Travel Guidelines

PRE-APPROVALS

All travel pre-approvals require the following approvals:

• Traveler – if entered by a delegate
• Traveler’s immediate supervisor
• Budget Authority for all funds being charged
• Grant Officer if a grant fund is being charged
• For International Travel (All travel outside of the contiguous United States including Alaska and Hawaii)
  • Associate Provost for Global Partnerships and International Education (GPIE) or (Designee)
  • Chancellor (or Designee) or Vice Chancellor
  • Department or Division
• Travel Office – if using Sequel or local lodging 

Creating a Pre-Approval

1. Select the +Create Icon on the Pre-Approval Ribbon in Chrome River
2. Complete the header page
   1. Report Name – refer to department for specifics on naming your pre-approvals.
   2. Enter Travel Start and End Dates of the trip.
   3. Business Purpose – provide detailed information as to what and why you are traveling.
   4. Enter the Start and End times of the trip.
   5. Select Travel Type.
      1. Athletic Recruiting Travel
      2. Athletic Team Travel
      3. Employee Travel
      4. Grant Participant Travel – only use if told to by Grant Office
      5. Independent Contractor Travel
      6. Non-Employee Travel
      7. Student Group Travel
      8. Student Employee Travel
      9. Student Travel
   6. Select Location
      1. In-State
      2. Out-of-State
      3. International – includes Alaska and Hawaii
   7. Destination City, State
   8. Country – If International Travel is selected.
   9. Is this travel occurring in next fiscal year – helpful at year end so funds do not encumber until the new year.
   10. Does this trip include personal time – if personal time is included – those dates must be included in your travel dates listed above.
   11. Enter Allocations.
   12. Hit save.
3. Add Pre-Approval Expenses
   1. Select the + with the circle around it.
   2. Select the mosaic tile of the expenses you wish to add.
   3. Fill in the required information and select save.
4. Add any comments that may be relevant to this trip.
5. Attach any required documentation to the pre-approval.
6. Select Submit.
7. Verify legitimacy and select submit again.

EXPENSE REPORTS

All travel expense reports require the following approvals:

• Traveler – if entered by a delegate
• Traveler’s immediate supervisor – If excess lodging
• Budget Authority for all funds being charged
• Grant Officer if a grant fund is being charged
• For International Travel (All travel outside of the contiguous United States including Alaska and Hawaii)
  • Associate Provost for Global Partnerships and International Education (GPIE) or (Designee)
  • Chancellor (or Designee) or Vice Chancellor
  • Department or Division
• Associate Controller – if submitted past 30 days
• Travel Office Reimbursement
• Travel Office Travel Card 

Creating an Expense Report

When using your UNCW Travel Card or the Travel Office Ghost Card, an expense report must be created and submitted to reconcile the charges once they are in the traveler’s eWallet.

Once the trip is over, a travel reimbursement expense report should be submitted in Chrome River. All allowable travel expenses the employee paid out of pocket should be included on the travel reimbursement expense report.

1. Select +Create on the Expenses Ribbon in Chrome River.
2. Complete the Header Page
   1. Report Name – Refer to your department for specific on naming your expense report.
   2. Select Report Type.
      1. Athletic Recruiting Travel
      2. Athletic Team Travel
      3. Employee Travel
      4. Grant Participant Travel – only use if told to by Grant Office
      5. Independent Contractor Travel
      6. Non-Employee Travel
      7. Student Group Travel
      8. Student Employee Travel
      9. Student Travel
   3. Enter Start Date – If different than the pre-approval, add comments to explain.
   4. Enter Start Time – If different than the pre-approval, add comments to explain.
   5. Enter End Date – If different than the pre-approval, add comments to explain.
   6. Enter End Time – If different than the pre-approval, add comments to explain.
   7. Select Location
      1. In State
      2. Out-of-State
      3. International
   8. Payment Due Date – Payment date should be a Wednesday.
   9. Payee
      1. If reimbursing the traveler, the payee is the traveler.
      2. If reconciling a travel card charge, the payee is the traveler.
   10. Check Handling
       1. Attachment required to be mailed with check – select if the documentation needs to be included with the check.
       2. Check will be picked up – select if the check is being picked up by someone in the department at the cashier’s office.
       3. Manual – select if paying another State Agency and they have provided their NCFS code, or when reconciling a Cash Advance and Money is Due back to UNCW (Total Pay Me Amount is Negative)
       4. Wire – select if paying a foreign vendor. A wire request form must also be attached to the expense report.
   11. Save.
3. Add Allowable Travel Expenses
   1. Select the + with the circle around it.
   2. Select the mosaic tile of the expense you wish to add.
   3. Fill in the required information and select save.
4. Attach/upload all supporting documentation.
5. Submit the travel reimbursement expense report.
6. Once the travel reimbursement expense report has been approved by everyone, the check will be processed in the next available check run.

Expenses Paid by Someone Else

The traveler cannot be reimbursed for expenses paid for by another person. These expenses must be reimbursed to the person who paid for the expenses after the trip takes place. 

To reimburse the person who paid for the expenses, you will enter the expenses under the traveler’s name. The expense report will be made payable to the person who paid for the expenses. Attach all supporting documentation and the pre-approval to the expense report and submit the expense report in Chrome River. Once approved, the check will be printed on the next available check run.

Travel Reimbursement Deadline

Please keep in mind that the state requires all travel reimbursements to be submitted/received in the Travel Office within 30 calendar days of the end of travel. The Travel Office will process the expenses reports as quickly and efficiently as possible. Expense reports in the travel reimbursement queue by 10:45 am on Friday must be approved at all levels and have all the necessary support documentation to be considered for the check run the following Wednesday.

Receipts in Foreign Language

All receipts in a foreign language must be translated to English prior to submitting the expense report for approval.

UNCW Employees that are requesting to travel on behalf of UNCW must have an active position in Banner. There are specific types of employees that can have an active employment status, but not have an active position in Banner. For example, an hourly Temp Employee or a Temporary EHRA employee (TE) that may only teach for one semester or summer session during the academic year. If the employee does not have an active position in Banner, they will not be active in Chrome River and cannot travel on behalf of the university with an expectation of being reimbursed or prepaying registration or airfare.

An employee traveling on official university business is expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business and expending personal funds. Excess costs, circuitous routes, delays, or luxury accommodations and services unnecessary, unjustified, or for the convenience or personal preference of the employee in the performance of official state business are prohibited. 

University employees that travel at least twice a year or spend over $500 per trip are expected to have and use a UNCW Travel Card. The use of the UNCW Travel Card is a standard business practice designed to ease the expense tracking and remove financial liability for individual employees. Advantages of using a UNCW Travel Card include:

• Easy to apply for a UNCW Travel card
• Convenient training course ACT204 offered in Percipio
• Reduction of out-of-pocket expenses for the traveler
• Separation of personal and business travel expenses
• Allows you to register and pay online for in person/off campus conferences
• No more waiting until after the trip ends for card transactions to post to your departmental fund (important at year end)
• Other than food, most travel expenses can be charged to the card
• Reduces risk to traveler for fraudulent activity
• Minimum monthly card limit of $10,000 (can be increased for student group travel)
• UNCW is NC state tax exempt so lodging establishments in NC should not charge sales tax (savings to the department’s fund)
• Card transactions post into the Chrome River eWallet making the completion of expense reports easier
• Travelers can take pictures of receipts while traveling and upload them into Chrome River or by using the CR SNAP App, reducing the risk of losing receipts while traveling
• No personal financial liability – and no waiting for reimbursements until after travel occurs

Helpful Reminders:

• A travel pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the first day of business travel.
• Travel expenses for family members of employees are not allowable.
• All expenses for an employee should be claimed on their own travel pre-approval and expense report and never on anyone else’s.
• All backup documents and receipts must be attached to the expense report.
• Travelers are allowed one day of travel before the beginning of a conference and one day after the conclusion of a conference.
• All travel reimbursements must be completed within 30 calendar days after the return date.

AIRFARE

UNCW has contracts with three travel agencies to make airfare arrangements that are directly billed to the university. This is the only way to have the airfare prepaid for a non-employee, student employee, student (not on payroll) or student group. A UNCW employee can use Sequel Travel or a UNCW Travel Card to pay for their airfare. A UNCW employee can also pay out of pocket for their airfare and be reimbursed after the trip concludes.

Sequel Travel – for university travelers in any department traveling for any pre-approved reason.

Fellowship Travel – for university travelers participating in one of the International Program’s Study Abroad programs.

Anthony Travel – for UNCW Athletics travel only.

