Department of English || Faculty + Staff

Travel Policies

All university-related travel should be pre-authorized, even if you are not receiving department support for it. Doing it after the fact can slow reimbursements and also could mean you don’t have access to IU insurance if something should happen to you on the trip. Even if you are paying for the trip from a grant account or individual discretionary account, the trip needs to be entered into the online system. You have 60 days from the end date of your scheduled travel to complete the reimbursement process.
While the online system gives you the option to complete your own travel documents, please do not process your own travel (or any financial documents) if you are receiving any department funds in support of your travel. It needs to be processed through Wanda for several reasons: auditing purposes, account policies, grant policies, compliance with laws and university policies for reimbursements, etc. If you do initiate your own travel and it involves department funds, it will be disapproved!
The current department policy for the general fund is you must fill out a travel form (available on the bulletin board outside Wanda’s office) and submit it to Jennifer.
After the department has approved your request (if that is needed), make an appointment with Wanda well in advance of your trip so that she can set up the trip in the new travel system. She needs the following information to complete the authorization: traveler’s name, begin/end date, destination, full name of the conference, any prepayment information and forms, dollar limit for each account (know your account number(s)), the purpose of the travel. Regarding the reimbursements: Departure and return time must be indicated. If per diem is being requested, indicate if any meals were provided; to claim per diem the traveler needs to provide proof of lodging. If there is personal time involved, clearly indicate which days. It is IU policy that a person cannot take personal time both before and after a trip.
Be sure to keep receipts for anything you wish to be reimbursed for, including airfare, car rental, taxi or other ground transportation, and hotel. You will only be reimbursed for what you pay out of your pocket. If you are sharing a hotel room with another person, be sure your name shows up on the hotel receipt: that is your proof that you took the trip. You will need proof of lodging when you are claiming per diem. All receipts must be itemized. If you are claiming per diem, travel does not take your food receipts. You are paid per diem according to the per diem rate for the city you visited. (There are exceptions to this rule depending on the rules of the account you are claiming the monies from.)
You can go to the travel management site and book airfare through Orbitz and hotels through hotel.com if you have a university account that will pay either of these items. You must get the trip set up with Wanda first, however. The travel management site also contains information about university travel policies.
You cannot prepay anything until you have a "trip number" and the number will not be assigned until the authorization has been routed completely through the travel system. Please allow extra time for processing.
Do not make up your own travel numbers. The system will assign a trip number to you but not before the request has routed all the way through the system. If you have waited to arrange travel at the last minute; you will have to pay out of pocket and then get reimbursed.

For more information or assistance, contact:

Wanda Colwell
IU School of Liberal Arts, Department of English
425 University Blvd., CA 502M
Indianapolis, IN 46202
V: 317-274-9841; F: 317-278-1287; wsthomps@iupui.edu

425 University Blvd
Cavanaugh Hall 502L
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Ph: 317.274.2258 | Email: english@iupui.edu