Business Fairs

Travel

Travel Authorization and Planning

Prior approval for all business travel is required for absences from the campus (or other designated headquarters) for periods of half a day or more during the normal working period, whether or not there is a cost to the University. This includes travel during the first/last week of classes and final periods, regardless of individual course assignments.

Request for Travel Authorization

Please note that no travel expenses can be reimbursed until after travel is complete.

A Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) must be filed with the department at least two weeks prior to domestic travel, four weeks prior to international travel. Faculty who will be missing a class must specify a professor who will be handling their class while they are away. TAs are not authorized to cover your class. The online RTA form can be found here. 

As with all travel expenses, airfare cannot be reimbursed until travel is completed. 

For further information, consult the college's extremely helpful site or the Travel Policies in the Handbook of Business Procedures.

Expenses Prior to Travel

Transportation

Travel Billing & Reimbursement

Direct Bill

To avoid carrying the out-of-pocket expense you can book travel to be direct billed via one of the state-approved travel agencies: Anthony Travel (1-800-684-2044), Corporate Travel Planners (1-800-906-3002), or Concur.Travelers may use an online reservation tool (e.g., Expedia, Orbitz, Southwest.com) in addition to the university’s online tool, Concur to book air travel. The reimbursement for commercial air transportation may not exceed the cost of the lowest available airfare. First class, business class, or other premium class airfare will only be reimbursed at the coach class rate, unless Travel Management Services has issued an approved exception request.

Request for Travel Reimbursement

Submit my Reimbursement

The College now employs an online submission system for travel reimbursements. You may even be able to begin adding information while still traveling to better track your cabs, etc. Please note that this online form creates a draft, routed to Aubrey, and should not be considered finalized.

Please note that travel reimbursement requests must be submitted no later than 30 days after your last approved travel date. You must have an approved RTA prior to travel in order to receive any reimbursements.

A list of items for which receipts are required is available here.

University employees are EXEMPT from Texas State hotel occupancy taxes when traveling for University business. The University cannot reimburse any Texas State occupancy taxes unless the hotel refuses to honor the exemption certificate (see above).

Meals are normally paid by meal allowance (per diem), currently $36 on state funds and $41 on local funds. No meal receipts are required to receive meal allowance. Please see the Dean's Office memo for a specific break down.

The University of Texas cannot reimburse a split bill (such as hotel) that does not have the UT payee's name; we will not accept private invoices for split bills--it is up to individual travelers to reconcile any private agreement.

Please include a copy of your itinerary, or let us know your flight departure and arrival times so we can make adjustments according to this policy. Unless told otherwise, default times will be based on your airfare receipt.

Upon return to Austin, receipts must be turned in for reimbursement via uplaod in the submission system (see above) or in hard copy. Expenses that can be reimbursed include, but are not limited to:

• Lodging (original hotel bills are required showing itemized room rate and taxes, and showing a zero balance)
• Meals (at current per diem)
• Registration fees
• Parking fees
• Cab/Bus/Train fares (receipts are not required (but recommended) if travel within the city, receipts are required for travel between cities)
• UT Business telephone calls and UT business internet service (reimbursed via the hotel bill)
• Hotel occupancy taxes (reimbursed via the hotel bill)
• Gasoline for personal car (if not claiming mileage reimbursement)

Travel Funding

Research Funds

Faculty Travel Grant

*** HAVE YOU APPLIED FOR A FACULTY TRAVEL GRANT? $1,200 IS AVAILABLE YEARLY. ***

Now available through online application! Check out the graduate school's web site for travel grants for details. The purpose of the travel grant is to support presentation of the applicant's original research or creative effort. Attending a meeting or chairing a session does not qualify nor does accepting an invitation to present a seminar or giving a colloquium at another university. The RTA form must be filled about before applying. Before beginning the application, be sure to gather 1) your abstract (not exceeding one page in length) of the paper or presentation to be given and 2) either a copy of the meeting program showing your name, paper or presentation topic, and date or a letter from the meeting organizer accepting your paper or presentation and confirming your part in the program. Applications must be completed and submitted with your RTA form no later than two weeks before your scheduled trip.

ProCard

Invited Guests & Visitors

Invited Guest Speaker/Conference Form

Please notify the department well in advance of guest lecturer travel so staff will be able to process the appropriate paperwork in order to arrange airfare, hotel, pay travel expenses or honorarium. Please use the form available here and forward information regarding contributions from any other departments who will provide funding for the guest lecturer.

Events

On Campus

Contracts - Off Campus

Computers & Accessories

Faculty Computer Support

The Liberal Arts desktop support team provides computer support for all faculty and staff in the College of Liberal Arts for your UT owned equipment. Contact Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Support (LAITS) by email at ATS-HELP@UTEXAS.EDU or by phone at 512-471-5000, Monday-Friday, 7 am-7 pm. The nearest walk-in location is SEA 2.124; other offices are located in MEZ 2.302, PAR 108, and CLA 4.224.

