Departmental Documents

The University of Kentucky has specific requirements for travel reimbursement. Please read the requirements outlined below and be sure to follow them when requesting reimbursement for travel.

Prior to registering or taking your trip ALL faculty, staff, and students will need to fill out a travel authorization form and have it approved in advance. ALL staff and student travel authorization forms must be reviewed and signed by your PI before submitting to Rebecca Hisel. 

The travel authorization form will help to ensure that funds are budgeted and available from the proposed grant or cost center. We will also use this form to determine if the Travel Voucher or Student Payment Voucher is the appropriate method for reimbursement based on the type account it is being paid from. No expenses should be charged to the Procard prior to approval of the Travel Authorization.

Some travel support may be available from the Graduate School.

1. Please send Becky Hisel a copy of the form that you filled out and sent to the graduate school for travel support.
2. Fill out a travel expense form and hand in to me upon applying for Graduate School Travel Support. Attached
3. No pro-card funds will be given to you for additional expenses, until the total $ amount of support from the Graduate School has been spent.

Follow instructions below for proper reimbursement:

Immediately upon completion of a trip, the traveler must fill out Travel Reimbursement Form and must bring any and all documentation pertaining to the trip to Rebecca Hisel who will complete a travel reimbursement request, obtain the necessary approvals, and forward receipts and other documentation to Accounts Payable. Be sure you turn in the necessary documentation (outlined below) immediately as travel reimbursements must be submitted to Accounts Payable within 60 calendar days of the date of the return. Please refer to University of Kentucky Business Procedures (Business Procedures E-5-1, Reimbursement of Travel Expenses) for detailed policies and procedures.

Instructions for Travel Reimbursement for Faculty, Staff, and Students

To ensure that you receive your reimbursement in a timely manner please be sure to do the following:

Keep ALL your receipts for expenses for which you would like to be reimbursed. For food you will need to make sure that you have the itemized receipt(s). A credit card statement or the receipt that just shows the amount will not suffice and your reimbursement will be denied.

Regardless if you are Faculty, Staff, or Student always turn in your program/brochure of the conference/event as back up documentation when requesting reimbursement.

Faculty and staff who are requesting reimbursement for meals will also need to turn in the program itinerary/ brochure when requesting reimbursements. This is usually available online before you attend the conference or at the conference. It should show the dates and times of conference and what is included as part of the registration fee. UK Accounting Office now requires this documentation to ensure that you are not requesting reimbursement for meals that were included in the conference registration.

Faculty, Staff, and Students will need to have the following back up documentation for reimbursement:

• Copies of UK Procard receipts/ tickets (i.e. lodging, registrations, plane tickets, car rentals, parking, tolls, taxi, subway)
• If you go outside of UK Travel to purchase flight tickets you must attach a valid air cost comparison if non‐UK Travel. This comparison has to be done on the same day that the tickets are purchased in order for it to be valid.

1. In all cases that personal and business travel are combined on an airline ticket , a valid airfare cost comparison, must be secured for what the airfare would cost if the traveler were only flying on official UK business. This cost comparison must be attached to the travel voucher. Any personal choice that is included on an airline ticket regarding travel dates, destinations, detours, upgradeable fares, originating airports other than the traveler’s “work station” airport (for Lexington based employees, Louisville and Cincinnati airports are acceptable as well as Lexington’s), or any other personal choice, must be supported with a “business-travel-only” airline cost comparison.
2. When combining personal with business travel, all travel expenses must be paid using personal funds, not with a University Procurement Card or any other method using University funds; exceptions are:
   1. Conference registration fees;
   2. Lodging expenses for the nights related to the business purpose of the trip.
3.  Any additional cost resulting from combining personal travel with business travel is the responsibility of the traveler and will not be reimbursed by the University.
4. The traveler must provide documentation substantiating that no additional costs are included in the expenses claimed for reimbursement. Otherwise, the expenses will be allocated on a pro rata basis between official University travel expenses and personal expenses.

Subsistence Chart for meals being reimbursed on a per diem basis
(Subsistence payment for a meal requires the claimant to be in a travel status for the entirety of the time frame established for the meal outlined in the chart below.) Subsistence cannot be claimed for meals included in registration fees.

Time Frames
Breakfast: 6:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Lunch: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Information on per diem rates can be found on the EVPFA website.

Airline Travel
Purchase the airline ticket using a personal credit card.

Submit documentation of the expenses for reimbursement on a travel voucher after the travel is completed.

To substantiate that a favorable ticket rate was found with an alternate travel vendor, a valid cost comparison must be submitted with your travel voucher. In order to be considered valid, the cost comparison must come from the University’s online travel reservation system, Concur Travel, and show a listing of airfares for the same dates of travel, the same travel destinations, the same approximate times of travel and must be printed on the same day that the ticket was purchased from the alternate travel vendor. For additional information regarding Travel Management Services or Concur Travel, please visit: http://www.uky.edu/Travel/

Reimbursement of the alternate agency service fee will be limited to that of the University’s lead agency.

1. The preferred method of arranging official University business air travel is through the University’s lead travel agency (AAA), one of its preferred travel agencies (Avant Travel), or its online reservation system (Concur).
2. The preferred method of paying for official University business air travel is with the University of Kentucky Procurement Card.
3. Only official University business air travel arranged through the University’s lead travel agency, one of its preferred travel agencies, or its online reservation system may be purchased with the University of Kentucky Procurement Card.
4. The alternate method of paying for official University business air travel is with a personal credit card. Reimbursement of approved expenses shall be requested through a travel voucher after the travel is completed. The original ticket receipt showing form of payment and date and amount of the charge must accompany the travel voucher.
5. The University encourages travelers to obtain the lowest airfare. If doing so requires official University business travel to be arranged through an alternate travel agency or Web site, the following procedures shall be followed:
6. Commercial airline travel shall be coach/tourist class. Additional expense for first-class travel will not be reimbursed.
7. Round-trip, excursion or other negotiated reduced-rate rail or plane fares shall be obtained if practical.

Auto Rental

1. The traveler must have a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Release and Information Form on file with the University’s Risk Management Department.
2. The most economical car feasible must be rented.
3. Insurance for collision or comprehensive damage waiver-deductible
   1. Domestic rental vehicles are covered by the University’s Actual Cash Value Comprehensive and Collision coverage plan, additional insurance is not a reimbursable travel expense.
   2. Comprehensive, collision, and liability insurance on vehicles rented outside the United States, including the District of Columbia and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a reimbursable expense and University’s Risk Management Department recommends that it be obtained.
4.  The University prefers that rental car reservations be made through UK Travel.

Travel by Personal Vehicle

Please refer to http://www.uky.edu/EVPFA/Controller/files/BPM/E-5-1.pdf, see information on required documentation for reimbursement of mileage expenses. A Concur comparison is required for mileage over 400 miles (one way).

IMPORTANT FORMS NEEDED WHEN TRAVELING:

Travel Authorization Form- must be filled out with the proper signatures prior to making any travel arrangements. Motor Vehicle Release Form (MVR)-must have one on file when driving a university owned vehicle, personal vehicle when using it for UK official business, or rental car used for official UK business.

The international travel registry for faculty and staff going abroad for business purposes has gone live. You can access the registry by going directly to the website (https://ihss.uky.edu).

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR COVERAGE UNDER UK’S INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE PLAN.