Steps to Book Airfare

1. Contact Travel Agency from our approved list and decide on an itinerary.
2. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River.
3. Select the Airfare tile.
4. Enter the dollar amount from the proposed itinerary (including the agency fee).
5. Select the Travel Agency that you made the arrangements with from the drop down.
6. Select Paid By – Travel Office
7. Enter the exact departure and return dates of the flight.
8. Save and attach the proposed itinerary, comparison flights, and event documentation (if applicable) to the pre-approval.
9. Submit Pre-Approval
10. Once the approval process is complete, the Travel Office will verify documentation and notify the agency to purchase the ticket.

If personal time is included with the travel, you will need to get a quote from the travel agencies showing the round-trip cost for the business days only from your duty station (ILM). The comparison must be from the same provider the ticket is being purchased from and on the same day. For example – If the ticket is purchased from Sequel Travel, the comparison needs to come from Sequel Travel. If the ticket including the personal time is more than the business time, the employee will have to pay the University the difference.

If you are not flying out of your duty station (ILM), you must also attach a comparison flight showing the cost for a flight leaving from ILM. The traveler will not be reimbursed mileage or extra per diems that exceed the amount of the round-trip flight out of ILM. A comment must be put in Chrome River explaining the reason for not flying out of Wilmington.

  Additional Documentation Required: If attending a conference, meeting, etc., documentation must be attached to the pre-approval which shows the Name, Dates, Location, & Agenda (if Agenda available) of the event.

REGISTRATION

There are three options to pay employee registration fees.

1. Pay with UNCW Travel Card
2. Pre-pay via an expense report in Chrome River
3. Employee pays and is reimbursed after the trip concludes.

If the employee has a UNCW Travel Card, they can use their card to pay for their registration.

If the traveler would like the registration fees to be paid by the university before the travel takes place, we must pay the conference/vendor directly. A pre-approval must be created first and approved by all approvers. An expense report must then be created in Chrome River and the conference information (registration form, agenda and schedule of fees from the conference website) will need to be uploaded to the expense report. The person creating the expense report must make sure to select the correct vendor with the correct address. If the Payee needed is not found or the Payee does not have the correct address, the person entering the expense report will need to complete a Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form and submit it to newvendor@uncw.edu. If the Payee is in Chrome River, but the address needs to be changed, please put the 850 # on the Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form.

To create an expense report in Chrome River to prepay the registration fee, the following steps will need to be completed once the pre-approval has been approved.

• Create New Expense Report.
• Complete the header information on the expense report including the payee.
• Select the registration tile.
• Enter the registration information.
• Upload the registration form, agenda, and schedule of fees to support the payment. 
• If the registration form needs to be mailed with the check, “Attachment required to be mailed with check” must be selected under Check Handling.
• Click Submit.
• Apply the pre-approval related to this trip.
• Click Submit again.
• After the approval process, the expense report will be routed to the Travel Office to review and approve. 
• Once the Travel Office approves the expense report, the check will be processed on the next available check run.

If the employee chooses to pay the registration fee out of pocket, they will not be reimbursed until the travel has concluded. Reimbursement for a registration that the employee paid for will be handled as part of the entire reimbursement for the trip. This should be entered in the expense report in Chrome River under the registration tile. Reimbursement should not be requested for registration fees paid for in advance by the University. In order to be reimbursed for the registration fees, the following is required:

• Receipt showing payment of the registration fee and the traveler’s name is required.
• Web receipts are acceptable if they include the same information as above as well as the name of the organization that received the payment.
• Include a copy of the conference agenda or brochure that shows whether meals or other expenses were included with the registration fee. Meals that are part of a registration fee will be excluded from the travel reimbursement meal per diem, even if the traveler did not attend.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for activities that are not business related (examples: tours, social activities).

Any meals included in the registration fee will be excluded from the traveler’s per diem reimbursement, even if the traveler did not attend the meal function.

LODGING

Lodging is an out-of-pocket expense for the traveler unless they pay using their UNCW Travel Card. To receive reimbursement for lodging: 

• Travel must involve a travel destination located at least 35 miles from the employee’s regularly assigned duty station or home, whichever is less. 
• UNCW will only reimburse for the room, plus any taxes, internet for business and parking. 
• An itemized, paid receipt showing a $0.00 balance must be attached to the expense report.
• Any meals or other incidentals included on the receipt must be excluded from the reimbursement. 

Lodging arrangements booked online through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc are subject to the same rules as above. Please note, lodging paid through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. may be non-refundable.  If this is the case and you have to cancel your trip, you run the risk of not being reimbursed for any payments made in advance.

The following items are required:

• The original online receipt confirming the registration and showing payment, with breakdown of the cost of the room and taxes each night, the number of nights, and the number of guests.
• Receipts are not normally provided when the hotel is booked online through a 3rd party vendor except when there are charges for the other expenses billed directly such as internet connection fees, phone calls, etc. If these expenses are to be claimed by the traveler, the original receipt from the lodging establishment must be submitted.
• You will need to get individual quotes for each expense from the same vendor if you order a package deal through a third-party vendor such as Orbitz or Travelocity. If the package deal is for more than one person, the quote must be for one person.

Example:

1. The package deal from Orbitz includes lodging and airfare for 3 people.
2. Get a quote from Orbitz for airfare for one person for the business dates with the same airline as the package deal.
3. Get a separate quote from Orbitz for the lodging for one person for the business dates from the same hotel as the package deal.

If the comparison quotes are lower for a single flight or lodging expense, we can only reimburse at the single rate.

Third Party Lodging

Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law or regulation. Any establishment that is not considered a hotel/motel is considered Third Party Lodging. This includes but is not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds, campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, and college dormitories.

Third Party Lodging requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins or the traveler risks not being reimbursed. 

The Third-Party Lodging form is located on the Controller’s Forms Page. 

The traveler must provide the following to the Travel Office:

• Third Party Lodging Form filled out completely.
• Purpose of having to rent the establishment.
• Provide evidence of savings to the state
• Amount of the rental
• Length of stay
• List of everyone staying on the property
• Funding source being used (fund number)
• Copy of Rental Agreement from the Third-Party Lodging Property
• The traveler must attest in writing that there is no conflict of interest (no family members own the property or benefit financially from the rental)
• Printed comparisons from 3 hotel/motels in the area (from websites such as hotels.com, Expedia.com etc.) must accompany the Third-Party Lodging Request.

All documentation must be combined into one PDF file using the following naming convention:

Travelersname_3 rd partylodging_date_location.pdf 

The combined pdf file must be emailed to ThirdPartyLodging@uncw.edu using the naming convention listed above as the subject line of your email.

RENTAL CAR

There are three options to pay for rental cars.

1. Reserve rental car through Enterprise Online Booking Tool
2. Reserve rental car using UNCW Travel Card
3. Employee pays and is reimbursed after the trip concludes.

When using the Enterprise Online Booking Tool, you must include the PA number from the pre-approval. Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not reimbursable. In addition, the compact or standard car should be rented unless additional people are traveling, and a larger vehicle is needed. Additional drivers are not allowed except when sharing the car with another UNCW employee traveling on the same trip. The other traveler’s name and report ID number must be included in the comments. When reconciling this charge in Chrome River, you will select the Ground Transportation Tile and select the Rental Car Tile.

If the employee has a UNCW Travel Card, they can use their card to reserve and pay for their rental car.  Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not allowable charges and cannot be paid for on a travel card.

If the employee chooses to pay for the rental car out of pocket, they will not be reimbursed until the travel has concluded. Reimbursement for a rental car that the employee paid for will be handled as part of the entire reimbursement for the trip. This should be entered in the expense report in Chrome River under the Rental Car Tile which is located under the Ground Transportation Tile. Reimbursement should not be requested for rental cars paid for using the Enterprise Online Booking Tool or the employee’s UNCW Travel Card.  To be reimbursed for the rental car fees the following is required:

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due.
• Receipt must include the name of the traveler and dates of the rental.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades.

TAXI, UBER, LYFT

Taxi/Uber/Lift costs are a reimbursable expense upon completion of the travel.

Allowable Taxi/Uber/Lyft Expenses

• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Duty Station or Home (whichever is closer).
• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Destination.
• Travel involving trips other than to and from the airport will be reimbursed when required for official state business.
• Travel to/from a meal is not a reimbursable expense.
• UNCW will reimburse up to a 20% tip for ground transportation with appropriate documentation.

To be reimbursed a receipt showing the cost, payment amount, date of travel, and the name of company must be submitted with the traveler’s expense report.

OTHER TRANSPORTATION

Bus, Train and Subway costs are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile.

Parking and Tolls are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. These expenses are reimbursable when incurred while traveling on official university business only. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose parking or tolls.