Business Cards

Business cards are available via UT Document Solutions. Please contact Aubrey for an account number to complete your purchase.

Itemized Reimbursements

The Office of Accounting requires reimbursements to be completely processed within 60 days of the event. Because of the time required for document processing, both within the department and in Accounting, requests for reimbursement submitted more than 30 days after the event will not be approved by the Dean's Office.

In order to receive a reimbursement you must:

• Supply original detailed receipts to Aubrey Cunningham
• Explain why you are requesting reimbursement via email or hardcopy accompanying receipts (What was the event or purchase?)
• Have a source of funds, either an account specifically for your expenses or departmental approval to be reimbursed from the departmental account 

State Sales Tax

University of Texas employees are exempt from Texas sales tax if a purchase is made for University purposes. Faculty and staff are highly encouraged to utilize this status as sales tax may not be reimbursable for some purposes. If you plan on making purchases that are taxable, please pick up a copy of the Tax Exemption Certificate from Aubrey or download the form and complete the information. You will need to present the certificate to the vendor before or at check-out to claim the exemption for University related expenses (including entertainment) . No reimbursements for any Texas State sales tax will be approved for purchases on department funding. You may have the department make your purchase for you to ensure exemption.

Entertainment Expenses

Preapproved entertainment costs may be reimbursed by the department or by endowment holders' own accounts. These are considered "Official Occasions"; an "official occasion" is defined as a reception, luncheon, dinner, or similar event that is sponsored and funded by UT (e.g., conferences, meetings, planning retreats, staff meetings). These functions are normally associated with special programs or conferences, University guests, faculty and staff recruitment, or business meetings that span a meal time. To prevent a personal tax liability, you will need to document each occasion with receipts for expenses.

• Exemption rules for Texas sales tax apply- faculty and staff will not be reimbursed for Texas sales tax charges on entertainment expenses. The university is exempt from state sales tax, so faculty or staff must follow the Texas Sales and Use Tax Exemption CertificateInstructions and present the exemption certificate to the vendor at the time of purchase of consumable or non-consumable items on behalf of the university. However, for purchases of meals at restaurants, if the sales tax exemption is not available to patrons of the restaurant, the sales tax will be reimbursed.
• For reimbursement you must complete the college's Official Occasion Expense Form.
• Entertainment expenses are limited to $75/person for an event/meeting (including tax and gratuity).
• Tips/gratuity should be limited to no more than 20%.
• Spouse/Companion in attendance: Companion expenses are generally not reimbursed unless they are for receptions, development, distinguished visitors/lecturers or recruitment purposes. In order to justify a bona fide business purpose, expenses for a University's host's companion are usually reimbursed only if the guest also brings a companion.
• Faculty and staff must submit itemized receipts for reimbursement. They must also submit a receipt showing proof of payment (if this does not already appear on the itemized receipt). If an itemized receipt or proof of payment is not available, the payee must sign a memo explaining why such is not available and the document creator should include it with the voucher paperwork. This should be mentioned in the document notes.
• Reimbursements must be processedwithin 60 days of the official occasion.
• Procards cannot be used at restaurants.
• For official college procedures and FAQs please visit: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/business-affairs/manual/Entertainment/

 Office Supplies

 We strongly encourage faculty to go through the office manager for all office supply needs. The University has a standing contract with Office Max and is unable to reimburse purchases made with other vendors. Please use the online Office Max catalog for product numbers when making requests so we can be sure to get exactly what you need.

Computers, monitors, and printers cannot be purchased by anyone besides the office manager, Aubrey Cunningham. All purchases must be cleared before purchase. Typical turn around time is 1-5 days. Computers purchased on UT funds are UT property and must be tagged for inventory by Inventory staff, even if purchased with research grant funds.

Faculty with ProCards can find a list of disallowed purchases and vendors in the ProCard Policies and Guidelines. Limited computer and computer-related purchases may be possible with a ProCard, but these must be cleared prior to purchase to ensure University policy compliance.

Academic Affairs

Course Scheduling

The Department of Religious Studies is determined to work with faculty and related departments to find the best possible teaching times and courses for both the student curriculum and professional development. We will regularly ask that faculty complete the annual or biannual course planning form online.

The Course Scheduler regularly works on future semester 9 to 10 months ahead of the current semester. The period during which each phase is open varies. Original phases last approximately 4 weeks. Chair's Proof phases generally last only a few working days. The approximate schedule is below for your reference:

Room Resources

A number of resources are available regarding the media resources in classrooms across campus.

• Technology Classroom Database(includes most rooms)
• General Purpose Classrooms (rooms controlled by the Office of the Registrar)
• Liberal Arts Supported Classrooms(includes all departmental and General Purpose Classrooms supported by LAITS)

Need to know about courses available through other departments? Wondering when the final exam schedule will be published? Need to easily find yourgrade submission page? Looking for your class roster? All of this and more is available at the Office of the Registrar's site.

HB2504 & Syllabus Standards

We are required by House Bill 2504 to post a syllabus for every organized undergraduate course and a current CV for every faculty member teaching an undergraduate course by the 7th class day of each semester.

