Pre-approval is required for all out-of-state travel at least 30 days prior to the trip or before any expenditure may be pre-paid. An out-of-state travel request will not be required for a one (1) day trip (no lodging) within driving distance. All UMS business conducted in the "Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area" will now be considered in-state travel (even if lodging is required).

An out-of-state travel request should always be filed if the travel is work related and occurs during a normal work period even though this institution may not be reimbursing any funds for the trip. This action would cover the employee, in the event of an accident, that may occur while on work related business.

All in-state and out-of-state travel must be approved at the department and the dean or vice president level only.

Conference Registrations

Requests for prepayment of conference registration fees should be submitted 3-4 weeks in advance of any deadline. All pertinent conference registration materials must be submitted with either the out-of-state form (PDF) or the Conference Travel Registration Purchase Order (Word), which is available as a Word document.

In lieu of departments no longer having access to purchase orders, the Accounts Payable Travel Office has initiated its own Conference Travel Registration Purchase Order. The new purchase order is to be used for all in-state travel conference registration fees.

Completed registration forms for out-of-state travel must be submitted with a completed SU Out-of-State Travel Request Form (GADX3). If a purchase order number is required to pre-register, a Conference Travel Registration Purchase Order must be submitted to the Travel Office.

Each registration form will be individually reviewed by the Travel Office and a determination made (at that time) as to the method of payment required. The Travel Office will determine whether a conference registration payment will be by the SU procard, a direct billing from the vendor, regular pre-payment processing through the Accounts Payable Office and the State of MD Treasury or by a petty cash check. In all cases, the registration form will then be submitted to the vendor from the Travel Office.

Registration fees paid by individual travelers are reimbursed by submitting a SU Expense Account form to the Travel Office, along with an original receipt of payment.

Please note: Conferences generally send confirmation of registration. The Travel Office recommends that if you do not receive a confirmation, you should contact the conference directly or the Travel Office to verify any registration before traveling to the conference.

Conference Travel Registration Purchase Order
Sample - Completed Conference Travel Registration Purchase Order

Airline Reservations

SU personnel should ensure that all arrangements are reasonable and appropriate and be alert for possibilities to obtain air, hotel and rental car services at discount rates available for government, corporate, the University of MD System or Salisbury University employees. Travelers are expected to make advance bookings via the most direct route and the least expensive logical coach fare.
Please contact SU’s Accounts Payable Travel Office for procedures and instructions regarding ticketing, reservations, etc. and specific vendors who can accommodate charging our American Express Business Travel Account and provide special discounts before committing university funds.

Employees are requested to have their air/rail travel charged to the university’s American Express Business Travel Account. In order to utilize the BTA charge process, we have instituted the following procedure for individuals to use when booking air/rail fares:

In order for any employee to charge his/her domestic airfare or train fare, this office must have an approved out-of-state travel form on file in our travel office;
The travel vendor will then contact this office for an official authorization to use the “BTA” and we will in turn fax the air/rail approval to that vendor;
This office will not authorize any BTA charge unless your approved out -of-state travel form is on file in the travel office and the approved amount will cover the entire air/rail fare.

We currently allow three (3) local vendors the American Express Business Travel Account charge privileges. They are as follows:

Boscov's Travel	(410) 548-1771
Hall's Tidewater Travel	(410) 749-8131
Travel Advisors	(410) 543-1430

Please note: Due to the airlines lowering the commission structure on airline tickets written by travel agents, some agencies feel it necessary to recoup this lost commission by adding a fee to each customer airline ticket. The rates vary by agency. Please contact this office for more details and updates on fees or if you do not chose to select one of the indicated agents.

Also, any employee can still pay for his/her own air or rail fare but will not be reimbursed until after the trip. The employee would then have to file an expense account, along with the "original passenger coupon receipt" or "electronic ticket" to be reimbursed. Travel itineraries are not acceptable.

In the event of changed plans, cancellation and other penalties will be paid by this institution provided the cancellation or change was made for the convenience of the institution or was of an emergency nature affecting the traveler and approved by the Vice-President of Administration and Finance. Reimbursement will be by expense account, justification and original receipt only.

