Reimbursable Expenses

Actual reasonable expenses will be reimbursed subject to the limits set forth in these guidelines:

Personal Automobiles:

The College encourages the use of commercial rental cars, except for regional travel (less than 200 miles round trip). Personal vehicle travel will be reimbursed at the stated intermediate[1] IRS rate in effect at the time of travel [2010 rate: $0.24 per mile]. Parking and tolls must be itemized separately and receipts must be included. Reimbursement should not exceed the cost of commercial transportation, where available. For two or more persons traveling together in the same vehicle, only one person will be reimbursed for mileage.

Rental Cars:

Automobile rentals should be limited to situations where other means of transportation are not practical, economical or available. Travelers are encouraged to choose compact or mid-sized cars whenever possible. The College has discount agreements with major automobile rental agencies. Detailed information can be obtained from the Purchasing Office. The Loss Damage Coverage (LDW) and/or Personal Accident (PAI) or Additional Liability Insurance (ALI) should be declined when renting a car. The College maintains comprehensive, collision and liability insurance on all vehicles rented or leased for official business. It is preferable to enter "Augustana College" as well as the individual's signature on the rental forms. If a rented vehicle is involved in an accident, the employee must notify the College within 24 hours, in addition to notifying the car rental agency. Reimbursable costs include the daily rental fee, gasoline charges, parking and tolls. Original receipts are required for reimbursement.

NOTE: Travelers should refill gas tanks before returning the vehicles. Rental companies levy a charge for refueling, far more than the price of gas. Avoid drop charges by returning the vehicle to the renting location. Compare the cost of air travel versus driving and drop charge.

Bus, Train, Taxi and Limousine Service:

A receipt should be requested to document these expenses. Indicate on the receipt the starting and ending point for the trip, date and a brief description of the purpose of the trip. Limousine service to and from airports should only be used when other means of transportation are not practical or available.

Commercial Air Travel:

Commercial air travel expense is reimbursed on the basis of the actual cost incurred by the traveler using normally traveled routes. All College approved travel should be at the most economical rates, not first or business class. Travelers are expected to take the least costly fare offered that realistically meets scheduling needs. Booking flights at least 30 days in advance is encouraged to avoid premium airfare pricing. All attempts to be flexible in selection of airlines and flight times are encouraged for expense savings.

The last page of an original airline ticket, called the "passenger receipt", is required for reimbursement, or in the case of E-tickets, the receipt provided or the ticket itinerary from the travel agent.

Personal "Frequent Flyer miles" earned while on a business trip may be kept by employees. However air carrier selection cannot be biased by any traveler's frequent flyer affiliation. The lowest cost air travel should take precedence over frequent flyer programs.

When free tickets are awarded for group travel, these tickets must be forwarded to the Purchasing Office for College use.

Lodging:

Travelers are strongly encouraged to use standard accommodations at reasonably priced mid-market hotels or motels. Requests should be made for educational discounts or business traveler's rates. Original itemized hotel receipts are required for reimbursement. The College does not approve accommodations at up market or luxury hotels (Ritz, Four Seasons, etc.) However, an exception is made when a conference, workshop, or other college business is scheduled at a luxury or up scale hotel. Pre-approval for luxury accommodations is required for reimbursement.

Miscellaneous Expenses:

Miscellaneous reimbursable expenses include business telephone calls, and charges for baggage handling, storage and tips (maximum of $20 per day).

Conference Registration:

Original receipts or proof of payment are required accompanied by a requisition for reimbursement. Prepayment registration can be arranged through the Accounts Payable office.

Expenses of Authorized Visitors:

Departments may authorize reimbursement to official visitors for expenses incurred in connection with their travel to Augustana. The College Travel Policy as well as reimbursement procedures as authorized in this document should be followed, unless waived by the Director of Purchasing.

Meals and Incidentals:

Augustana College will reimburse a traveler for allowable meal and incidental expenses incurred during College-related travel. The College provides two distinct methods for reimbursement: meal and incidentals per diem and actual cost.