When an employee is traveling to and from the airport there are three options for reimbursement.

• Actual cost of taxi or airport shuttle
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of two round trips with no parking charges.
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of one round trip plus parking charges.

If the employee rents a car, fuel expenses can be reimbursed upon completion of the travel. Fuel expenses are not reimbursed if the traveler requests mileage reimbursement. A paid receipt showing the price per gallon and the number of gallons purchased must be submitted with the expense report. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the Fuel Tile.

MILEAGE

Mileage is a reimbursable expense upon the completion of the travel. The current mileage reimbursement rate can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Mileage is calculated from the employee's duty station or home whichever is closer to the destination. Chrome River will calculate the mileage and attach a map to the expense report. If you have local travel that you do on a regular basis, you must attach a Monthly Mileage Log to your expense report. The mileage log should include the miles driven, where you went and the business purpose of the trip. The monthly mileage log can be found on the Form’s section of the Controller’s website. 

MEALS

All meals are reimbursed at a rate set by the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). Per diem rates are for overnight travel. Per diem is not allowed for day trips. Please visit the UNCW Travel Website to view current meal and lodging per diem rates. For Foreign travel, please visit the Department of State website for information on meal and lodging per diem rates.

You are eligible for breakfast per diem if you depart your duty station before 6:00 a.m.

You are eligible for lunch per diem if you depart before noon or return after 2:00 p.m.

You are eligible for dinner per diem if you depart before 5:00 p.m. or return after 8:00 p.m.

When requesting reimbursement for meal per diem, you must select the Meals Tile and then select Per Diem Wizard. Verify the start date/time and end date/time. Enter your location and select Add to Preview.

Remove any meals that were included in the registration fee as they cannot be claimed for reimbursement, even if the traveler did not attend the meal. Foreign meal per diem rates do not start until the traveler arrives in the foreign country on the departing flight.

For Business Entertainment while in travel status, select the Meals Tile and then select Business Entertainment Meals. Business Entertainment is when the traveler takes a group of people out for a meal to conduct business. There must be at least one external attendee. An original itemized receipt must be attached to the expense report and any meal claimed as business entertainment cannot be claimed under regular per diem meals.

FOREIGN TRAVEL

Foreign Travel consists of travel to Alaska, Hawaii, and all countries other than the contiguous United States. All international travel must be pre-approved prior to the trip taking place. Please see Procedures – Pre-Approvals for routing information.

Foreign Travel status begins when the employee leaves the Continental US and remains in effect until the employee returns to the Continental US. Any expenses that are incurred during the trip within the Continental United States will have out-of-state rates applied to the expenses. Foreign travel follows normal rules and regulations of the University travel policies. Foreign travel reimbursements and prepaid items must follow the same guidelines as regular travel - original receipts, explanations for deviancies from policy or unusual circumstances, etc.

Per Diem and Lodging Rates

Foreign meal per diem is determined by the destination of the trip. Foreign meal per diems and lodging rates can be found on the  U.S. Department of State webpage.

Meal per diems are relative to location. If in the US or on a flight into or out of the US at mealtime, the traveler will be reimbursed at the appropriate out-of-state or in-state meal per diem.

When entering your pre-approval and/or expense report in Chrome River, select International for the Location and the correct Foreign Country for the Destination. This will affect rates and the routing if not completed properly. Receipts that are in foreign currency must be converted to US Dollars. This can be done using the conversion tool in Chrome River or you can use the Oanda website and upload the proof of conversion. You will use the actual date on the receipt that the payment was made for the conversion. (For example, the traveler stayed 3 days in a hotel in England – you will use the date of check out or the date payment was made for the conversion date, not each day of the stay).

If any receipts are in another language, they must be translated to English either on the side of the receipt or by using Google Translate Images.

Payment by Wire/Bank Draft

Wire transfers are the required payment method for foreign individuals or entities. A wire/bank draft form must be completed and attached to the expense report, along with supporting documentation. The form of payment chosen should be "wire."

The information will be forwarded to General Accounting once the expense report is processed by the Travel Office.

The wire/bank draft form can be found on the  Controller's Forms page.

Insurance Coverage

All faculty/staff traveling on international university business have the option of purchasing international travel insurance before their trip.

Contact the Institutional Risk Management Office at extension 2-5974 and they will explain to you the differences between the regular state plan and the special coverage for international travel. U.S. citizens traveling abroad should register their travel through the Department of State's  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. In addition to receiving updates on travel alerts and warnings, you can receive assistance in situations ranging from replacement of lost passports to evacuation during natural disasters.

Additional Information for Foreign Travelers

The University relies on information from the  U.S. Department of State for travel warnings issued periodically by the agency and information from the  U.S. Center for Disease Control. Please visit both of these websites to keep up with such matters as health conditions, crime, unusual entry requirements, areas of instability and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy in subject country. The Vice-Chancellor/Provost will also be approving international travel for employees via Chrome River workflow.

Who to Contact for

Export Controls:  

• Justine Reel
• (910) 962-7341

Insurance:

• Kristy Burnette
• (910) 962-2220

Passports:

• UNCW Passport Office
• ( 910) 962-2432

A non-employee includes but is not limited to the following:

• An employee of another governmental jurisdiction (local or federal) in whose travel the state may have a business interest.
• A prospective employee
• A non-UNCW student (high school or university)
• An attendant for a disabled employee

All expenses for a non-employee must be claimed on that individual’s own travel pre-approval/expense report and never on anyone else’s. A pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the beginning of the business travel. Travel expenses for family members of non-employees are not allowable. Non-employees must abide by the same statutory reimbursement regulations, documentation requirements, and other conditions as state employees, unless otherwise indicated.

Helpful Reminders:

• A travel pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the first day of business travel.
• Travel expenses for family members of employees are not reimbursable.
• All backup documents and receipts must be attached to the expense report.
• Travelers are allowed one day of travel before the beginning of a conference and one day after the conclusion of a conference.
• All travel reimbursements must be completed within 30 calendar days after the return date.

How to Process Travel for a Non-Employee

1. Non-Employees must be set up in Chrome River using the Travel Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form.
2. Once set up in Chrome River, a Pre-Approval must be created before the travel occurs.
3. Choose Paid By: Travel Office if using local lodging or Sequel Airfare.
4. For Local Lodging – The hotel Name must be entered, and the reservation confirmation email attached to the Pre-Approval.
5. For Sequel Airfare - The proposed Itinerary showing the amount of the flight must also be attached to the expense report.
6. Once the airfare charge is in the travelers eWallet, an expense report must be completed to reconcile the charge.
7. After the trip has ended, an expense report must be submitted within 30 days to reconcile the local lodging and any other requests for reimbursement.
8. All receipts and supporting documentation must be attached to the expense report in Chrome River.

AIRFARE

UNCW has contracts with three travel agencies to make airfare arrangements that are directly billed to the university. This is the only way to have the airfare prepaid for a non-employee, student employee, student (not on payroll) or student group. A department delegate can book airfare through Sequel for a non-employee traveler. The non-employee traveler can also pay out of pocket for their airfare and be reimbursed after the trip concludes.

Sequel Travel – for university travelers in any department traveling for any pre-approved reason.

Fellowship Travel – for university travelers participating in one of the International Program’s Study Abroad programs.

Anthony Travel – for UNCW Athletics travel only.

Steps to Book Airfare

1. Contact Travel Agency from our approved list and decide on an itinerary.
2. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River.
3. Select the Airfare tile.
4. Enter the dollar amount from the proposed itinerary (including the agency fee).
5. Select the Travel Agency that you made the arrangements with from the drop down.
6. Select Paid By – Travel Office
7. Enter the exact departure and return dates of the flight.
8. Save and attach the proposed Itinerary and any comparison flights to the pre-approval.
9. Submit Pre-Approval
10. Once the approval process is complete, the Travel Office will verify documentation and notify the agency to purchase the ticket.

If personal time is included with the travel, you will need to get a quote from the travel agencies showing the round-trip cost for the business days only from your duty station (ILM). The comparison must be from the same provider the ticket is being purchased from and on the same day. For example – If the ticket is purchased from Sequel Travel, the comparison needs to come from Sequel Travel. If the ticket including the personal time is more than the business time, the non-employee will have to pay for the ticket themselves and be reimbursed after the trip.

LODGING

UNCW partners with several local lodging establishments to provide lodging for UNCW visitors on university business. If a non-employee chooses third party lodging, they must consult with the department to ensure that third party lodging requirements are met.

Pre-Paid Lodging

When this option is chosen for lodging, you will need to use the local lodging process.

