2. It is the traveler’s responsibility to ensure that the TRF is properly approved and submitted to the travel office in a timely manner in order to take advantage of discount fares. Failure to obtain proper approval or make timely arrangements may cause a delay in processing the travel request and incur additional costs.

3. No personal travel is to be arranged with our on-site AMEX travel agents. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that our teams and staff get the best possible travel service. The travel office can provide you with the University approved list of travel agencies with whom personal travel may be arranged.

TRAVEL EXPENSE VOUCHERS (TEV’s)
1. For individual travel, all TEV’s need to be approved by the immediate supervisor before forwarding to the business office. Failure to do this will delay the processing of the traveler’s TEV.

2. Team travel TEV’s require head coach signature, and can then be forwarded to the Business Office. Team travel with unusual circumstances (as determined by the business office) may require additional sport administrator approval.

3. TEV’s must be submitted within 30 days after travel has been completed and must include all team travel credit card charges (i.e., final, accurate hotel charges). All department-paid team travel credit card charges (i.e. even non-travel items such as supplies) must be reported on the TEV. Failure to account for all charges in a timely manner will cause a suspension or termination of University credit card privileges.

4. The “purpose”, “dates”, and “location” spaces must be filled out completely. Use separate TEV’s for different types of activity. For example, do not combine “team travel” with “recruiting”, or “professional travel” with “miscellaneous expenses”. Use separate forms for each type of expense.

5. Each trip should be laid out day-by-day (i.e. each day should be placed in a separate column on the TEV). Some costs such as airfare and hotel charges can be placed on the first or last day, but meals, tips, mileage, parking, gas, etc., should be placed in the day that they are incurred. Failure to lay out the trip day-by-day may result in the TEV being sent back for appropriate presentation.

6. Air itineraries and/or airline tickets must be submitted with the traveler’s TEV on all individual travel. It is not necessary to include itineraries or airline tickets for team travel. Also, all expenses resulting from airline ticket changes must be fully explained on the TEV.

7. A detailed hotel bill, including all individual room folios and detail catering receipts, is always required. It is the traveler’s responsibility to reconcile differences between hotel receipts and the actual credit card charge. For team trips, failure to checkout at the front desk many times' results in charges such as banquets or room incidentals being added to the team travel credit card after departure. The traveler or team representative is responsible for accurate reporting.

8. Regarding hotel incidentals, the Department does not pay for movies or health club charges. These charges should be paid by the traveler during the checkout process or else included in the funds returned to the Department with the TEV. It is against NCAA regulations for the University to pay for long distance telephone toll charges on behalf of our student-athletes. These must be paid for by the student-athlete upon checkout. Any student-athlete toll charges on the Department bill will be forwarded to Compliance. Staff calls should be made on a telephone calling card or cell phone to avoid exorbitant hotel surcharges.

9. Incomplete vouchers will be returned to the traveler for proper completion.

10. Receipts are required for all items where receipts are normally available.

11. When there is unspent cash to be returned, please hand carry it directly to the Business Office. Cash should never be left in the mailroom.

AIR TRAVEL
Per UM policy, the cost of airfare is limited to the cost of coach airfare. Airfare expenses exceeding coach airfare require an exception memorandum approved by the Athletic Director or his/her designee. If a portion of travel is personal, the staff member must reimburse the department for any airfare cost differential caused by the personal portion before travel occurs.

MEAL EXPENSES
1. University policy states that under no circumstances is it allowable to receive a meal reimbursement unless there is an overnight stay. This policy is applicable (without exception) to all individual UM staff travel, but not team travel.

2. The meal per diem allowance for staff and student-athlete travel is $32 per day as follows:

i. Breakfast $6
ii. Lunch $10
iii. Dinner $16

3. The traveler must adjust his/her per diem to the itinerary for the first and last days of the trip. For example, if a traveler leaves home/office at 11:00 a.m., the appropriate amount of meal expenses for that day would be $26. If, however, a traveler leaves at 2:00 p.m., his/her meal expenses for that day would be $16.

4. The IRS classifies certain cities as "high cost" cities. Per diem for travel to these cities is $40 per day. The breakdown for the $40 is:

i. Breakfast $8
ii. Lunch $12
iii. Dinner $20

High Cost Cities.pdf

5. A hosted “business meal” (i.e. a meal hosted for business purposes) requires a receipt which identifies the business purpose and the name and affiliation of all hosted guests. When traveling, the appropriate amount of traveler's per diem should be deducted from that day’s meal allowance. UM hosting policy limits the per person amount that can be spent during a hosted business meal. The maximum per person reimbursement for food and non-alcoholic beverages is: breakfast-$25; lunch-$25; dinner-$55.

6. Remember to deduct food charged to the traveler’s hotel room and meals provided by another party from that day’s per diem.

