When traveling in commercial carriers (airlines, trains, buses, etc.), employees should travel in “coach class” or the equivalent. Premium-class travel is only permitted for flights exceeding 8 hours (nonstop) and requires documented approval of an officer.
The University will pay for regular checked bag charges, if needed, but will not pay for in-flight wi-fi, in-flight entertainment, early boarding charges, extra leg-room charges, or similar additional charges to the regular ticket price. The University will not reimburse charges relating to TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry.
The University purchasing card should also be used for other travel expenses (transportation, lodging, meals, mileage) whenever possible. Certain personal expenses including laundry, personal grooming supplies, mini-bar purchases, and personal (non-business) entertainment (such as in-room movies or reading material) are not qualified business expenses and must be paid for by the employee. Exceptions may be granted for travel exceeding 5 days. The University will reimburse reasonable gratuities when such payments are customary. Tips should not exceed 20%.
Charter travel is not normally permitted by the University. Notable exceptions include athletic team travel when appropriate and certain fund-raising events hosted by University Relations that may require the participation of some University employees.
When it does not interfere with business activities, spouses may accompany employees on business travel. Additional costs incurred on behalf of the spouse are the responsibility of the employee and will not be reimbursed. When there is a bona fide business purpose for the presence of a spouse, the University may reimburse the related travel expenses when documented approval is provided in advance by an officer of the University.
Travel time will be paid according to the laws in the State of Oregon. Exempt employees will receive no additional compensation or compensatory time, regardless of when travel occurs. Non-exempt employees will be compensated for travel time that occurs within the employee’s regularly scheduled work hours regardless of whether the travel occurs on a normal work day. Travel time outside the employee’s regular hours will not be compensated. If an employee does not have a regular work schedule, then the University’s normal business hours (8:30 – 4:30) will determine compensation. Employees are not required to, but may by their own choice, initiate travel before 6am or after 9pm.
Employees traveling on University business should use a University purchasing card to purchase airline tickets. The use of the card for this purpose inures benefits back to the University and allows the University to track the use of air travel in conjunction with the University sustainability plan. While employees will be unable to earn frequent flier miles through the use of their personal credit cards, any frequent flier miles earned by the employee as a member of a given airline’s mileage club are deemed to be the property of the employee.
Employees may stay as a guest at a personal residence in lieu of a hotel, but will not be reimbursed for any amount saved. With approval, the employee may be reimbursed for an in-kind appreciation gift provided to the host with a value of $100 or less (one per trip).
Managers retain the authority to impose reasonable spending limits for meals and other expenses and/or other guidelines on their employees.
This website uses cookies to track information for analytics purposes. You can view the full University of Portland privacy policy for more information.
