Travel Policies

Travel Policies

Georgia Tech COVID-19 Business Travel Requirements

  • *Important Requirements Update
  • Original July 15th email can be found here
  • In accordance with guidance issued by the University System of Georgia (USG), only essential travel may be authorized at this time. All nonessential travel is prohibited until further notice. This guidance may change. For further details please refer to https://www.usg.edu/coronavirus/.
  • Travel is considered essential if it is for:
    – Research and business meetings that cannot be conducted virtually; and
    – Projects and work that are time sensitive with fixed deadlines.
  • Submissions and approvals will be done via a Spend Authorization in Workday and must be completed and approved prior to travel.  The Spend Authorization and Approval process in Workday includes a mandatory Travel Questionnaire and Acknowledgement E-Form for submission of basic information and justification for travel. All essential domestic travel requires completion and return of this E-Form via Workday.

General OUE Travel information

  • Travel that is related to professional development should be in alignment with OUE’s Professional Development Guidelines

  • All travel must follow Georgia Tech policies and procedures. All travelers, managers, and approvers must be fully familiar with these: http://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/business-finance/travel. Below are some general reminders and OUE policies, but please refer to this link for definitive GT policies.

  • The OUE Travel Form (downloadable here) should be submitted with both the Spend Authorization (SA) and the completed Expense Form in WorkDay in the attachments section (note, there are two tabs in this spreadsheet that correspond to each). If your unit has another internal checklist, that is fine to use in place of this as well but please ensure it is submitted in WorkDay.

  • Finance July 28, 2021 Finance and Travel Review email

Travel and Flight arrangements (including air and car transportation)

  • NEW: Mileage Reimbursement Rate Change – July 2022
    • ​The mileage reimbursement rate for the use of private vehicles on official Institute business has been increased to $0.625 cents per mile and is applicable to travel that occurred on or after July 1, 2022
  • Travel and flight arrangements, including conference registrations, should only be made once the Spend Authorization (SA)  is approved by the supervisor and OVPUE (where needed). See #1 above.
  • Always complete an SA (Spend Authorization) prior to travel on behalf of Georgia Tech.
  • ​Flight arrangements (NOTE: air tickets should be booked using Travel Inc)
  • Single-Trip Direct Billing (non-employee)
  • Recurring Direct Billing of Airfare for Employees who fly often complete an e-Profile on the Travel Incorporated’s website. Complete the Request for Recurring Direct Billing of Airfare Form

Travel Authorization and Approval

  • All travel expenses and spend authorizations are processed via Workday. 
  • Travel must be pre-approved by the supervisor. Always complete a Spend Authority (SA) prior to travel for employees (including student employees,) visitors, and non-employee students on behalf of Georgia Tech. 
  • Within OUE, we request that a Spend Authority include a link to the professional conference or activity (in the comments section) and the cost of the registration (if applicable).
  • Travel dates and other logistics should be arranged to minimize time out of the office as well as hotel and other expenses.
  • Within OUE, the following travel must have prior approval from the unit director and the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate before an SA is submitted into WorkDay.  Specifically, this includes:
    • travel that is estimated to exceed $2500 in expenses (including registration fees).  If travel was not anticipated to, but does end up exceeding $2500 in expenses, please include a justification in the expense report documentation
    • any international travel OR travel outside of the 48 contiguous US States
    • any travel which may have additional special circumstances that may benefit from further review
    • to obtain this prior approval, e-mail oue_admin@gatech.edu directly with the appropriate documentation and justification.  Please allow at least two weeks (10 business days) advanced notice for this prior review and approval. This secondary approval should then be noted in the OUE travel form as well as comments section of the SA. Include a scanned copy of the approval email included in the Expense Report.
  • SA’s should clearly note in the “Comments Section” any expenses that are being paid for by a sponsor, association, or another third party. This should be in alignment with Tech’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics policies. 
  • Travel advances provided through GTRC are generally used in exceptional and limited situations, such as paying for extended international travel while teaching at a study abroad program.  Within OUE, travel advances may only be approved by the Associate Vice Provost, Vice Provost, or Asst. Director of Administrative Operations.  Please email oue_admin@gatech.edu with all requests, allowing at least 30 days prior to the commencement of travel.
  • If you are traveling within the state of Georgia, ensure that you use the Tax Exempt Information/Form for in-state travel.

Reimbursement for Travel policy

  • Reimbursement for travel policy.

  • An Expense Report must be completed within 10 business days of the completion of travel and approved by the supervisor.

  • A copy of the receipt for the conference/program/workshop registration (and any related fees or costs such as pre-conference workshops, etc. paid by GT funds) must be included with the scanned/submitted documentation with the Expense Report.  The cost should be noted in the “comments” section.
  • For international travel OR travel/professional development that exceeded $2500 in total costs (inclusive of registration or related fees), a scanned copy of the prior approval email from OVPUE (oue_admin) must be included with the documentation.
  • While this should be limited, any business travel that also included personal travel (and should have been included in the SA and documented), appropriate documentation and descriptions on all expense justifications must be added (for example, ensuring airfare cost were not impacted; removing any meals or transportation charges for personal time, etc.).  PTO (Personal Time Out) must also be documented in the TimeOut (or timesheet) system.

  • Supporting documentation in the Expense Report must include all applicable receipts (itemized), documentation, and a schedule-at-a-glance/agenda for conferences/meetings. Ensure that complete and detailed descriptions are included.

  • Meals included in conference registrations or provided must be removed from the per diems.

  • Trips that include personal travel policy. If personal time is being taken as part of travel, it must be clearly documented in both the Spend Authority and Expense Report and any additional costs (including increased airfare or travel must be incurred by the traveler; provide documentation that there is no increase in airfare/travel) occurred; vacation time must be entered in TimeOut (or another system) and approved. Personal time should not be a consideration or priority for determining business related/professional development travel.

  • Hourly (non-exempt) employees must follow FLSA guidelines related to travel. This must be discussed in advance with the supervisor so that any potential overtime is discussed and pre-approved.

  • Ensure that pre-paid airfare is included on the Expense Report (but entered as a pre-paid expense so that it is not reimbursed to the traveler)