Original Issuance Date: January 10, 2025
Expiration Date: July 1, 2025
1. Interim Policy Purpose
This interim policy action is intended to ensure the requirements of the remote work policies are being met, while balancing the amount of time and effort required by travelers, administrators, auditors, and approvers to review and enforce travel policies. As always, it is the traveler’s responsibility to know and follow any internal travel approval procedures and to confirm budget availability with their gift, grant, program, or project manager prior to making travel reservations.
2. Related Policies
This interim policy action temporarily amends portions of the following policies:
- SYS 405, Travel and Expense – General Travel & Expense Policy
- SYS 410, Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel
- SYS 420, Travel & Expense – Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) Per Diem Allowance Reimbursements
3. Scope
This interim policy action applies to faculty, staff, students, and non-employees traveling for university sponsored purposes.
4. Definitions
University Sponsored Travel: University sponsored travel is defined by one or more of the following criteria:
- Paid for in full or in part by the university;
- Paid directly or indirectly by the university;
- Organized by the university with participants or sponsors paying;
- Organized by others outside the university and paid for by the university; and/or
- Sponsored by the university in the form of name, organization, communication, management, staffing, transportation, or space provision.
5. Interim Policy Statement
A. Travel Preferences and Related Costs (modifies SYS 405, Section 6.N)
For the duration of this interim policy action, SYS 405, Section 6.N reads,
“ To ensure prudent use of travel funds, the University cannot pay or reimburse any additional costs resulting from traveler preferences, including:
- Travel prior to or subsequent to the required business travel dates, excluding flights.
- Note: The traveler may choose flights on any dates they prefer; however, only the business dates are eligible for payment of lodging, per diems, etc.
- Using transportation methods that are not the most efficient or cost-effective (i.e. electing to drive versus fly when flying would be the most efficient and cost-effective option).
- Electing to take a travel companion(s) along on business trips.
- Departing from/returning to an airport outside of Wisconsin or more than 100 miles from the Wisconsin border for personal reasons (including departing from/returning to a voluntary remote work location).
In cases where adding additional days to the trip (i.e. staying over a Saturday or flying on a particular day) proves most cost-effective, expenses for lodging and meals for the minimum necessary additional days may be University-paid if the total costs of the trip, including lost work time, are less than the cost of the business only portion of the trip. The traveler should determine the necessary travel schedule that allows sufficient time for business to be conducted. Arrival on the day prior to a business event and departure on the day after business concludes is allowable. For international travel, arrival up to two days prior to the business event is allowable.
Additional travel costs during the business-only portion of a trip related to attending optional excursions or other outings which were not included as a business necessity with the payment of the registration or program fee will be considered personal and will not be paid or reimbursed by the University.
When combining business and personal travel, the University will not pay costs directly associated with personal days of travel, including additional days of lodging, M&IE per diems, parking, vehicle rental, etc.”
B. Purchasing Airfare (modifies SYS 410, Section 6.A)
For the duration of this interim policy action, the first paragraph of SYS 410, Section 6.A reads,
“All travelers and those that arrange travel for others are required to make air reservations using schedules, direct routing, air carriers, and departure location that will produce the most economical fare for the trip. A cost comparison must be done at the time of booking and attached to expense reports under the following circumstances:
- Indirect routing or extra stops for personal reasons;
- Stopovers that result in a hotel stay for more than one night;
- Using transportation methods that are not the most efficient or cost-effective (i.e., electing to drive/take a train versus fly when flying would be the most efficient and cost-effective option); or
- Departing from/returning to an airport outside of Wisconsin or more than 100 miles from the Wisconsin border for personal reasons (including departing from/returning to a voluntary remote work location).
When additional travel days are added because the traveler elects to combine personal days with business travel, the traveler does not need to provide an airfare cost comparison for the actual dates of travel, but is responsible for any additional costs directly resulting from adding nonbusiness travel days (including additional days of lodging, M&IE per diems, parking, vehicle rental, etc.).”
C. Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) Reimbursement Eligibility (modifies SYS 420, Reimbursement Eligibility)
For the duration of this interim policy action, the first paragraph of SYS 420, Reimbursement Eligibility reads,
“The M&IE per diem must be paid directly to the traveler. Travelers cannot claim an M&IE per diem on behalf of another person. Individual business travelers dining together will each be paid their respective per diem allowance. The applicable M&IE per diem, or proration for first and last day, is payable to the traveler without itemization of expense or receipts. Reimbursement requests for actual expenses that exceed the M&IE per diem will not be reimbursed by the University. When combining business and personal travel, the University will not pay M&IE costs for personal days of travel.”
6. Supplemental Documents
None listed.