Hotels, Meals, and Misc. Expenses

A. The cost of hotel accommodations will be reimbursed on the basis of original hotel folio receipts. Only the cost incurred for a single room rate will be reimbursed to the employee. Any overage above the single rate will be the personal responsibility of that employee.

Hotel reservations should also ensure that the rates are reasonable and appropriate for the area. Travelers should also utilize state government or corporate rates when available, providing they are less expensive.

B. Standard per diem meal rates effective July 1, 2007 without receipts:

                                                       Breakfast     $8.00
                                                       Lunch           10.00
                                                       Dinner          23.00
                                                             Total     $41.00

High cost per diem meal rates with detailed receipts:

                                                       Breakfast    $10.00
                                                       Lunch         11.00
                                                       Dinner         25.00
                                                             Total   $46.00

For a listing of high cost metropolitan area select Highratesmetarea.doc.

Personal credit card receipts are not considered an acceptable receipt. In the absence of a detailed receipt(s), reimbursement will only be allowed at the “standard” rate only. The USM Board of Regents review these rates biannually.

Any representative of this university, on travel status, should not request reimbursement for any amount(s) not spent. Nor should any employee ask for reimbursement of a meal (s) not consumed or for any meal included with a registration fee.

Foreign travel is reimbursed at actual cost with original receipts or at the applicable U.S. Department of State Meal and Incidental (M&IE) rate without receipts. Please contact the Accounts Payable Travel Office for this applicable rate. The USM Board of Regents will review these rates biennially.

Please note: A partial day’s travel is eligible for the appropriate meal (s) consumed when travel time encompasses a period of two hours before and/or two hours after one’s normal work day.

Under no circumstance will lunch be reimbursed on a one day trip unless both of the above criteria are met. An employee would need to work a minimum of 12 hours plus a lunch period of at least 30 minutes to be eligible for lunch reimbursement (i.e...start 6 a.m., returned back to campus 7 p.m. or later with the normal work day occurring between 8 -5 p.m. with a lunch hour taken into consideration). These departure / arrival times must be clearly indicated on any expense account presented.

Once again, please remember: Credit card charge voucher(s) are not considered acceptable receipts!

C. Work-related small miscellaneous expenses such as parking fees, tolls, small supplies, and the like are reimbursable. Original receipts will be required for all miscellaneous reimbursements. An expense account, along with all original receipts, should be filed for any type of reimbursement in excess of $5.00. For some reimbursements less than $5.00, simply present your original receipt (and in some cases a signed expense account) with the department head's signature and account code, to the Cashier's Office for immediate reimbursement. Remember, this type of reimbursement does not include any type of out-of state travel expense, telephone calls, or food items.

D. Porter and bell person baggage handling fees will be reimbursed at the rate of $1.00 per bag for a reasonable number of bags (no receipt necessary but a personal certification will be required).

Institutional funds may not be used for the purchase of alcoholic beverages or additional flight insurance.

[The institution supports the use of its credit card program, American Express Corporate Card, for the payment of travel related expenses such as hotels, car rentals, etc.. A travel advance will not normally be given to any employee unless circumstances warrant (i.e....a new employee who does not have an American Express Card or a personal credit card) and only then as such funds are available from the university's Working Fund.]

Use of Institutional and Personal Vehicles

State vehicles may only be driven by SU authorized personnel and only when acting within the scope of their public duties. A volunteer may be considered authorized personnel only when he or she is engaged in providing a service to the institution, is not paid by the institution, and is providing the service as part of a formal volunteer program.

Any person driving a State-owned vehicle must have a valid driver's license, comply with all traffic laws, and obtain approval, in advance, as required by USM and SU's policies and procedures governing the use of its state vehicles.

Each department (other than ‘Self-Supporting’ areas) receives a separate Motor Pool Budget each fiscal year and state vehicle usage will be charged to this budget monthly. Vehicle usage for all Self Supporting areas (grants, auxiliary, and agency fund accounts) will be charge directly to the departmental operating budget. The charge for state vehicle usage is $.2925 per mile.

Effective July 1, 2008, personal vehicle usage will be reimbursed at the rate of $.5850 per mile if a state vehicle is not available for use; reimbursement of $.2925 per mile will be paid if a state car is available and you choose not to use it (this reimbursement will require your department head’s budget approval).