Incidental expenses include fees and tips for persons providing services, such as food servers, hotel housekeeping and luggage handlers. Incidental expenses do not include ground transportation, telephone calls or laundry.

Per Diem Reimbursement:

Receipts and detailed documentation are not required when requesting reimbursement of meals and incidentals using the per-diem option. The following apply using the meal and incidentals per-diem method of reimbursement:

Domestic Per Diem Rates:

At the Program Director's discretion, students may receive a per diem rate for food.

Foreign Per Diem Rates:

Food may be reimbursed on a per diem basis while on foreign travel. For per-diem rates for foreign travel the College refers to guidelines for per diem rates as established by the U.S. Department of State by country and locality. These rates can be found at: http://www.state.gov/m/a/als/prdm/c16476.htm

Because rates for specific localities may change as often as every two months, the traveler must be careful to ensure that the applied rate is appropriate to the actual dates of travel.

Actual Cost Reimbursement:

Actual Cost Reimbursement is the preferred method of reimbursement and is to be utilized by the majority of employee travel including admissions, development and athletics. The College will generally reimburse travelers for three meals a day. On the days of travel to or from the destination, the individual's departure and return times should determine whether a meal was incurred during the period of travel. Meal and incidental reimbursement for single day travel is allowed if an employee is traveling more than 45 miles from the College.

Total meal expense, assuming three meals, should not exceed $60 in a metropolitan area and $40 in non-metropolitan areas. All restaurant receipts are required when the total meal expenses for the day exceed such limits.

Individual meals over $40 should include justification, including a statement of who attended the meal and reason for extraordinary expense.

The College will not reimburse for gratuities that are greater than the accepted standards. Currently, the domestic standard is 15-20% of the total bill; international standards may vary.

In cases of reimbursement requests for business meals for others (e.g. additional guests) reimbursement will be made on the actual cost basis. Indicate on the receipt the name(s) of those at the meal and the purpose of the meal.

Note: If reimbursement is requested from grant funds, additional restrictions and limitation may apply as stipulated by the grant. In such cases, refer to the terms and conditions of the grant. Federal regulations prohibit reimbursement of any expenditure for alcoholic beverages with federal funds.

Non-Reimbursable:

The following categories of expenses are not deemed to be necessary to College travel and are therefore non-reimbursable:

• Personal entertainment expenses (movies, games, health club, golf outings, and other optional conference activities not included in the general conference fee)
• Travel accident insurance premiums
• Costs incurred by failure to cancel transportation or hotel reservations
• Traffic and/or parking violation fines
• Repairs to personal vehicles used for College travel
• Spouse or other family member expenses, unless authorized in advance by the College
• Commuting costs between home and the College
• Laundry service (unless the trip is longer than 5 days)

Reimbursement Procedure:

All requests for reimbursements of travel related expenses must be submitted on properly completed College forms.

Travel Advances:

When necessary, an advance of funds may be obtained from Accounting Payable for authorized travel purposes, by submitting a properly completed Direct Payment/Reimbursement Requisition Form at least one week prior to travel. These forms are available in the office of Accounts Payable or upon request by calling ext. 7351. Cash advances for airfare and lodging are not allowed; rather airfare and lodging must be prepaid with use of a P-card, prepaid through the Accounts Payable Office or reimbursed upon return. No more than three travel advances may be outstanding at any one time to an individual. A travel Expense Report properly completed and signed must be submitted to the Accounts Payable office within one week of the conclusion of the trip. Settlement for additional funds due to, or from, the College, is to be made at this time. Original receipts for actual expenditures are required. If funds are due to you, submit a travel expense report with a requisition to the Accounts Payables office. If funds are due Augustana, deliver your travel expense report with payment (check or cash) to the Cashier's Office.

Preferred Travel Agencies:

A list of preferred travel agencies is available here.