Travel expenditures may not be made until the TA has been approved and encumbered.   Please keep all receipts as these will be required to complete the Travel Expense Report (TER) in order to receive reimbursement. As a general rule, travelers should use their individual corporate travel card to pay for lodging, meals, transportation and incidentals.   (R05.02.060 10.d.)

Airfare: If notified on the TA, the Business Office will purchase airfare for business travel. The traveler is responsible for making changes to the itinerary for any personal days as University personnel should not be making personal, i.e. non-business, travel arrangements on behalf of a traveler. (R05.02.060 5.a.3.).   Additional charges for these changes are the responsibility of the traveler.   If the change in itinerary resulted in lower airfare, the traveler must notify the Business Office Travel Coordinator so the credit can be claimed (R05.02.060 5.c.1.).

Hotel Costs: The traveler must reserve hotel rooms and pay for all costs. These will be reimbursed in the TER process. Hotel costs include room rental and applicable state and local hotel taxes. All other expenses charged to the room are the responsibility of the traveler unless there is a documented business reason for the charges.

Car Rental: The minimum size of vehicle that should be rented is “standard.” If a larger vehicle is rented (excluding free upgrades), a business reason must be stated.   UAF has an arrangement with Enterprise to receive insurance coverage without additional fees.   We suggest you take advantage of this whenever possible.

Change in Itinerary: Changes to itinerary while in travel status should only be done if there is a business reason or airlines have cancelled your flight. The traveler is responsible for all additional charges at the time of the change. Changes to the originally purchased itinerary must be documented with boarding passes and submitted with the TER along with receipts of additional charges and justification for the change.  

Travel Accident Insurance: is generally provided for University of Alaska employees while in authorized university business travel status outside a 100-mile radius from home or regular place of business. (R05.02.060 5.f.)

Travel Status: A traveler shall be considered in travel status from the time the traveler leaves or returns to his or her immediate work station if travel begins or ends during assigned work hours, or from the time the traveler leaves or returns home if travel begins or ends outside assigned working hours. (R05.02.060 7.a.)

Purpose: The Travel Expense Report (TER) is the official document used by the traveler and the department to approve actual travel costs and travel dates associated with an authorized trip (R05.02.060 2.i.).   Travel expenses shall be reimbursed ONLY upon completion of a TER after the travel is complete.   Partial reimbursements will only be processed for blanket TAs (usually used for CES Program Service Travel).

Deadlines: The TER should be filed with the campus business or travel office within 15 days of completion of a trip. (R05.02.060 14.a.3.) Reminder: No payment will be made for reimbursements requested more than 90 days after the due date of the expense report, unless approved by the Travel Administrator (UAF). (R05.02.060 14.d.2.)

What to Include: The following items should be include on or submitted with the TER:

• The business purpose or reason for travel must be clearly explained (R05.02.060 2.h.). CES travelers must include the type of travel (See CES Travel Policy).
• Begin date and time and end date and time that traveler was in travel status.
• If you purchased your own airfare or changed the airfare purchased by the Business Office for additional personal days, you must submit itineraries, boarding passes, and any flight change documentation. A scanned copy is fine.   Original receipts are not required.
• If the Business Office purchased your airfare, you must submit any flight change documentation.   Boarding passes and itineraries of originally purchased flight is not required. A scanned copy is fine.   Original receipts are not required.
• Receipts for hotel, car rental, gas, ground transportation, parking, etc. are required.   A scanned copy is fine.   Original receipts are not required.
• Individual expenses less than $25 may be reimbursed without a receipt. Total unreceipted expenses will not exceed $25 per expanse report (R05.02.060 14.b.2.).
• Mileage worksheet with actual documented miles or calculated miles using Google maps or other map program (see Mileage Worksheet).
• Per diem or actual cost of meals (see Per Diem section).
  

NOTE: Supplies and Misc expenses are no longer processed through travel and should not be included on the TER. Field camp supplies/food and program supplies should be purchased with a ProCard. In the event items are purchased as an emergency need, reimbursement is processed through procurement as a direct pay.

Authorizing Signatures: The traveler must sign the completed TER before submitting to the Business Office.

Reimbursement Method: Travelers should utilize direct deposit as the means to receive reimbursement.   You may sign up or change your direct deposit information on UAOnline (https://uaonline.alaska.edu/ ) in the Direct Deposit Services section under the Finance tab.

