed below and adapted from The Ledger (Vol E, No 137).

  1. Itemization of Hotel Receipt: All charges listed on the hotel receipt need to be itemized.
  2. Shared Lodging: One traveler pays for the entire lodging expense and requests reimbursement when two travels using the same lodging accommodations.
  3. Need for Travel Cost Comparisons: When travelers alter their itineraries for personal preferences or deviate from standard practices, a pre-travel cost comparison is necessary to document that the university is not incurring additional costs. Avoid delays in processing the reimbursement by uploading supporting documentation and cost comparison in Chrome River before routing for approvals and processing.
    1. Combining personal and business travel - The traveler is responsible for obtaining a comparison airfare quote to document the cost of the airfare is not more expensive due to altering travel dates. Since flight costs fluctuate closer to departure day, the comparison quote needs to occur before booking. For international flights, the university allows an additional travel day before the start of the business itinerary.
    2. One-way tickets - The university reimburses for round-trip airfare unless the cost of two one-way tickets is equal to or less than a round trip ticket. Expense reimbursements involving one-way tickets should include documentation showing the round-trip ticket cost at the time of booking.
    3. Home airport - If a traveler departs from an airport other than their home airport (e.g., Roanoke for Blacksburg campus), complete a cost comparison traveling from both airports before purchasing tickets. Cost comparisons should include all allowable costs (mileage, M&IE, parking, and additional lodging if applicable). Travelers will be reimbursed at the lowest cost.
    4. Driving vs. flying - When flying is the most economical choice but one chooses to drive, the reimbursement may not exceed the cost of the lowest available transportation for the exact origin and destination points. Complete a pre-travel comparison of all applicable expenses (mileage, M&IE, parking, and additional lodging if applicable) for both means of transportation.
    5. Airbnb cost comparisons: Traveler trends indicate Airbnb lodging is replacing hotel stays. Reimbursement for Airbnb stays is allowable if cost comparisons support as the most economical choice for the business- related travel dates. Cost comparisons can be screenshots from any hotel search engine and must occur before the time of travel.
  4. Tips for Taxi Services (e.g., Uber, Lyft): The university will reimburse tips up to 15% of the base fare as a transportation expense for business travel (ground transportation between the hotel and a restaurant to partake in a personal meal is not reimbursable). It is not necessary to attach receipts for these fees if the expense is less than $75. 
  5. Student Travel: Submitting expense reports on behalf of students requires additional information for the travel team to determine as to whether or not it should be treated as taxable according to the Internal Revenue Service. If a student is presenting, please provide the title of the presentation in the business purpose field. If the student is not presenting, please provide a detailed business purpose for the travel.
  6. Conference Meals Not Provided: Conference registration fees often include meals during the conference and such meals must be deducted from the daily meals per diem. Although Chrome River’s compliance rules require an explanation, the traveler stating no meals provided does not fulfill the documentation requirement. Attach documentation of conference agenda for meals not provided as part of the registration fee.
  7. Gas Receipts: Gas receipts are required regardless of the amount of the expense. Unlike some other ground transportation expenses such as parking and tolls requiring receipts greater than $75, receipts are required for fuel at any amount

VEHICLE USE

RENTING A VEHICLE?

  • If a departmental vehicle is not available or does not meet your travel needs, Fleet Services must be used. 
  • If Fleet Services is unable to accommodate your request, the Enterprise State Rental Contract should be used. Please submit payment via HokieMart (travel originating from Blacksburg).  
  • Please attach verification that a fleet services vehicle was unavailable to your Travel Reimbursement Voucher. 
  • If the traveler is a university employee, the traveler should decline the rental car insurance when traveling inside the territorial United States, in Canada, or in Puerto Rico because the university provides a self-insured automobile plan for employees.
  • It is the traveler’s responsibility to refuel a rental car prior to returning it to the agency. Decline all up-front-fuel charges. 
  • LEARN MORE

HOKIEMART

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires Virginia Tech to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a year. 

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

As part of Virginia Tech’s health care benefit program, employees who are covered by the university’s health insurance have access to the Employee Assistance Program, which offers professional help if you or someone in your family is experiencing: stress-related problems, emotional difficulties, alcohol or drug problems, family and relationship troubles, parenting concerns, conflicts at work or home, other personal concerns, financial Issues, legal Issues.

ADA & Accessibility Services

The ADA and Accessibility team handles Title I employee accommodation requests and authorizes reasonable accommodations per Policy 4075: University Accommodations of Persons with Disabilities for qualified employees with disabilities. 

Office for Equity and Accessibility

The Office for Equity and Accessibility promotes a learning and working environment free from harassment and discrimination for employees and students. Here you can report discrimination and harassment, gender-based discrimination and violence, physical or digital barriers, and request informal conflict resolution.

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