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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVED POLICIES

Section Section III.4
POLICY ON AUTHORIZATION FOR TRAVEL

Endorsed by the Executive Committee
Approved by the Dean August 27, 1991

Policies concerning travel are detailed in Section 15-1A-200 of the University's "Regulations, Policy, and Guidelines." The general policy states that the heads of academic and administrative units have the authority to grant permission for their faculty and staff to travel, and that colleges may, at their option, require additional approvals.

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the authorization of travel is left to the executive officers of the academic or administrative units. If a unit lies within a school, the school director may determine the policy for the school.

No extraordinary approval is required for travel outside the United States. Some years ago, campus policies required a college dean's approval on all overseas travel, but this is no longer true.

The Dean is directly responsible for authorizing travel only by faculty and staff who are appointed in the College, but not in any academic or administrative subunit within the College. In addition, the Dean has direct authority over travel by school directors and the executive officers of academic and administrative units that are not organized into schools.

The director of a school is responsible for authorizing travel by faculty and staff who are appointed in the school, but not in an academic or administrative unit within the school. In addition, the director has authority over travel by the executive officers of academic or administrative units in the school.

For those faculty and staff members whose travel falls under the Dean's direct authority, the following policy applies:

Permission to travel is required in advance only when one or more of four conditions remains unsatisfied:

1. The travel meets a legitimate interest of the University.
2. The travel can be financed from a budget for which the traveller is responsible.
3. Responsible arrangements can be made for coverage of the traveller's local duties while he or she is absent.
4. The travel involves absence for no more than five full business days.

Prior approval, if required, should be sought from the Dean via a letter detailing the purpose, proposed financing, proposed arrangements for covering duties, and the duration of the trip. If the trip is undertaken without approval in advance, any request for reimbursement is subject to review for legitimacy under conditions (a)-(d). This policy covers all travel, including travel financed from University accounts, travel financed by persons or institutions outside the University, and vacation travel. In the case of vacation travel, condition (a) is waived.

Prior approval is not required for travel undertaken at personal expense during a period when the traveller is not under contract with the University, but it is required if the travel is to be financed from a university account and any of conditions (a)-(d) remains unsatisfied.

An executive officer reporting to the Dean is expected to gain prior approval whenever he or she is away for more than five full business days, regardless of the formal state of contract. The executive responsibility is deemed to cover the full year, unless formal arrangements for substitution have been made.

In the interest of consistency throughout the College, executive officers are encouraged to apply this same policy to all persons over whom they exercise authority (with only the change that prior approval is sought from the appropriate executive officer, not the Dean). If the executive officer deems that circumstances in the unit justify stricter rules, they may be applied.

Any travel policy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must require that approval and reimbursement be contingent on the making of responsible arrangements for coverage of the traveller's local duties while he or she is absent. Classes may not be missed to allow for travel without compensatory arrangements. It is acceptable to provide for qualified substitute instructors, to schedule proctored hour examinations, to reschedule the class for another time announced well in advance, or to arrange for some other compensatory educational experience. Rescheduling of classes or the substitution of a compensatory experience should be done only with prior approval of the appropriate executive officer.

Updated April 2003