Per diem is a daily allowance (set amount) given to a traveler per day to cover meal and incidental expenses in connection with work done away from home.   The maximum daily amount allowed is dictated by university and federal regulations dependent upon location.   The projected per diem for the entire trip should be included in the TA.  Actual per diem claimed must be specified on the TER.   It is permissible and encouraged to claim less than allowable costs for per diem.  

Restrictions:

• Per diem (M&IE allowance) will not be paid for travel that is less than 12 hours. (R05.02.060 6.b.5.)
• If meals are available at no cost to the traveler (other than airline meals and snacks), such as meals provided at conferences or by others at meetings, or if meal costs are reimbursed from other sources or reimbursed as representational expenses, the per diem allowance shall be adjusted by reducing the daily M&IE allowance by one-fourth (1/4) for each meal provided or reimbursed by other means. Exceptions to these reductions must be justified in writing and submitted with the TER. (R05.02.060 7.d.)

Calculation: The traveler shall be allowed one-half of the basic meal and incidental expense (M&IE) allowance for each half-day period during which the traveler was on travel status.   Travelers are encouraged to only claim M&IE of a half at which the traveler was on travel status for a minimum of 2 hours. The half-day periods are as follow:

• Midnight-Noon
• Noon-Midnight

(R05.02.060 6.b.4.)

Allowable Limits: M&IE limits are dependent upon the location of where the traveler is spending the night (where you lay your head). Travelers are always permitted to claim less than the allowable per diem limit.

• Locations in Alaska: The Alaska meals and incidentals rate shall be $60.00 for Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and their surrounding communities. (Surrounding urban areas are based on an industry standard of a 50 mile radius, give or take a few miles.).   For areas outside Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, reimbursement of actual costs for meals and incidentals are encouraged.   Actual costs totaling up to the maximum allowable per diem rate for that location may be claimed. If actuals cost are claimed receipts, must be provided with TER. (R05.02.060 6.a.4.)
• Locations outside Alaska:   Per diem reimbursement rates for travel outside of Alaska shall be the rate authorized for payment by the federal government in the locality (included international travel) in which the travelers spends the night. If the location is not listed on the federal list, the traveler must use the rate for “other” as the amount for per diem claims. (R05.02.060 6.b.2.)

Group Travel: All group travel will be reported at actual cost; however, cash meal and incidental expense allowances may be paid to members of the group for some or all meals or periods (R05.02.060 6.g.).

Travel Advances : University-issued cash advances are strongly discouraged and are a means of last resort (4/24/13 Travel Regulation Changes memo from Myron Dosch, Controller).

From UAF Travel Regulation R08.02.06

d.          Automobile Rental  

1. Automobile rental for employees on authorized university business may be utilized when such use is in the best interest of the university and approved in advance on a Travel Authorization.   (See item (6) of this sub-section regarding prohibition of renting vehicles for guests or non-employees in the name of the university.
2. The traveler must obtain the lowest and most economical rate offered to university or government agencies for the type of vehicle necessary to meet the business needs of the traveler. However, based on safety considerations, use of vehicles smaller than mid-size ("economy" or "subcompact" class vehicles) is not required. (See R05.02.06A.15(8) regarding expense reporting for full size or luxury vehicles.)   A standard sized car is to be rented or the business justification for a larger class vehicle must be attached to the expense report.

Click here for Rental Car Tips

Insurance/Government Rates and Discounts Form

Car Rental Discounts

• Enterprise Car Rental Agreement: UAF Travel Department would like to announce a new car rental agreement that can be used for business or personal travel. This agreement has several key advantages, including insurance and lowering the underage driver age to 18 and preferred rates in Alaska and the continental United States. When seeking a car rental rate please try our preferred customer number when making price comparisons. Our Enterprise customer number is XZ45UAF.
• Budget Rent  a Car: University of Alaska Discount Code R039500

• Claim Guide: The System Office of Risk Services covers physical body damage sustained to vehicles, up to seven years of age, in accidents occurring on official university business. Coverage occurs only when there has been an accident. An accident is a sudden, unexpected event, not purposeful, and not due to mechanical failure/breakdown or normal wear and tear. University departments are responsible for a deductible for each and every accident. The deductible is retained by the department responsible for the vehicle at the time of the accident.

• Accident Reporting: You must immediately report any accidents that occur during your work for the university to your supervisors, your vehicle fleet manager if you have a leased UA vechicle, and your campus risk management/safety department. Report should normally occur the same day, or no later than the next business day. Auto Accident Report and Claim Form

Click here for more on Auto Liability, UA System Office of Risk Services