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Pre-Travel and Obtaining an Event Number

UC San Diego policy requires that all business travel, including employees and guests, is booked in Concur through Concur Travel.  Concur Travel is also available for personal travel. 

Before booking any travel, your trip should be authorized by the University by creating a trip request. This is equivilent to the preappoval process in the previous system. Without preauthorization, you are traveling at your own risk in case of an accident.

Requirements

The following information is required when creating an event number (trip request) and before you book travel. Incomplete information will delay processing. Please copy and email response to Fiscal Assistant Rick Clarke at rlclarke@ucsd.edu or socpayments@ucsd.edu:

Dates Actual travel dates to/from San Diego
Origin/ Destination City and State or City and Country – if multiple destinations, please include all locations.
Business Purpose Provide the business purpose of the trip. There should be enough detail to clearly establish the UC San Diego business purpose for the trip connected to the traveler and the traveler type. Do not use acronyms. (eg presenting paper entitled “ XYZ” at American Sociological Association Conference, conducting field research for XYZ, invited guest speaker at XYZ on ABC topic, etc.)
Total Estimated Expenses Please provide the total estimated cost for the trip including any Lodging, Ground transportation, Registration (if any), Meals and Incidentals, etc.
Fund Source(s) Please provide project/fund source to be liened/reimbursed on. If multiple please provide estimates on each source. Currently, you can obtain this information by reaching out to your fund manager.
Supporting Documentation

Where possible, please include any documentation of the trip, such as an agenda, conference brochure/schedule, or invitation letter/email. This can be an attachment or link to the webage.

Students: Please also submit the required form outlined in Student Travel below.

 

UCSD employees will also have to assign the Fiscal Assistant as a delegate in Concur to access their accounts on their behalf. This tutorial can assist you in assigning delegates in Concur. Non-UCSD Employees will need to be set up in Payment Compass as a payee. Staff will initiate an invitation to register as a payee when needed.

The department will prioritize pre-authorizing event numbers of travel. Upon receipt of all required information above, please allow 1 full business day to set up. 

Note: Trip requests that are requested post-travel will be created within 3 business days upon receipt of required information above.

Post-Travel Requirements

All faculty, graduate students and staff should fill out the Travel reimbursement form [PDF] and submit receipts via email to Fiscal Assistant Rick Clarke for fastest processing time.  Receipts must be submitted before the payment will be authorized. All travel receipts are due within 21 days of trip completion. If you used a UCSD travel card, receipts should be turned in within 10 days of being charged to the card. 

Receipt Requirements

Short-Term Travel Receipts

Note: This section applies only to short-term travel within the continental United States under 29 days.  If your trip does not fall under this category, please see Foreign Travel information tab below.

In additional to the receipt requirements outlined by campus policy, the Department of Sociology requires the following per departmental policies:

Meals

  • Receipts for individual meals under $25 are not required if you are being reimbursed from a non-grant fund source. (Ex: Faculty allowance, Research and Travel Graduate fund, etc.)

    • However, you will need to keep a daily log of your meals and turn in to the department if this applies to you.

  • If you are being reimbursed from a grant, itemized meal receipts are required for all meals that are claimed unless your trip falls under per-diem travel.

Airfare/Lodging

  • “Package deals” are generally ineligible for reimbursement. Package deals that don’t have full itemization/breakdown of taxes and fees of each type of expense will not be accepted due to travel policy.

  • The Department of Sociology follows campus policy for all airfare and lodging receipts.

  • Please visit Booking Travel for additional details on airfare/lodging requirements.

Ground Transportation & Misc. Items

  • The Department of Sociology follows campus policy for all ground transportation, registration fees, rental cars and miscellaneous items related to the business trip. Any receipt over $75 requires an itemized receipt.  

Important:

  • Meals should cover only the individual traveler and their dependents and adhere to campus policy daily limits.

  • If food is provided at the conference, you will not be eligible for the full day's reimbursement.

  • Alcohol is never allowed on Federal funds.

