General SCI Travel Policy

SCI Travel Guidelines

If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or stop by your travel arranger's office during business hours.   Our travel arrangers are Deb Zemek, Brenda Peterson and Kate Craven.  Please do not send emails to either of them individually, instead use This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..   We have groups identified by faculty member and will route travel questions to the right person.

Please note:  If you cannot afford to travel on your own money, please notify your travel arranger and we will arrange for a cash advance for you.  This must be approved by your advisor.

Travel Registration

• All travel must be registered in advance. Failure to register will forfeit your reimbursement.
• All domestic travel must be registered at least 24 hours prior to your departure date.
• All international travel must be registered at least three (3) weeks prior to the departure date.
• International travel is any travel outside of any of the 50 states, US territories and possessions, and Canada.
• All International travel for university business must purchase travel insurance through the University regardless of funding source or any travel insurance previously purchased.  Either Brenda, Deb or Kate will secure your travel insurance for you.
• To register your trip, you must submit a Travel Request Form, which can be found on the internal.sci.utah.edu web site.
• You must submit a Travel Request Form for each trip.
• All forms must be complete and have approval from the PI providing the funding.
• You will receive a confirmation e-mail from your travel arranger once your trip has been registered.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that a trip is registered. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, it is your responsibility to follow up with the department to ensure policy compliance.
• No employee may register or approve their own travel. The department must review and approve any trip utilizing University funds, even if you are the account executive of the funding source.
• If the funding is entirely from another department or project/activity not associated with the SCI Institute, contact the funding department to register your travel.
• Once your trip is registered, we strongly encourage you to book airfare through the department where possible.
• Please select the flights you want and make sure to put all the details on your travel request form, i.e. flight numbers, departure and arrival times, etc.
• You are permitted purchase your own flights, lodging, meals, and transportation, then submit receipts for reimbursement after your trip, but your trip must be registered before these arrangements are made and you must have prior approval for the estimated expenses before you travel.
• You are responsible for ensuring any accommodation or expense is in accordance with Department and University policy. If you are unsure, please contact your travel arranger.
• Trip registration, travel insurance for international trips, and airfare are the only expenses that can be paid in advance using the provided chartfield. All others must be reimbursed after the trip has concluded.

Conference Registration

• Any request for Conference Registration fees should be included on your travel form with the URL and thorough instructions on how to complete registration. This includes any required personal information.
• If a login is required for registration, you may either share the credentials in the notes section of the travel form or visit your travel arranger's office when you’re ready to check out and the Travel Arranger will enter payment information.

Reimbursement Requests

• University Expenditures must be reasonable in amount, necessary to a legitimate business purpose, appropriate for the circumstances, allowable to the funding source and allowable to the sponsored project when using contracts and/or grants.
• All reimbursements must be submitted within 21 calendar days of your trip’s end date, regardless of multiple trips.
• o   E.g. If you take a trip that is May 1 – 5 and another trip from May 6 – 20 without returning to SLC, your receipts for the first trip are still due May 26th.

o   If you fail to submit for reimbursement by the 21 calendar day deadline your reimbursement may be forfeited.

• You will only be reimbursed for your own expenses. You cannot request reimbursement for covering any other traveler’s expenses.
• You are responsible for obtaining any and all documentation required to process your reimbursement request.  We will not facilitate any receipt requests, etc. from vendors on your behalf.
• Scan and e-mail all required documentation to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or turn in directly to the travel arranger.  Receipts must be single files and not all in one pdf.
• Required documentation for a reimbursement request:

o   Original and itemized receipts

• Missing receipts should be obtained from the vendor prior to requesting reimbursement.
• If unable to obtain receipts after multiple efforts, documentation of the efforts can be submitted instead of the receipts.

• Foreign Travel receipts must be converted to U.S. Dollars for the date of purchase on the receipt.

o   Use online converter https://www1.oanda.com/currency/converter/ and select the date.

• Expenditures must be in English either on the receipts or detailed in a cover letter and referencing the receipts.
• If you shared a hotel room, you must have your final bill be split between you and the other guest. Your receipt should only reflect your expenses. You will not be reimbursed for inappropriate bill splitting.
• Full conference program or schedule.
• o   A saved copy is required – a link to the main conference website is not sufficient.
• Reimbursements will be processed within 10 business days at the department level, but may take an additional 2-4 weeks to be approved through Travel Accounting.
• Reimbursement requests that involve multiple funding sources or travel awards may take additional time. Please contact the Accounting Specialist with any questions.

If you have been waiting longer than four weeks for your reimbursement (after the date where all documentation has been turned in) please contact your travel arranger.

• We process reimbursements in the order they are received, not by travel date. In times of high volume travel (e.g. VIS) it is recommended you submit your reimbursement request as soon as possible.

Your reimbursement request will not be processed until all required documentation is in hand. 

SCI Student Conference Travel Policy

Community validation of scientific work is of fundamental importance. With this in mind, Master and Doctoral Students can expect to have the opportunity to attend scientific conferences at national or international levels under the following conditions:

Selection of conference:

• The conference should be applicable and meaningful within the student's field of study, as judged by the student's SCI advisor.
• The responsible SCI advisor will decide on the suitability of any proposed conference based on discussion with the student.

Participation: to qualify to attend a conference, a student will normally participate by:

• Presenting a peer reviewed paper or presentation with the student as an author.
• Preparing and presenting a peer reviewed poster with the student as an author.
• Serving on a panel or in a tutorial session.
• Students might attend conferences for other reasons at the discretion of their advisor.

 Additional guidelines:

• Once a student has obtained permission from their advisor to attend a conference, they should coordinate their travel plans with the SCI Administrative team.
• Students are strongly encouraged to apply for any external travel support that is available.
• Students should be prepared upon their return to report to the group on meaningful results or information gleaned from the conference.
• Whenever possible, a conference presentation should lead to the preparation of a journal article on the same material.