7. Meal money given to student-athletes for meals otherwise not provided must be documented on a Travel Squad List. The Travel Squad List must have the amounts disbursed to student-athletes laid out on a day-by-day basis. All student-athletes receiving meal money must sign/initial the Travel Squad List to document the amount of funds received. Please arrange and identify the various categories of travelers on the Travel Squad List (i.e. student athletes, managers, staff, etc.).

8. Vacation Period Per Diem – The per diem rate for non-academic year athletic participation is $32 a day, regardless of the student-athletes’ housing arrangement (i.e. off campus housing or Fletcher Hall dormitory).


GRATUITIES
Reasonable gratuities (i.e. tips) are allowed. The standard gratuity rate for restaurant meals is 15% and should be limited to 20%.


MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT
1. Business mileage reimbursement for use of a personal car is $.55 per mile effective January 1, 2009. Business mileage reimbursement for courtesy vehicles and those receiving a salary supplement is $.15 per mile, effective January 1, 2009.

2. Reimbursement for business miles driven must be submitted on a Travel Expense Voucher (TEV). All business miles must be documented with dates, distance, and purpose. Also, please see #105-Travel-mileage reimbursement.


RECRUITING EXPENSES
1. All off-campus recruiting travel must be accompanied by a Recruiting Contact/Evaluation form signed by the traveling coach. The white copy of the form accompanies the TEV, the yellow copy is forwarded to Compliance, and the coach should retain the pink copy.

2. For paid visits, the maximum student host entertainment allowance is $30 per day. These amounts should be reported on the “per diem” line of the TEV and must be accompanied by a Student Host Form signed by the student host and the head coach.

3. If a recruit pays for some of their travel expenses in conjunction with a paid visit (e.g. mileage), the recruit can be reimbursed by completing an Official Visitation Form. The Official Visitation Form must accompany the related TEV for all official paid visits.

4. For meals during a paid visit, all individuals at each meal must be listed. There can only be one student host per recruit.


CASH ADVANCES
Cash advances are only available for team travel, recruiting trips lasting five or more days, and recruit hosting activities. The recipient of a travel cash advance agrees to properly account for the funds on a travel expense voucher. If the advance is not properly accounted for, the University reserves the right to obtain repayment through payroll deduction.

All cash advance requests must be included on the Travel Request Form when submitted to the travel office. Please allow at least two business days for a cash advance to be processed. Cash advance checks are generally processed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Cash advance checks are cashed through a special arrangement at the Bank of America branch (formerly LaSalle Bank), 395 Briarwood Circle (734-747-7638). For checks greater than $5,000, the branch should be contacted several days in advance and the desired amount and denominations can be requested.

In order to reduce the need for team travel advance funds and minimize the risk of loss of those funds, it is strongly recommended that all possible team travel expenses be charged to the team travel card. The Business Office reserves the right to reduce a travel cash advance that is unreasonably high.

All cash advances must be accounted for on a Travel Expense Voucher within 30 days of completion of travel. Remember that cash advances older than a month from the return of a trip and not accounted for will prohibit you from receiving another cash advance as well as other expense reimbursements. Please hand carry unspent cash with approved TEV to the Business Office.

If you need an entry fee paid before traveling to competition, do not use a Travel Request Form. Please submit them on a Request for Payment/Reimbursement Form (i.e. these are not processed by departmental travel agents). If entry fee is to be paid at the competition site, then include the cash needed on the Travel Request Form and obtain proper receipt.

RENTAL CARS
In the absence of extenuating circumstances, the department reimburses up to the cost of a standard full size rental vehicle. If extenuating circumstances exist which would reasonably allow for a vehicle class upgrade request, the request must be made in advance, in writing. In the absense of an approved advance request, the incremental cost of the upgrade will be deducted from the reimbursement.

Insurance – please do not accept the insurance coverage offered by the car rental agencies. You are covered under the University’s policy. In addition, most major credit card companies provide coverage when you use their credit card to pay for your rental. If you choose to accept additional insurance coverage, the department will not reimburse you.

Fuel Service Option – please do not accept the Fuel Service Option from the car rental agency. With this option, the car rental agency will charge you for a full tank of gas regardless of how many miles you drive the car. If you accept the Fuel Service Option, the department will only reimburse you based on the actual miles driven. The formula used for gasoline reimbursement is based on an average of 15 miles per gallon multiplied by the average cost per gallon for gasoline. For example: You drove the car 60 miles. 60miles/15mpg = 4 gallons. 4 gallons x $3.50/gal. = $14 reimbursement.

Refueling – please fill the car with gas before returning it to the rental agency. Rental agencies charge significantly more for gas than service stations. Currently, they are charging upwards of $7 per gallon. If you do not refuel the car, the department will only reimburse you based on the average cost per gallon at service stations in the area that you traveled.