COLA Travel Policy

The following is a list of College of Liberal Arts travel policies for all employees. Please review them carefully and share this information with staff, students and faculty. 

Authorizations

• University Policy states that a Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) is to be requested prior to travel. Refer to HBP Part 11.2. In recognition of this policy, if authorization has not been requested prior to travel a faculty member will be asked to complete a signed memo acknowledging that he/she did not previously know that an RTA was necessary and submit this with the reimbursement request. 

 
• If you will be out of town for more than 30 days and wish to be paid for a meal allowance beyond the 30 days, you need approval from your department. The College will now allow these payments if they are approved internally.

• Faculty have additional travel policies to follow. Please review the Faculty Travel Policy wiki.

Reimbursements

• Refer to HBP Part 11.5. 

• In order to be reimbursed for travel, receipts must be processed within 60 days of return date. Reimbursements are routinely denied for receipts submitted later than 60 days after employee has returned from travel.
  
• We cannot reimburse you for personal travel.  If you expect to conduct research while on personal travel, the specific work dates have to be indicated prior to the travel in the notes of the RTA.
 
• We cannot reimburse you for payments to non-commercial lodging without prior authorization.
 
• You cannot be reimbursed for travel to a Restricted Region unless you have received advance approval from the International Oversight Committee in the International Office for such travel.
 
More information about international travel requirements and precautions for travel to Restricted Regions is available on Texas Global. Information about processing international travel requests is on the International Travel Requests page.
 
All UT employees and students must adhere to the UT Austin International Travel Process, which mandates travel registration in the UT Austin International Travel Registry (ITR) for employees or students NOT participating in official Education Abroad programs, or in the MyAbroad portal for students enrolled in study abroad programs. Registration in the ITR or the MyAbroad portal automatically ensures enrollment in emergency assistance and overseas insurance through On Call International, as mandated by UT System.

Cash Advances

We strongly encourage faculty who will be paying for extraneous research needs to request a Cash Advance before travel. If a trip will include group travel and/or research payments, please ask about the possibility of a cash advance. Read more about the details on the COLA Cash Advance wiki. You may also refer to HBP 11.4.
 
Travel Cash advances provide the convenience of receiving funds before travel begins.
 
Study cash advances are also available for payments made to study participants.