The Travel Office will give approval to the hotel directly to charge the room rate on an assigned UNCW credit card. The department is responsible for contacting the hotel to make the arrangements and completing a Pre-Approval.

A list of our local lodging hotels with contact information can be found on the Travel website. 

Local Lodging Procedures

• Department contacts hotel to make arrangements for traveler
• Department completes Pre-Approval
• Travel Office reviews the Pre-Approval then provides the hotel with authorization for payment
• Once the trip has ended an expense report must be created to reconcile the local lodging charge and to reimburse the traveler for any additional expenses.

If the non-employee chooses to pay out of pocket for lodging, they will not be reimbursed until after the trip has ended.  

To receive reimbursement for lodging: 

• UNCW will only reimburse for the room, plus any taxes, internet for business and parking. 
• An itemized, paid receipt showing a $0.00 balance must be attached to the expense report.
• Any meals or other incidentals included on the receipt must be excluded from the reimbursement. 

Lodging arrangements booked online through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc are subject to the same rules as above. Please note, the lodging paid through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. may be non-refundable.  If this is the case and you have to cancel your trip, you run the risk of not being reimbursed for any payments made in advance.

The following items are required:

• The original online receipt confirming the registration and showing payment, with breakdown of the cost of the room and taxes each night, the number of nights, and the number of guests.
• Receipts are not normally provided when the hotel is booked online through a 3rd party vendor except when there are charges for the other expenses billed directly such as internet connection fees, phone calls, etc. If these expenses are to be claimed by the traveler, the original receipt from the lodging establishment must be submitted.
• You will need to get individual quotes for each expense from the same vendor if you order a package deal through a third-party vendor such as Orbitz or Travelocity. If the package deal is for more than one person, the quote must be for one person.

Example:

1. The package deal from Orbitz includes lodging and airfare for 3 people.
2. Get a quote from Orbitz for airfare for one person for the business dates with the same airline as the package deal.
3. Get a separate quote from Orbitz for the lodging for one person for the business dates from the same hotel as the package deal.

If the comparison quotes are lower for a single flight or lodging expense, we can only reimburse at the single rate.

Third Party Lodging

Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law or regulation. Any establishment that is not considered a hotel/motel is considered Third Party Lodging. This includes but is not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds, campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, and college dormitories.

Third Party Lodging requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins or the traveler risks not being reimbursed. 

The Third Party Lodging form is located on the Controller’s Forms Page. 

The traveler must provide the following to the Travel Office:

• Third Party Lodging Form filled out completely.
• Purpose of having to rent the establishment.
• Provide evidence of savings to the state
• Amount of the rental
• Length of stay
• List of everyone staying on the property
• Funding source being used (fund number)
• Copy of Rental Agreement from the Third-Party Lodging Property
• The traveler must attest in writing that there is no conflict of interest (no family members own the property or benefit financially from the rental)
• Printed comparisons from 3 hotel/motels in the area (from websites such as hotels.com, Expedia.com etc.) must accompany the Third-Party Lodging Request.

All documentation must be combined into one PDF file using the following naming convention:

Travelersname_3 rd partylodging_date_location.pdf 

The combined pdf file must be emailed to ThirdPartyLodging@uncw.edu using the naming convention listed above as the subject line of your email.

RENTAL CAR

Rental car expenses are reimbursable expenses for non-employees. The non-employee must pay for the cost of the rental upfront and be reimbursed after the trip has concluded. Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not reimbursable. In addition, the compact or standard car should be rented unless additional people are traveling, and a larger vehicle is needed.

To be reimbursed for the rental car fees the following is required:

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due.
• Receipt must include the name of the traveler and dates of the rental.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades.

TAXI, UBER, LYFT

Taxi/Uber/Lift costs are a reimbursable expense upon completion of the travel.

Allowable Taxi/Uber/Lyft Expenses

• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Duty Station or Home (whichever is closer).
• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Destination.
• Travel involving trips other than to and from the airport will be reimbursed when required for official state business.
• Travel to/from a meal is not a reimbursable expense.
• UNCW will reimburse up to a 20% tip for ground transportation with appropriate documentation.

All taxi, Uber, and Lyft expenses must be entered into Chrome River.  On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile. Each trip must be entered on a separate line.

To be reimbursed for Taxi, Uber or Lyft the following is required:

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due
• Date of travel
• Name of company

OTHER TRANSPORTATION

Bus, Train and Subway costs are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile. Each trip must be entered on a separate line.

Parking and Tolls are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. These expenses are reimbursable when incurred while traveling in official state business only. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose parking or tolls.

When an employee is traveling to and from the airport there are three options for reimbursement.

• Actual cost of taxi or airport shuttle
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of two round trips with no parking charges.
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of one round trip plus parking charges.

If the non-employee rents a car, fuel expenses can be reimbursed upon completion of the travel. Fuel expenses are not reimbursed if the traveler requests mileage reimbursement. A paid receipt showing the price per gallon and the number of gallons purchased must be submitted with the expense report. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the Fuel Tile.

MILEAGE

Mileage is a reimbursable expense upon the completion of the travel. The current mileage reimbursement rate can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Mileage is calculated from the employee's duty station or home whichever is closer to the destination. Chrome River will calculate the mileage and attach a map to the expense report. If you have local travel that you do on a regular basis, you must attach a Monthly Mileage Log to your expense report. The mileage log should include the miles driven, where you went and the business purpose of the trip. The monthly mileage log can be found on the Form’s section of the Controller’s website. 

MEALS

All meals are reimbursed at a rate set by the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). Per diem rates are for overnight travel. Per diem is not allowed for day trips. Please visit the UNCW Travel Website to view current meal and lodging per diem rates. For Foreign travel, please visit the Department of State website for information on meal and lodging per diem rates. Since there is a set per diem rate, receipts are not required to be reimbursed for meals.

You are eligible for breakfast per diem if you depart your duty station before 6:00 a.m.

You are eligible for lunch per diem if you depart before noon or return after 2:00 p.m.

You are eligible for dinner per diem if you depart before 5:00 p.m. or return after 8:00 p.m.

When requesting reimbursement for meal per diem, you must select the Meals Tile and then select Per Diem Wizard. Verify the start date/time and end date/time. Enter your location and select Add to Preview.

Remove any meals that were included in the registration fee as they cannot be claimed for reimbursement, even if the traveler did not attend the meal. Foreign meal per diem rates do not start until the traveler arrives in the foreign country on the departing flight.

Students who are not on UNCW payroll are classified as non-employees and they follow all non-employee policies and procedures.

Students who are on UNCW payroll are treated as an employee and follow the employee policies and procedures.

All expenses for a student/student employee must be claimed on that individual’s own travel pre-approval/expense report and never on anyone else’s. A pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the beginning of the business travel. Travel expenses for family members of non-employees are not allowable. Student travel is allowable on an appropriate general fund only in a special set of circumstances:

• Student Employee travel
  • Student employee travel must have a business purpose and therefore provide a benefit to UNCW (similar to the use of ETF funds)
  • The student employee traveler must be traveling on behalf of the position they hold as an employee. See non-employee student travel requirements below if the business purpose is not related to the student’s employment.
  • Their travel expenses must be reimbursed/paid from the same source of funding that pays their wages as long as the general fund selected is appropriate. 
  • The benefit must be substantiated in writing by the student employee’s supervisor and included with the travel pre-approval and expense report(s).
  • Documentation confirming the funding source of the student’s wages must be included with the travel pre-approval and expense report(s).  This can be a screenshot from Banner HR, labor distribution information from Banner, or SSRS hiring report. 
• Non-employee Student travel
  • Non-employee student travel paid from a general fund must have a business purpose AND provide a benefit to UNCW (similar to the use of ETF funds)
  • General funds used for non-employee student travel is commonly a fund that supports travel awards that a student traveler has applied for and been selected to represent UNCW or a research fund (prg code 110) that supports research and student travel.  
  • Upon the student’s return from the trip, the expectation is for the student to share their knowledge, experience, or research with the university community in a showcase or forum setting. 
  • The benefit must be substantiated in writing (i.e. an award letter) by the Dean, Director, Associate Provost or Program Director and included with the travel pre-approval and expense report(s).

If the student/student employee travel does not comply with the circumstances above, a general fund CANNOT be used for their travel expenses.

Helpful Reminders:

• A travel pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the first day of business travel.
• Travel expenses for family members of employees are not reimbursable.
• All backup documents and receipts must be attached to the expense report.
• Travelers are allowed one day of travel before the beginning of a conference and one day after the conclusion of a conference.
• All travel reimbursements must be completed within 30 calendar days after the return date.