Where a car rental is deemed necessary, the institution expects the lease of the least expensive car which will accommodate the trip's requirements.

Employees will not be reimbursed for Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) car rental insurance coverage within the 50 states. An employee, of course, may purchase the CDW or LDW at his/her own expense. Vehicles rented to the State are covered for liability under the Maryland Tort Claims act. SU will be responsible for the first $1000 of damages (the deductible) if an accident occurs within the 50 states.

However, an employee traveling outside the United States should agree to the CDW/LDW and will be reimbursed for the cost.

When signing the rental agreement, the renter must include their name, USM/SU, and the State of MD.

Reimbursement will be by expense account and original rental car agreement only.

Travel with Spouses

This institution will not reimburse any travel related expenditure resulting from a spouse traveling with the employee. Each employee will be responsible for maintaining a record of his/her expenses.

Athletic/Invitational Travel

Coming soon.

Special Circumstances

Contracted or invited special guests to this agency may be reimbursed for all logical and reasonable travel expenses. Any reimbursable request must follow the same guidelines as outlined for employees in Sections 2 (Reservations and Ticketing), 3A & 3C (Hotels and Other Expenses), and 4 (Use of Institution and Personal Vehicles). Any meal(s) consumed may be reimbursed at 100%, provided an original, detailed receipt is submitted along with his/her expense account form. Please keep in mind any room service charge included on a hotel bill is not considered an adequate meal receipt nor is a credit card charge voucher. A separate meal receipt will be required for 100% reimbursement. Otherwise, the “standard per diem” cost will be reimbursed. This reimbursement rate does not apply to candidates being interviewed (see separate policy for interviewees).

Meal reimbursement rates for contracted or invited guests can be at the discretion of the approving department but are subject to the above conditions.

An employee's lunch is not reimbursable if lunching with a contracted or invited special guest on a normal work day.

An employee's dinner is not reimbursable if dining with a contracted or invited special guest unless the dinner can be justified, approved as a "business dinner" after normal work hours and be approved by a Dean or Vice President. The reimbursable amount for a business dinner will be the USM/SU “standard per diem” rate only.

No alcoholic beverages will be reimbursed.

High Cost Metropolitan Areas

The list of Metropolitan is available in word format:
Highratesmetarea.doc

American Express Corporate Card

Salisbury University supports the use of its American Express Corporate Credit Card program for faculty and administrator business travel. The main purpose of this credit card program is to allow faculty and administrators (who have business related expenses) to charge expenses and submit their itemized receipts (sorry-no credit card charge vouchers), along with an expense account, for reimbursement.

If the expense account form is submitted promptly, your reimbursement should be received before the credit card payment is due. The card can be used to charge personal expenses and there is no set credit limit in most cases. Just keep in mind the balance is due and payable, in full, each month as billed.

Effective with the June 2006 billing cycle, American Express will charge all corporate cardholders an annual fee of $55.00. Each cardholder will be responsible for payment of the annual fee. The fee is not eligible for reimbursement by Salisbury University. American Express stated it has made changes to simplify the Corporate Card annual fee structure and all Corporate Card annual fees will be determined based upon a company’s annual corporate card “spend and speed of pay.” This change is intended to tie program usage to annual card fees.

An American Express credit card application is available at American Express Corp Card Application, by pickup in the Accounts Payable Director's Office, Holloway Hall-Room 218 or by campus mail.

Please complete the application and return it to Holloway Hall, Room 218 for processing. Application processing normally takes approximately 2 weeks and each applicant will be contacted when the card has been received at SU. The applicant must then stop by the office and sign for his/her new credit card.

Once the credit card has been issued, any charge(s) will be billed directly to your home address. It is your responsibility to pay the balance, in full, each month. Failure to do so will result in a past due account and American Express can cancel this card for non-payment after 60 days!

A sample application for the American Express card is here in PDF format:
amex card app.sample

This requires the Adobe PDF viewer.

Accounts Payable & Travel

Quick Resources

Other Links

Office Information

State of Maryland Expense Account Forms

Travel Approval