Faculty Handbook

Travel Advance Worksheet

Approximately one month before your program departure date, contact Amy Moeder or Sean Curry so a Travel Advance Worksheet can be prepared. The Travel Advance Worksheet serves as a tool for determining your Travel Advance amount, and is based on your program budget and the information you provide. The Worksheet outlines the amount of funds being advanced for each budget category and will be attached to your Travel Authorization Form on file in the Office of Study Abroad.

Since the advance is based upon the actual number of students enrolled, includes your actual housing and flight costs, and uses the latest currency exchange rate, there should be little or no deviation in the actual amount spent. The Associate Director of the Office of Study Abroad will carefully review any large discrepancies. Reimbursement for additional expenses cannot be guaranteed.

Whenever possible, invoices for student housing, class trips, instruction, etc. should be requested from the provider well before departure and paid by the Office of Study Abroad. If you purchase equipment with program funds, it must be included in the budget; if you need to keep that equipment beyond the program end date, OSA must store that equipment for liability reasons. If you should need the equipment for on-campus purposes, we will share the cost with your department.

In some cases, it may be necessary to pay guest speakers on site. If you anticipate invoices to arrive after receiving your advance, discuss this with Amy or Sean so the amount can be deducted from your advance.

A credit card will be available for program payments to supplement your advance. It is a MasterCard and will work as a debit card. It can be used for normal credit card purchases, ATM withdrawals, and teller withdrawals. Unlike other University Procurement cards, this card can be used for travel costs such as group accommodations or activities. Some training will be required on acceptable use for first-time users; therefore, you will need to apply for the card six (6) weeks before departure. The balance available will be determined during your advance discussions with Amy Moeder or Sean Curry.

Faculty housing

It is advised you keep your personal housing and M&IE funds separate from the program funds.

Due to fraud losses, some U.S. banks will no longer accept or process ATM and debit card transactions outside of the United States. Contact your bank to ensure you will have access to your personal funds.

Lodging expenses are reimbursed according to your actual expense and cannot exceed the most current U.S. Department of State rates. The current rate is available at the US Department of State - Per Diem Rates. These expenses can only be reimbursed for the actual amount up to the U.S. Department of State rate and are determined by the rate when you were abroad, not by the rate when your worksheet was developed. If your housing costs are based on a “per person” rate, you will be reimbursed for only one person.

IMPORTANT: For audit purposes you are required to have an original detailed receipt to substantiate your housing expenses.

Although the Office of Study Abroad may, at some sites, be able to suggest possible options for your housing, we cannot be responsible for arranging or negotiating your international accommodations.

OSA can cover the cost of housing deposits any time prior to departure. You are encouraged to book your housing as early as possible to guarantee lower deposit and housing costs. If, in order to secure housing at a favorable rate, or a preferred location, you need a deposit paid early, contact your OSA coordinator for payment arrangements.

M & IE expenses

Meals and Incidental Expenses (M & IE) is intended for one person only and based on the most current rate available from the U.S. Department of State (unless you agree to accept a lower rate in order to keep program costs low; the per diem cannot be negotiated above the Department of State rate). See the US Department of State - Per Diem Rates for the current rate. The rate varies according to geographic location and is for the actual time in a location abroad.

M & IE is paid in lieu of actual expenses and eliminates the need to keep receipts for every personal transaction. It is intended to cover such things as meals, laundry and dry cleaning, fees, tips to waiters/porters/hotel maids, etc., baths, faxes, telegrams, telephone calls for reserving hotel rooms, transportation between places of lodging and business or where meals are taken.

If you bring family members with you, and they accompany the group on any portion of the program, you may wish to inform the students that the program does not cover the housing and per diem costs of your family members. Students may have the impression that their program fees are covering what they perceive to be your family vacation. See the following section titled “Guidelines for Accompanying Faculty Family Members” for further details.