How to Process Travel for a Student/Student Employee

1. Students must be set up in Chrome River using the Travel Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form.
2. Once set up in Chrome River, a Pre-Approval must be created before the travel occurs.
3. Choose Paid By: Travel Office if using local lodging or Sequel Airfare.
4. For Sequel Airfare – The proposed Itinerary showing the amount of the flight must also be attached to the expense report.
5. Once the airfare charge is in the travelers eWallet, an expense report must be completed to reconcile the charge.
6. After the trip has ended, an expense report must be submitted within 30 days to reconcile the local lodging and any other requests for reimbursement.
7. All receipts and supporting documentation must be attached to the expense report in Chrome River.
8. Students traveling on behalf of their position should be paid from the fund their payroll is paid from unless the special circumstances above apply.

AIRFARE

UNCW has contracts with three travel agencies to make airfare arrangements that are directly billed to the university. This is the only way to have the airfare prepaid for a non-employee, student employee, student (not on payroll) or student group. A department delegate can book airfare through Sequel for a student/student employee traveler. The student/student employee traveler can also pay out of pocket for their airfare and be reimbursed after the trip concludes.

Sequel Travel – for university travelers in any department traveling for any pre-approved reason.

Fellowship Travel – for university travelers participating in one of the International Program’s Study Abroad programs.

Anthony Travel – for UNCW Athletics travel only.

Steps to Book Airfare

1. Contact Travel Agency from our approved list and decide on an itinerary.
2. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River.
3. Select the Airfare tile.
4. Enter the dollar amount from the proposed itinerary (including the agency fee).
5. Select the Travel Agency that you made the arrangements with from the drop down.
6. Select Paid By – Travel Office
7. Enter the exact departure and return dates of the flight.
8. Save and attach the proposed itinerary and any comparison flights to the pre-approval.
9. Submit Pre-Approval
10. Once the approval process is complete, the Travel Office will notify the agency to purchase the ticket.

If personal time is included with the travel, you will need to get a quote from the travel agencies showing the round-trip cost for the business days only from your duty station (ILM). The comparison must be from the same provider the ticket is being purchased from and on the same day. For example – If the ticket is purchased from Sequel Travel, the comparison needs to come from Sequel Travel. If the ticket including the personal time is more than the business time, the employee will have to pay the University the difference.

If you are not flying out of your duty station (ILM), you must also attach a comparison flight showing the cost for a flight leaving from ILM. The traveler will not be reimbursed mileage or extra per diems that exceed the amount of the round-trip flight out of ILM. A comment must be put in Chrome River explaining the reason for not flying out of Wilmington.

Additional Documentation Required:

If attending a conference, meeting, etc., documentation must be attached to the pre-approval which shows the Name, Dates, Location, & Agenda (if Agenda available) of the event.

REGISTRATION

There are two options to pay student/student employee registration fees.

1. Pre-pay via an expense report in Chrome River
2. Student/Student Employee pays and is reimbursed after the trip concludes.

If the student/student employee would like the registration fees to be paid by the university before the travel takes place, we must pay the conference/vendor directly. A pre-approval must be created first and approved by all approvers. An expense report must then be created in Chrome River and the conference information (registration form, agenda and schedule of fees from the conference website) will need to be uploaded to the expense report. The person creating the expense report must make sure to select the correct vendor with the correct address. If the Payee needed is not found or the Payee does not have the correct address the person entering the expense report will need to complete a Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form and submit it to newvendor@uncw.edu. If the Payee is in Chrome River, but the address needs to be changed, please put the 850 # on the Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form.

To create an expense report in Chrome River to prepay the registration fee, the following steps will need to be completed once the pre-approval has been approved.

• Create New Expense Report.
• Complete the header information on the expense report including the payee.
• Select the registration tile.
• Enter the registration information.
• Upload the registration form, agenda, and schedule of fees to support the payment. 
• If the registration form needs to be mailed with the check, “Attachment required to be mailed with check” must be selected under Check Handling.
• Click Submit.
• Apply the pre-approval related to this trip.
• Click Submit again.
• After the approval process, the expense report will be routed to the Travel Office to review and approve. 
• Once the Travel Office approves the expense report, the check will be processed on the next available check run.

If the student/student employee chooses to pay the registration fee out of pocket, they will not be reimbursed until the travel has concluded. Reimbursement for a registration that the employee paid for will be handled as part of the entire reimbursement for the trip. This should be entered in the expense report in Chrome River under the registration tile. Reimbursement should not be requested for registration fees paid for in advance by the University. In order to be reimbursed for the registration fees the following is required:

• Receipt showing payment of the registration fee and the traveler’s name is required.
• Web receipts are acceptable if they include the same information as above as well as the name of the organization that received the payment.
• Include a copy of the conference agenda or brochure that shows whether meals or other expenses were included with the registration fee. Meals that are part of a registration fee will be excluded from the travel reimbursement meal per diem, even if the traveler did not attend.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for activities that are not business related (examples: tours, social activities).

Cancellation of a Prepaid Registration

When a trip cancellation involves registration fees that were pre-paid direct to the vendor by the University, the student/student employee’s department must check with the vendor to see if the registration fee can be refunded. If a refund is not given, a comment stating this must be entered in Chrome River. If a refund is given, the department must bring the check to the Travel Office with a memo that indicates which travel the check applies to. The Travel Office will deposit the check to the correct fund and account for you.

LODGING

Lodging is an out-of-pocket expense for the traveler.  To receive reimbursement for lodging: 

• Travel must involve a travel destination located at least 35 miles from the employee’s regularly assigned duty station or home, whichever is less. 
• UNCW will only reimburse for the room, plus any taxes, internet for business and parking. 
• An itemized, paid receipt showing a $0.00 balance must be attached to the expense report.
• Any meals or other incidentals included on the receipt must be excluded from the reimbursement. 

Lodging arrangements booked online through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc are subject to the same rules as above. Please note, the lodging paid through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. may be non-refundable.  If this is the case and you have to cancel your trip, you run the risk of not being reimbursed for any payments made in advance.

The following items are required:

• The original online receipt confirming the registration and showing payment, with breakdown of the cost of the room and taxes each night, the number of nights, and the number of guests.
• Receipts are not normally provided when the hotel is booked online through a 3rd party vendor except when there are charges for the other expenses billed directly such as internet connection fees, phone calls, etc. If these expenses are to be claimed by the traveler, the original receipt from the lodging establishment must be submitted.
• You will need to get individual quotes for each expense from the same vendor if you order a package deal through a third-party vendor such as Orbitz or Travelocity. If the package deal is for more than one person, the quote must be for one person.

Example:

1. The package deal from Orbitz includes lodging and airfare for 3 people.
2. Get a quote from Orbitz for airfare for one person for the business dates with the same airline as the package deal.
3. Get a separate quote from Orbitz for the lodging for one person for the business dates from the same hotel as the package deal.

If the comparison quotes are lower for a single flight or lodging expense, we can only reimburse at the single rate.

Third Party Lodging

Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law or regulation. Any establishment that is not considered a hotel/motel is considered Third Party Lodging. This includes but is not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds, campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, and college dormitories.

Third Party Lodging requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins or the traveler risks not being reimbursed. 

The Third-Party Lodging form is located on the Controller’s Forms Page. 

The traveler must provide the following to the Travel Office:

• Third Party Lodging Form filled out completely.
• Purpose of having to rent the establishment.
• Provide evidence of savings to the state
• Amount of the rental
• Length of stay
• List of everyone staying on the property
• Funding source being used (fund number)
• Copy of Rental Agreement from the Third-Party Lodging Property
• The traveler must attest in writing that there is no conflict of interest (no family members own the property or benefit financially from the rental)
• Printed comparisons from 3 hotel/motels in the area (from websites such as hotels.com, Expedia.com etc.) must accompany the Third-Party Lodging Request.

All documentation must be combined into one PDF file using the following naming convention:

Travelersname_3 rd partylodging_date_location.pdf 

The combined pdf file must be emailed to ThirdPartyLodging@uncw.edu using the naming convention listed above as the subject line of your email.

RENTAL CAR

Rental car expenses are reimbursable expenses for Student/Student employee travelers. The traveler must pay for the cost of the rental up front and the university will reimburse the traveler after the trip is over. Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not reimbursable. In addition, the compact or standard car should be rented unless additional people are traveling, and a larger vehicle is needed. When entering the expense in Chrome River, you will select the Ground Transportation Tile and select the Rental Car Tile.

To be reimbursed for the rental car fees the following is required:

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due.
• Receipt must include the name of the traveler and dates of the rental.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades.

