Travel

PROCESS

1) Fill out a Travel Authorization Request (RTA) online and submit it to the KHE Travel Desk, 00055.

Note: For travel during the first or last week of classes and finals periods, prior approval from the Chair is required. This approval can be obtained via email between the traveler and the Chair. Chairs must review travel dates, missed classes, name of faculty member who will oversee missed classes, final exam dates and how exams will be administered, a plan for on time grade submission, and a method of contact for student queries. 

2) Your RTA and FTG/VCFRG (see below for the FTG process), if applicable, will route for the proper approvals. You will receive an automated email once your travel is approved for each request.

3) Book your travel! Once approvals are obtained, you may begin making your travel arrangements. The amounts allowed for food/lodging vary by account. The KHE staff can help you with any questions.

Personal Travel

Faculty members who will be missing duties due to personal travel should submit a travel request. 


Student Travel Requests

Student travel requests follow the same policies as faculty and staff travel requests. See the Student Travel Request wiki page for more information.

Faculty Travel Grant

Applying for a Faculty Travel Grant (FTG)/Virtual Conference Faculty Registration Grant (VCFRG)? Please review the eligibility criteria and FTG program guidelines and complete an FTG application before submitting your Travel Authorization Request (TAR). 

You must attach an FTG application approval email from Faculty Affairs to the TAR and indicate in the request notes that you are applying for the Faculty Travel Grant. Acknowledge that you will be using a UT account for travel and enter the information for two accounts, with an estimated cost of $1.00 for each account. The accounts should be listed in the order below. 

    • Account description DSF, account number 19-2635-8923
    • Account description KHE FTG, account number 30-2135-0051 for T/TT faculty or 30-2135-0052 for professional track faculty

The TAR will not be reviewed for approval until the FTG application, abstract and evidence of abstract approval are uploaded to the request.

NOTE: Please allow at least 2 weeks for FTG/VCFRG applications to be approved prior to travel.


International Travel


Airfare

May be direct billed to save you out of pocket expenses.

You can book airfare via Concur or by contacting a UT Travel Agency. You will need your RTA number when using direct bill options.

NOTE: Effective 07/07/2021, UT Austin COVID-19 travel guidelines have been updated, and you may now book your airfare online through sites such as Expedia or Orbitz. Airfare booked independently should be comparable in price.

If you are combining personal travel and business travel, you must do a flight comparison to show what the price would have been for just business travel days. We can only reimburse up to the amount it would have taken to travel for business. 

The airline customer service dashboard outlines how each carrier responds to travelers when encountering a delay or cancellation. The dashboard is very useful in breaking down the aspects of how carriers will assist in those events, such as rebooking or offering meal and hotel vouchers. 


Ground Transportation -

May be direct billed through Anthony Travel. This includes Vonlane Luxury Bus tickets and hired transport to/from the Austin airport.

The Anthony Travel contact for ground transportation is Renee Wells (ReneeWells@anthonytravel.com).


Mileage

Effective July 1, 2022 the standard mileage rates for the use of a personal vehicle is 65.5 cents per mile. You will need to submit a mapquest map with your reimbursement request that shows the location(s) you traveled to.   


Out-of-State Travel in a Personally Owned Vehicle

Reimbursement is limited to the lower of average coach airfare and related expenses or mileage plus allowable meals and lodging. When additional employees are transported, the average coach airfare of each employee should be used in the comparison.

Lodging and Per Diem -

Lodging is reimbursement only and must follow the University's Per Diem and Lodging rules.

  • Traveler may only be reimbursed at 75% of Per Diem rate on both local and state accounts for the first and last day of travel. 

Hotel receipts must have your name listed on them and show a $0 balance due.

  • Reservations from Hotwire.com, for example, will not suffice as a receipt.

If staying at a hotel in Texas, you must submit a Hotel Occupancy Form to have state sales tax waived. State sales tax from Texas is not reimbursable.

Please be cognizant of the amount allowed for lodging on the account that you are using.


Rental Cars -

See Rental Car Reservations for more details.

Free or Discounted Travel

An employee cannot be reimbursed for travel if no expense has been incurred. Receiving free transportation or lodging in exchange for mileage or credit card points does not constitute an expense. An employee can be reimbursed for discounted travel only if money was paid directly to obtain the discount. If money is paid directly to obtain a discount, then reimbursement is limited to the lesser of the cost of obtaining the discount, the amount of the discount, or the maximum reimbursement allowed for that type of travel expense.

Voucher Requirements:
• An original, complete, and unaltered receipt from the seller of the discount must be submitted with the voucher transmittal form.
• The voucher must contain a detailed description of the discount.

   PROCESS (Cont.)

5) After travel, submit your receipts via the Travel Reimbursement Request system and assign to the KHE Travel Desk, 00055. See this power point for step by step instructions on creating a travel reimbursement request. 

  • Receipts should be submitted after travel is complete.
  • Receipts for meals are not necessary, simply indicate the days you wish to request per diem in your reimbursement request.

6) The admin will request a signature on the voucher sheet associated with your reimbursement.  Please check the reimbursement amounts to confirm everything has been included.


For helpful travel tips, please visit: Travel Management Services

Additional policies and procedures can be found on The COE Wiki: COE Wiki for Travel