View the syllabus policies to see what items are required to be included in the posted syllabi. CV requirements are available in the Provost's HB 2504 Implementation Policy. Submitted syllabi and CV's will be posted to the Access Syllabi and CV's site by the 7th class day.

Course Description & Policy for Unnumbered Topics

Most undergraduate course titles printed in the course schedule are unnumbered topic titles offered under a base topics course number. All undergraduate course titles must have an approved course description on file with the Dean's Office before they can be published in the course schedule. Course descriptions are course number and instructor specific and are valid for three years. Unnumbered topics courses taught by the same instructor require an updated course description every three years.

For more information, please see: Course Description Policy (PDF)

An example of a course descripition: HIS 350L (PDF)

For a template of a course description request, download: Course Description Template (PDF) (Updated April 2011)

Course Flags

Courses designated by special flags ensure that all UT students acquire important skills required by the state curriculum. Flags are a great way to advertise your class and fill seats. The guidelines are published by the School of Undergraduate Studies, and the application process is facilitated by an online proposal system.

Please be advised that in most cases the application window closes during the first period of any course scheduling phase, approximately 9 months prior to the beginning of the class. Reminders will be distributed regularly by the department, but the choice to apply rests with the faculty and Chair.

Textbooks

Course Requisitions 

Course requisitions are maintained by the University Co-Op. In preparing for future semesters you can submit your required and suggested textbooks through their website.

Aubrey can also order your books for you, but only upon request. We encourage professors to place their own orders as the Co-Op does not regularly contact the department.

Desk Copies

nstructors are responsible for requesting desk copies for their courses and any Teaching Assistants which may be assigned to their courses. Please allow 8 weeks for delivery before the beginning of the semester for which they are needed.

Course Instructor Survey (CIS)

A single form is available for faculty to report both their final exam requests and Course Instructor Survey preferences; this form is available here and will be distributed by the program coordinator during the first few weeks of each semester.

The university requires that all organized classes be surveyed every semester, including summer, using an approved CIS form. You can choose to survey your classes electronically (students will receive a link to their surveys via email) or using the traditional paper surveys. Both paper and electronic surveys are administered during the last two weeks of class, before the final exam period and before any grades are reported for the semester.

Surveys are ordered by your departmental contact, Lisa Parisi of Course Management Services. If you do not respond to this request, you will receive the default survey order for your class: paper basic survey forms. Once your surveys have been ordered, you will receive a reminder to check your survey order on the MyCIS site; please take a moment to check your survey order to prevent any errors in your order.

• Basic Form
• Basic Form + Substantial Writing Component
• Expanded Form + Substantial Writing Component

Useful Links: 

• MyCIS - Confirm survey order and view your electronic survey results (EID required)
• CIS Results site - View survey results for any instructor or course
• CIS for Faculty and Staff page - Reminder of important dates, policies, and FAQ's

Faculty Affairs

Faculty Online Profile

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/colaguides/content/faculty-sandbox

Liberal Arts Faculty Resources

The Liberal Arts Faculty Resource page highlights the resources available through the college. The Liberal Arts website has a wealth of useful, up to date information on a range of human resources and training topics, including promotion and tenure, faculty annual reports, and research. Commonly used forms are also available for your convenience.

 Yearly Reports

Promotion & Tenure

CVs and Syllabi

Faculty Profiles - http://liberalarts.utexas.edu/rs/faculty/ 

HB2504 - http://provost.utexas.edu/policies-and-resources/hb2504

Fellowships, Grants & Awards

Fellowships, grants and awards available to faculty through the College are listed here, along with links to University sponsored grants.

 Human Resources

The Provost's Policy Forms page contains a comprehensive list of university policies by topic, as well as links to relevant forms. This is the best resource for all policy related questions or concerns, including handling scholastic dishonesty, scheduling final exams, searching a student's personal papers or belongings, sexual harassment, and observance of religious holy days.

Family Friendly Policies

The University has numerous policies, services and resources to support our faculty and their families. Please consult the University's Family Matterswebpage Life & Work webpage to find more information about childcare, hiring dual career couples, extension of the tenure-track probationary period, Family and Medical Leave, modified instructional duties (MID), sick leave, the Employee Assistance Program, the Employee Discount Program, off-campus housing, and many other family friendly initiatives.

 Payroll

Insurance

Technical Support

Online Profile

Library

Reserves

It is generally recommended that you make copies of all materials for your course available free of charge in the library, esp. the PCL. Simply fill out the form electronically or print out a physical version and deliver it with your materials to the library.

Proxy Form 

Often times faculty will need Teaching Assistants or, in a pinch, work-study students to check out or renew items in the library on their behalf. Students must be authorized prior to pick-up. The Proxy Authorization form is available online.

Graduate Program

Graduate Student Committee

Graduate Student Evaluations

Please use this form for seminar evaluations as well as TA evaluations.

Graduate Student Evaluation Form (Spring 2012)

Graduate Employment