TAXI, UBER, LYFT

Taxi/Uber/Lift costs are a reimbursable expense upon completion of the travel.

Allowable Taxi/Uber/Lyft Expenses

• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Duty Station or Home (whichever is closer).
• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Destination.
• Travel involving trips other than to and from the airport will be reimbursed when required for official state business.
• Travel to/from a meal is not a reimbursable expense.
• UNCW will reimburse up to a 20% tip for ground transportation with appropriate documentation.

To be reimbursed, a receipt showing the cost, payment amount, date of travel, and the name of company must be submitted with the traveler’s expense report.

OTHER TRANSPORTATION

Bus, Train and Subway costs are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile.

Parking and Tolls are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. These expenses are reimbursable when incurred while traveling in official state business only. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose parking or tolls.

When an employee is traveling to and from the airport there are three options for reimbursement.

• Actual cost of taxi or airport shuttle
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of two round trips with no parking charges.
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of one round trip plus parking charges.

If the Student/Student employee traveler rents a car, fuel expenses can be reimbursed upon completion of the travel. Fuel expenses are not reimbursed if the traveler requests mileage reimbursement. A paid receipt showing the price per gallon and the number of gallons purchased must be submitted with the expense report. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the Fuel Tile.

MILEAGE

Mileage is a reimbursable expense upon the completion of the travel. The current mileage reimbursement rate can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Mileage is calculated from the traveler's duty station or home whichever is closer to the destination. Chrome River will calculate the mileage and attach a map to the expense report. If you have local travel that you do on a regular basis, you must attach a Monthly Mileage Log to your expense report. The mileage log should include the miles driven, where you went and the business purpose of the trip. The monthly mileage log can be found on the Form’s section of the Controller’s website. 

MEALS

All meals are reimbursed at a rate set by the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). Per diem rates are for overnight travel. Per diem is not allowed for day trips. Please visit the UNCW Travel Website to view current meal and lodging per diem rates. For Foreign travel, please visit the Department of State website for information on meal and lodging per diem rates.

You are eligible for breakfast per diem if you depart your duty station before 6:00 a.m.

You are eligible for lunch per diem if you depart before noon or return after 2:00 p.m.

You are eligible for dinner per diem if you depart before 5:00 p.m. or return after 8:00 p.m.

When requesting reimbursement for meal per diem, you must select the Meals Tile and then select Per Diem Wizard. Verify the start date/time and end date/time. Enter your location and select Add to Preview.

Remove any meals that were included in the registration fee as they cannot be claimed for reimbursement, even if the traveler did not attend the meal. Foreign meal per diem rates do not start until the traveler arrives in the foreign country on the departing flight.

Requirements for Independent Contractors are similar to non-employee travel. A PUR1.40 must be completed and attached to the pre-approval and expense report in Chrome River. All expenses for an independent contractor must be claimed on that individual’s own travel pre-approval/expense report and never on anyone else’s. A pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the beginning of the business travel. Travel expenses for family members of independent contractors are not reimbursable. Independent Contractors must abide by the same statutory reimbursement regulations, documentation requirements, and other conditions as state employees, unless otherwise indicated.

Helpful Reminders:

• A travel pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the first day of business travel.
• Travel expenses for family members of employees are not reimbursable.
• All backup documents and receipts must be attached to the expense report.
• Travelers are allowed one day of travel before the beginning of a conference and one day after the conclusion of a conference.
• All travel reimbursements must be completed within 30 calendar days after the return date.

How to Process Travel for an Independent Contractor

1. Independent Contractors must be set up in Chrome River using the Travel Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form.
2. Once set up in Chrome River, a Pre-Approval must be created before the travel occurs.
3. Choose Paid By: Travel Office if using local lodging or Sequel Airfare.
4. For Local Lodging – The hotel Name must be entered, and the reservation confirmation email attached to the Pre-Approval.
5. For Sequel Airfare – The Proposed Itinerary showing the amount of the flight must also be attached to the expense report.
6. Once the airfare charge is in the travelers eWallet, an expense report must be completed to reconcile the charge.
7. After the trip has ended, an expense report must be submitted to reconcile the local lodging and any other requests for reimbursement.
8. All receipts and supporting documentation must be attached to the expense report in Chrome River.

AIRFARE

UNCW has contracts with three travel agencies to make airfare arrangements that are directly billed to the university. This is the only way to have the airfare prepaid for a non-employee, student employee, student (not on payroll) or student group. A department delegate can book airfare through Sequel for a non-employee traveler. The non-employee traveler can also pay out of pocket for their airfare and be reimbursed after the trip concludes.

Sequel Travel – for university travelers in any department traveling for any pre-approved reason.

Fellowship Travel – for university travelers participating in one of the International Program’s Study Abroad programs.

Anthony Travel – for UNCW Athletics travel only.

Steps to Book Airfare

1. Contact Travel Agency from our approved list and decide on an itinerary.
2. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River.
3. Select the Airfare tile.
4. Enter the dollar amount from the proposed Itinerary (including the agency fee).
5. Select the Travel Agency that you made the arrangements with from the drop down.
6. Select Paid By – Travel Office
7. Enter the exact departure and return dates of the flight.
8. Save and attach the proposed Itinerary and any comparison flights to the pre-approval.
9. Submit Pre-Approval
10. Once the approval process is complete, the Travel Office will verify documentation and notify the agency to purchase the ticket.

If personal time is included with the travel, you will need to get a quote from the travel agencies showing the round-trip cost for the business days only from your duty station (ILM). The comparison must be from the same provider the ticket is being purchased from and on the same day. For example – If the ticket is purchased from Sequel Travel, the comparison needs to come from Sequel Travel. If the ticket including the personal time is more than the business time, the independent contractor will have to pay for the ticket themselves and be reimbursed after the trip.

LODGING

UNCW partners with several local lodging establishments to provide lodging for UNCW visitors on university business. If an Independent Contractor chooses third party lodging, they must consult with the department to ensure that third party lodging requirements are met.

Pre-Paid Lodging

When this option is chosen for lodging, you will need to use the local lodging process.

The Travel Office will give approval to the hotel directly to charge the room rate on an assigned UNCW credit card. The department is responsible for contacting the hotel to make the arrangements and completing a Pre-Approval.

A list of our local lodging hotels with contact information can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Local Lodging Procedures

• Department contacts hotel to make arrangements for traveler
• Department completes Pre-Approval
• Travel Office reviews the Pre-Approval then provides the hotel with authorization for payment
• Once the trip has ended, an expense report must be submitted within 30 days to reconcile the local lodging charge and to reimburse the traveler for any additional expenses.

If the non-employee chooses to pay out of pocket for lodging, they will not be reimbursed until after the trip has ended. If someone other than the traveler paid for the expense, UNCW must reimburse the person who paid the expense. When creating the expense report, the person who paid for the lodging expense must be the payee. 

To receive reimbursement for lodging: 

• UNCW will only reimburse for the room, plus any taxes, internet for business and parking. 
• An itemized, paid receipt showing a $0.00 balance must be attached to the expense report.
• Any meals or other incidentals included on the receipt must be excluded from the reimbursement. 

Lodging arrangements booked online through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc are subject to the same rules as above. . Please note, the lodging paid through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. may be non-refundable.  If this is the case and you have to cancel your trip, you run the risk of not being reimbursed for any payments made in advance.

The following items are required:

• The original online receipt confirming the registration and showing payment, with breakdown of the cost of the room and taxes each night, the number of nights, and the number of guests.
• Receipts are not normally provided when the hotel is booked online through a 3rd party vendor except when there are charges for the other expenses billed directly such as internet connection fees, phone calls, etc. If these expenses are to be claimed by the traveler, the original receipt from the lodging establishment must be submitted.
• You will need to get individual quotes for each expense from the same vendor if you order a package deal through a third-party vendor such as Orbitz or Travelocity. If the package deal is for more than one person, the quote must be for one person.

Example:

1. The package deal from Orbitz includes lodging and airfare for 3 people.
2. Get a quote from Orbitz for airfare for one person for the business dates with the same airline as the package deal.
3. Get a separate quote from Orbitz for the lodging for one person for the business dates from the same hotel as the package deal.

If the comparison quotes are lower for a single flight or lodging expense, we can only reimburse at the single rate.

Third Party Lodging

Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law or regulation. Any establishment that is not considered a hotel/motel is considered Third Party Lodging. This includes but is not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds, campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, and college dormitories.

Third Party Lodging requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins or the traveler risks not being reimbursed. 

The Third Party Lodging form is located on the Controller’s Forms Page. 

