Travel

Employees and students traveling on university business must follow the these procedures for all SHSU business, athletic, and group travel.

COVID19 Guidelines

Effective through Dec 31, 2020

University-Sponsored international travel is prohibited. Domestic travel to destination under a travel advisory will not be sponsored or reimbursed and will require VP approval.Domestic university-sponsored travel must conform with any CDC COVID advisory or state and local travel restrictions.

CDC State/Local Restrictions SHSU Travel Policy

More details regarding university-sponsored and personal/convenience travel.

  • International Travel

    University Sponsored international travel is prohibited. Any personal/convenience travel will require 14 days of self-isolation after returning to the employees domicile and before reporting to work on campus. The CDC and US Department of State advises against cruise ship travel (Warning – Level 3). Any cruise ship travel requires self-isolation upon return.

    Employees

    • An employee’s supervisor must approve vacation requests in advance.
    • Prior to travel that requires self-isolation upon returning to the employee’s domicile, an employee must secure pre-approval for leave or telecommuting during the period of self-isolation.

    Students

    • Please factor the isolation period into your schedule in order to avoid missing critical class time.
    • Should travel or isolation period impact attendance or coursework requirements, individual faculty members have discretion to grant or deny requests for accommodation
    • International students and student athletes must notify the Office of International Programs (OIP) and, when appropriate, the Athletic Director of their travel plans prior to travel. OIP or Athletic Director must approve all plans prior to travel and the dates for return to campus.
  • Domestic Travel

    Domestic travel is allowed to destination not under travel advisories.

    University-Sponsored

    Travel by personal or chartered/rented conveyance (car, van, bus, or private plane) is allowed and will follow standard policies and procedures.

    Domestic travel by common carrier may be allowed given the below guidelines must be followed:

    • conform with any CDC COVID advisory or state and local travel restrictions including review of the need to self-isolate upon return
    • receive prior VP approval that includes the purpose and destination
    • document the purpose and approval with travel request

    Personal/Convenience

    Employees should notify their supervisor of plans to travel domestically via common carrier or personal conveyance to destinations under travel advisories so the university may determine whether the employee is required to self-isolate for 14 days after returning to the employee’s domicile and before returning to work.

All travel starts by submitting a Pre-Approval Report to verify authorization and encumber funds, regardless of the cost to the university.

Before you submit, you'll need to:

  1. If traveling via common carrier, Obtain VP approval detailing purpose and destination. (Effective until 12/31/2020)
  2. Confirm funding source to determine travel guidelines. Allowable expenses and approval routing vary by the funding source.
  3. Obtain GSA Lodging and Meal Per Diem Rates. Search location at gsa.gov
  4. Calculate allowable travel expenses. What's allowable?
  5. Obtain cost comparison, if applicable. What to compare?
  6. Confirm available travel budget. How to find budget availability
Create Pre-Approval Report More details

After submitting Pre-Approval report, the report will be routed to appropriate approvers. You'll receive an email once the report is approved or rejected.

Once you're approved, you'll need to:

  1. Register for conference/event.
  2. Book airfare, lodging, and/or rental car.
Book Now in Concur State Booking Details

Travelers are responsible for ensuring expenses are within approved allowance.

During your travel, you'll need to:

  1. Provide Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Form to Texas hotels. Tax charges will not be paid by the university for hotels in Texas. Print Now
  2. Keep receipts. Use the Chrome River SNAP App to keep track of receipts.
  3. Report Student Travel. Per Clery Act compliance, submit overnight student travel details upon check-out. Submit Online Now
Download SNAP Download SNAP

Travelers must submit an Expense Report for out of pocket and travel card transactions within 30 days of travel end date.

Upon return, you'll need to:

  1. Review Chrome River eWallet. Ensure all travel card charges posted.
  2. Attach all receipts. Add receipts from SNAP library and upload remaining receipts.
Create Expense Report More Details
  • Definitions

    Conservation of funds. It is expected that all university travel is planned and conducted to achieve maximum cost efficiency. All expenses must be reasonable, necessary, appropriately documented/explained and properly approved.

    Designated Headquarters. Defined as the boundaries of the city in which the employee’s place of employment is located. Huntsville is the designated headquarters for SHSU employees, unless defined differently by Human Resources.

  • Classifications

    SHSU Employee (Faculty/Staff). Travel by an employed member of the institution who is traveling on behalf of SHSU for business purposes can be reimbursed for travel expense. Employees have profiles in Chrome River to submit travel reports and access to Concur (online booking tool) for airfare, hotels, and rental cars.

    Prospective Employee. Travel for a non-employed member of the institution who is traveling to SHSU for interview(s) for an open position. Reimbursements for travel expenses are allowed and must follow the normal approval process as current employees. If unable to obtain prior approval. Then an expense report will be submitted for travel expenses and approval will be obtained through auto routing in Chrome River.

    Employee Spousal/Family. Travel for an employed member of the institution when a spouse or family member accompanies the employee for official SHSU business and with request for SHSU to pay for travel expenses as the presence of the spouse or family member benefits the university. An employee’s family member is allowed to travel with proper approval from the President (Spouse Travel Policy FO-TR-42). The spouse or family member’s expenses will be reported to the Payroll Office to determine taxability.

    Student Travel (Undergraduate/Graduate). A currently enrolled student traveling on university related business. Students are eligible to receive reimbursements for travel expense if approved by department or a SHSU sponsored organization. A departmental secretary or coordinator (employee of SHSU) will be responsible for submitting travel reports, through Chrome River, on behalf of the student to ensure that funds are encumbered and travel has proper approval. Employed graduate students have a profile in Chrome River; however, undergraduate students need to be set up as a vendor.

    Team/Group Travel. Defined as travel involving at least one student and one employee of SHSU. When a travel advance is requested or the travel card is used to pay for expenses, the employee (lead staff or faculty member) will be designated as the custodian of the funds and is assigned financial responsibility and required to obtain all travel documentation. Reports will be submitted through the Employee’s Chrome River profile while providing a list of students/roster.

    Guest Traveler. A non-employee member, traveling to SHSU or on behalf of SHSU for university related business or services. Guest travelers can be reimbursed for travel expenses, but do not have access to Chrome River. A departmental admin will need to submit travel reports through Chrome River utilizing their own profile and selecting the traveler as the vendor.