  • If you have a Travel & Entertainment Card, please ensure receipts are turned in promptly to avoid late fees. For more information please visit here. Travel & Entertainment Card charges are due at 30 days. It is the traveler’s responsibility to turn in travel card receipts in a timely matter if travel is being booked well-ahead of the end date of the trip.

  • It is the traveler's responsibility to understand travel campus and departmental policies. Should you have any questions, please reach out to your fund manager or fiscal support for assistance. 

 

Foreign Travel Requirements

Foreign Travel Receipt Requirements

Airfare

  • The Department of Sociology follows campus policy for all airfare receipts.

  • The "Fly America Act" is a federal regulation that requires the use of U.S. carriers for travel that will be reimbursed from federal grants and contracts. Please click on the link below and read about the Act before making arrangements for UC related air travel, find out about the funding type and, if applicable, ensure the booking is in accordance with the Act. Fly America Act.

Meals & Lodging

Per Diem is a daily amount to cover expenses for both meals and lodging for UCSD employees when traveling overseas on official UCSD business or conducting domestic trips on or over 30 days. Per diem is not the same as meal and incidental expense (M&IE), which applies to short-term travel (29 days or fewer) in the continental U.S. Per diem applies to the following travel situations:

  • Foreign travel

  • Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. possessions travel

  • Long-term travel (30 days or more) in the continental U.S.

Incidentals

  • The incidentals portion of a per diem rate includes tips for service and costs for ground transportation directly connected with a meal (e.g., taxi from hotel to restaurant and back).

Claiming actual expenses

The per diem claim should reflect the traveler's actual costs up to the per diem rate.

Travelers can claim:

  • Actual expenses that are less than the per diem rate (best option).
    • To claim actual expense less than per diem does not require receipts and can be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. For example, a traveler may keep a log of expenditures and use it to calculate expenses.
  • The per diem rate (only if actual expenses are equal to the per diem rate).
  • An exception to per diem when actual expenses exceed per diem and required conditions are met.
  • For questions on calculating Per Diem, please visit the campus website or contact Fiscal Support

Ground Transportation & Misc. Items

  • The Department of Sociology follows campus policy for all ground transportation, registration fees, rental cars and miscellaneous items related to the business trip. Any receipt over $75 requires an itemized receipt.

Faculty Travel

Leave of Absence

An academic appointee is considered to be on a leave of absence any time he or she takes a leave from normal duties during the prescribed periods of service. Academic appointees who leave the campus prior to obtaining formal approval are in violation of University policy. For more information on requesting a leave of absence please visit our Faculty Leave Information.

 

Travel Funding

Intercampus Exchange Program for Travel

The Intercampus Exchange Program for Travel program provides reimbursement for airfare or mileage only for Academic Senate members to travel to other UC campuses for research. It is not to be used to attend seminars, conferences and university-wide UC meetings. Reimbursement will not be approved unless the name of the faculty consulted and title of the research component/project is recorded on the travel reimbursement form. Funding for one to two trips per year up to $250.

General Campus Funding for Travel to Scholarly Meetings

The General Campus Funding for Travel to Scholarly Meetings funding program provides reimbursement for airfare expenses for Academic Senate members. 

Travel & Entertainment Card

For Faculty who frequently travel, it is recommended that they apply for a UCSD Travel & Entertainment Card. To apply, please contact Fiscal Support to assist with submitting a card request in Concur.

Student Travel

Students must complete the following additional steps:

  • Prior to taking the trip, complete the UCSD Student Certification for Business-Related Travel form in addition to the requirements outlined in the table above. Be sure to check the first box "Directly supports the faculty/PI project or research program" or the second box "Presenting at a conference." If second box is checked, attach a copy of the program listing your name and UCSD. Obtain your faculty advisor's signature.

If travel is being funded by your departmental research and travel funds:

  • Prior to travel, please review what is and what is not reimbursable on your research & travel department fund by referring to the Resources page under the "Research and Travel Funds" section in the Graduate Program.

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