The traveler must provide the following to the Travel Office:

• Third Party Lodging Form filled out completely.
• Purpose of having to rent the establishment.
• Provide evidence of savings to the state
• Amount of the rental
• Length of stay
• List of everyone staying on the property
• Funding source being used (fund number)
• Copy of Rental Agreement from the Third-Party Lodging Property
• The traveler must attest in writing that there is no conflict of interest (no family members own the property or benefit financially from the rental)
• Printed comparisons from 3 hotel/motels in the area (from websites such as hotels.com, Expedia.com etc.) must accompany the Third-Party Lodging Request.

All documentation must be combined into one PDF file using the following naming convention:

Travelersname_3 rd partylodging_date_location.pdf 

The combined pdf file must be emailed to ThirdPartyLodging@uncw.edu using the naming convention listed above as the subject line of your email.

RENTAL CAR 

Rental car expenses are reimbursable expenses for independent contractors. The independent contractor must pay for the cost of the rental upfront and be reimbursed after the trip has concluded. Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not reimbursable. In addition, the compact or standard car should be rented unless additional people are traveling, and a larger vehicle is needed. 

To be reimbursed for the rental car fees the following is required: 

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due.
• Receipt must include the name of the traveler and dates of the rental.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades.

TAXI, UBER, LYFT 

Taxi/Uber/Lift costs are a reimbursable expense upon completion of the travel. 

Allowable Taxi/Uber/Lyft Expenses 

• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Duty Station or Home (whichever is closer).
• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Destination.
• Travel involving trips other than to and from the airport will be reimbursed when required for official state business. 
• Travel to/from a meal is not a reimbursable expense.
• UNCW will reimburse up to a 20% tip for ground transportation with appropriate documentation. 

All taxi, Uber, and Lyft expenses must be entered into Chrome River.  On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile. Each trip must be entered on a separate line. 

To be reimbursed for Taxi, Uber or Lyft the following is required: 

• Receipt showing $0.00 balance due
• Date of travel
• Name of company

OTHER TRANSPORTATION 

Bus, Train and Subway costs are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile. Each trip must be entered on a separate line. 

Parking and Tolls are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. These expenses are reimbursable when incurred while traveling in official state business only. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose parking or tolls. 

When an employee is traveling to and from the airport there are three options for reimbursement. 

• Actual cost of taxi or airport shuttle
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of two round trips with no parking charges.
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of one round trip plus parking charges. 

If the Independent Contractor rents a car, fuel expenses can be reimbursed upon completion of the travel. Fuel expenses are not reimbursed if the traveler requests mileage reimbursement. A paid receipt showing the price per gallon and the number of gallons purchased must be submitted with the expense report. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the Fuel Tile.

MILEAGE 

Mileage is a reimbursable expense upon the completion of the travel. The current mileage reimbursement rate can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Mileage is calculated from the traveler’s home or office whichever is closest to UNCW.  Chrome River will calculate the mileage and attach a map to the expense report.

MEALS 

All meals are reimbursed at a rate set by the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). Per diem rates are for overnight travel. Per diem is not allowed for day trips. Please visit the UNCW Travel Website to view current meal and lodging per diem rates. For Foreign travel, please visit the Department of State website for information on meal and lodging per diem rates. Since there is a set per diem rate, receipts are not required to be reimbursed for meals. 

You are eligible for breakfast per diem if you depart your duty station before 6:00 a.m.

You are eligible for lunch per diem if you depart before noon or return after 2:00 p.m.

You are eligible for dinner per diem if you depart before 5:00 p.m. or return after 8:00 p.m. 

When requesting reimbursement for meal per diem, you must select the Meals Tile and then select Per Diem Wizard. Verify the start date/time and end date/time. Enter your location and select Add to Preview.

Student group travel is when one UNCW faculty/staff leader takes a group of two or more students on a trip and pays the trip expenses for the students. Expenses for the student group are claimed on the faculty/staff leader’s pre-approval and expense report and not anyone else’s. 

No travel expenses are reimbursed to students directly. If students are to be reimbursed for any travel expenses, then travel must be processed as student travel. A separate pre-approval must be created for each student and follow the policies and procedures for a student. 

Helpful Reminders: 

• A travel pre-approval must be completed and approved prior to the first day of business travel.
• Travel expenses for family members of employees are not allowable.
• All backup documents and receipts must be attached to the expense report.
• Travelers are allowed one day of travel before the beginning of a conference and one day after the conclusion of a conference.
• All travel reimbursements must be completed within 30 calendar days after the return date. 

How to Process Travel for a Student Group Travel 

1. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River under the faculty/staff leader’s profile before the travel occurs.
2. Choose Paid By: Travel Office if using local lodging or Sequel Airfare.
3. For Sequel Airfare - The proposed Itinerary showing the amount of the flight must also be attached to the expense report.
4. Once the airfare charge is in the travelers eWallet, an expense report must be completed to reconcile the charge.
5. After the trip has ended, an expense report must be submitted within 30 days to reconcile the local lodging and any other requests for reimbursement.
6. All receipts and supporting documentation must be attached to the expense report in Chrome River.

AIRFARE 

UNCW has contracts with three travel agencies to make airfare arrangements that are directly billed to the university. This is the only way to have the airfare prepaid for a non-employee, student employee, student (not on payroll) or student group. A department delegate can book airfare through Sequel for a student/student employee traveler. The student/student employee traveler can also pay out of pocket for their airfare and be reimbursed after the trip concludes. 

Sequel Travel – for university travelers in any department traveling for any pre-approved reason.

Fellowship Travel – for university travelers participating in one of the International Program’s Study Abroad programs.

Anthony Travel – for UNCW Athletics travel only. 

Steps to Book Airfare 

1. Contact Travel Agency from our approved list and decide on an itinerary.
2. Create a pre-approval in Chrome River.
3. Select the Airfare tile.
4. Enter the dollar amount from the proposed itinerary (including the agency fee).
5. Select the Travel Agency that you made the arrangements with from the drop down.
6. Select Paid By – Travel Office
7. Enter the exact departure and return dates of the flight.
8. Save and attach the proposed itinerary and any comparison flights to the pre-approval.
9. Submit Pre-Approval
10. Once the approval process is complete, the Travel Office will verify the documentation and notify the agency to purchase the ticket. 

If personal time is included with the travel, you will need to get a quote from the travel agencies showing the round-trip cost for the business days only from your duty station (ILM). The comparison must be from the same provider the ticket is being purchased from and on the same day. For example – If the ticket is purchased from Sequel Travel, the comparison needs to come from Sequel Travel. If the ticket including the personal time is more than the business time, the employee will have to pay the University the difference. 

If the group is not flying out of their duty station (ILM), a comparison flight showing the cost for a flight leaving from ILM must be attached to the pre-approval and expense report. The group will not be reimbursed mileage or extra per diems that exceed the amount of the round-trip flight out of ILM. A comment must be put in Chrome River explaining the reason for not flying out of Wilmington.

  Additional Documentation Required: If attending a conference, meeting, etc., documentation must be attached to the pre-approval which shows the Name, Dates, Location, & Agenda (if Agenda available) of the event.

REGISTRATION 

There are three options to pay student/student employee registration fees. 

1. Faculty/staff leader uses their travel card for the group fee
2. Pre-pay via an expense report in Chrome River
3. Faculty/staff leader pays and is reimbursed after the trip concludes. 

If the faculty/staff leader would like the registration fees to be paid by the university before the travel takes place, we must pay the conference/vendor directly. A pre-approval must be created first and approved by all approvers. An expense report must then be created in Chrome River and the conference information (registration form, agenda and schedule of fees from the conference website) will need to be uploaded to the expense report. The person creating the expense report must make sure to select the correct vendor with the correct address. If the Payee needed is not found or the Payee does not have the correct address the person entering the expense report will need to complete a Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form and submit it to newvendor@uncw.edu. If the Payee is in Chrome River, but the address needs to be changed, please put the 850 # on the Vendor Setup and Maintenance Form. 

To create an expense report in Chrome River to prepay the registration fee, the following steps will need to be completed once the pre-approval has been approved. 

• Create New Expense Report.
• Complete the header information on the expense report including the payee.
• Select the registration tile.
• Enter the registration information.
• Upload the registration form, agenda, and schedule of fees to support the payment. 
• If the registration form needs to be mailed with the check, “Attachment required to be mailed with check” must be selected under Check Handling.
• Click Submit.
• Apply the pre-approval related to this trip.
• Click Submit again.
• After the approval process, the expense report will be routed to the Travel Office to review and approve. 
• Once the Travel Office approves the expense report, the check will be processed on the next available check run. 

If the faculty/staff leader chooses to pay the registration fee out of pocket, they will not be reimbursed until the travel has concluded. Reimbursement for a registration that the employee paid for will be handled as part of the entire reimbursement for the trip. This should be entered in the expense report in Chrome River under the registration tile. Reimbursement should not be requested for registration fees paid for in advance by the University. 

To be reimbursed for the registration fees the following is required: 

• Receipt showing payment of the registration fee and the traveler’s name is required.
• Web receipts are acceptable if they include the same information as above as well as the name of the organization that received the payment.
• Include a copy of the conference agenda or brochure that shows whether meals or other expenses were included with the registration fee. Meals that are part of a registration fee will be excluded from the travel reimbursement meal per diem, even if the traveler did not attend.
• UNCW does not reimburse/pay for activities that are not business related (examples: tours, social activities). 

Cancellation of a Prepaid Registration 

When a trip cancellation involves registration fees that were pre-paid direct to the vendor by the University, the student/student employee’s department must check with the vendor to see if the registration fee can be refunded. If a refund is not given, a comment stating this must be entered in Chrome River. If a refund is given, the department must bring the check to the Travel Office with a memo that indicates which travel the check applies to. The Travel Office will deposit the check to the correct fund and account for you.

LODGING 

Lodging expenses for student groups can be prepaid directly to the lodging establishment or charged to the faculty/staff leaders UNCW travel card. If the faculty/staff leader chooses to pay using a personal credit card, they will not be reimbursed until after the trip has ended. 

Lodging arrangements booked online through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc are subject to the same rules as above. Please note, the lodging paid through a vendor such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. may be non-refundable.  If this is the case and you have to cancel your trip, you run the risk of not being reimbursed for any payments made in advance 

The following items are required: 

• The original online receipt confirming the registration and showing payment, with breakdown of the cost of the room and taxes each night, the number of nights, and the number of guests.
• Receipts are not normally provided when the hotel is booked online through a 3rd party vendor except when there are charges for the other expenses billed directly such as internet connection fees, phone calls, etc. If these expenses are to be claimed by the traveler, the original receipt from the lodging establishment must be submitted.
• You will need to get individual quotes for each expense from the same vendor if you order a package deal through a third-party vendor such as Orbitz or Travelocity. If the package deal is for more than one person, the quote must be for one person. 

Example: 

1. The package deal from Orbitz includes lodging and airfare for 3 people.
2. Get a quote from Orbitz for airfare for one person for the business dates with the same airline as the package deal.
3. Get a separate quote from Orbitz for the lodging for one person for the business dates from the same hotel as the package deal. 

If the comparison quotes are lower for a single flight or lodging expense, we can only reimburse at the single rate. 

Cancellation of Prepaid Lodging 

When a trip cancellation includes lodging expenses that were prepaid to the hotel by the University, the employee’s department must get a refund from the lodging establishment. When the refund is given, the department should bring the check to the Travel Office with a memo specifying which travel the check applies to. The Travel Office will deposit the check to the correct fund and account for you.

Third Party Lodging 

Third Party Lodging refers to establishments that are being rented out by a third party or an establishment treated as an apartment building by state or local law or regulation. Any establishment that is not considered a hotel/motel is considered Third Party Lodging. This includes but is not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, campgrounds, campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, and college dormitories. 

Third Party Lodging requests must be submitted and approved before the trip begins or the traveler risks not being reimbursed.

The Third-Party Lodging form is located on the Controller’s Forms Page. 

The traveler must provide the following to the Travel Office: 

• Third Party Lodging Form filled out completely.
• Purpose of having to rent the establishment.
• Provide evidence of savings to the state
• Amount of the rental
• Length of stay
• List of everyone staying on the property
• Funding source being used (fund number)
• Copy of Rental Agreement from the Third-Party Lodging Property
• The traveler must attest in writing that there is no conflict of interest (no family members own the property or benefit financially from the rental)
• Printed comparisons from 3 hotel/motels in the area (from websites such as hotels.com, Expedia.com etc.) must accompany the Third-Party Lodging Request. 

All documentation must be combined into one PDF file using the following naming convention:

Travelersname_3 rd partylodging_date_location.pdf 

The combined pdf file must be emailed to ThirdPartyLodging@uncw.edu using the same naming convention listed above as the subject line of your email. 

RENTAL CAR 

Rental car expenses are reimbursable expenses for student group travel.

Options for renting a vehicle for a student group are: 

• The faculty/staff leader of the student group can rent a van via the Enterprise online booking tool located on the Chrome River homepage. 
• The faculty/staff leader can rent a vehicle using their UNCW travel card.
• The faculty/staff leader can reserve a charter bus via Purchasing. 

Additional insurance, GPS charges or upgrades are not reimbursable. When entering the expense in Chrome River, you will select the Ground Transportation Tile and select the Rental Car Tile.

TAXI, UBER, LYFT 

Taxi/Uber/Lift costs are a reimbursable expense upon completion of the travel. This type of transportation should only be used if the entire group can ride in the same vehicle. 

Allowable Taxi/Uber/Lyft Expenses 

• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Duty Station or Home (whichever is closer).
• Travel to/from the airport at Employee’s Destination.
• Travel involving trips other than to and from the airport will be reimbursed when required for official state business.
• Travel to/from a meal is not a reimbursable expense.
• UNCW will reimburse up to a 20% tip for ground transportation with appropriate documentation. 

To be reimbursed a receipt showing the cost, payment amount, date of travel, and the name of company must be submitted with the traveler’s expense report.

OTHER TRANSPORTATION 

Bus, Train and Subway costs are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the corresponding tile. 

Contact Purchasing if chartering a bus for a student group trip. 

Parking and Tolls are reimbursable expenses upon completion of the travel. These expenses are reimbursable when incurred while traveling in official university business only. A paid receipt must be submitted with the expense report for reimbursement. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose parking or tolls. 

When an employee is traveling to and from the airport there are three options for reimbursement. 

• Actual cost of taxi or airport shuttle
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of two round trips with no parking charges.
• A personal vehicle can be used and will be reimbursed at the standard business mileage rate for a maximum of one round trip plus parking charges. 

If the employee rents a car, fuel expenses can be reimbursed upon completion of the travel. Fuel expenses are not reimbursed if the traveler requests mileage reimbursement. A paid receipt showing the price per gallon and the number of gallons purchased must be submitted with the expense report. On the expense report, you would choose Ground Transportation and then choose the Fuel Tile.

MILEAGE

Mileage is a reimbursable expense upon the completion of the travel. Mileage is not reimbursable to any students in the group. The current mileage reimbursement rate can be found on the UNCW Travel Website. 

Mileage is calculated from the traveler's duty station or home whichever is closer to the destination. Chrome River will calculate the mileage and attach a map to the expense report. If you have local travel that you do on a regular basis, you must attach a Monthly Mileage Log to your expense report. The mileage log should include the miles driven, where you went and the business purpose of the trip. The monthly mileage log can be found on the Form’s section of the Controller’s website.

MEALS

All meals are reimbursed at a rate set by the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM). Per diem rates are for overnight travel. Per diem is not allowed for day trips. Please visit the UNCW Travel Website to view current meal and lodging per diem rates. For Foreign travel, please visit the Department of State website for information on meal and lodging per diem rates. 

When requesting reimbursement for meal per diem, you must select the Meals Tile and then select Per Diem Wizard. Verify the start date/time and end date/time. Enter your location and select Add to Preview 

Remove any meals that were included in the registration fee as they cannot be claimed for reimbursement, even if the traveler did not attend the meal. Foreign meal per diem rates do not start until the traveler arrives in the foreign country on the departing flight.

When traveling as a student group, the Faculty/Staff leader pays for the meals. Receipts  are required to be reimbursed for the meals when there is a student group trip. If the faculty/staff leader provides per diem to the students, they must keep a log with signatures. 

A request to use a UNCW Travel Card to purchase student group meals during student group travel (one leader and one or more students) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

• UNCW employee leader must have a UNCW Travel Card
• All students and the UNCW employee leader must eat at one location
• Total for all meals including tip must stay within the set per diem guidelines 
• Group must be traveling on official state business where overnight travel is involved
• Travel must be at least 35 miles from the travelers’ duty station
• Itemized receipt and list of students in the group is required support documentation. 

The request to use a UNCW Travel Card to purchase student group meals must be emailed to travel@uncw.edu. When submitting your request, please include the following information: 

• The UNCW employee leader 
• Confirmation they have a UNCW Travel card 
• Business Purpose of the trip
• Reason for request

Contact Information:

Travel@uncw.edu

UNCW Travel Website