CHABSS Travel

If you are planning to travel, please review your plans with your Administrative Support Coordinator (AC) as soon as possible. Please do not make any purchases towards travel without prior approval to travel through the CHABSS Spending Request and CSUSM Travel Office (Concur/Adobe). Completed travel request must be submitted 5-10 business days prior to travel for domestic and 10-30 business days prior to international travel. If you will be missing class due to your travel you must submit the absence from class form. If you will be traveling for field research purposes an itinerary of your travel will be required as an attachment of supporting documents to your Travel Request. If you will be driving on university business using a personal vehicle or rental car you must obtain a Defensive Driving (DD) certification before reimbursement can be submitted. Apply for Defensive Driving certification through Safety, Health & Sustainability.

Concur

Concur is the new platform CSUSM Travel Office is using to process travel requests and expense reports. It should be used by all stateside employees using state funds (including self-support, state trusts, and split funding between state funds). Other funding such as auxiliary funds or using split funding between state and auxiliary funds will need to use the Adobe Sign Travel Request form and process.

All faculty will need to have a profile set up in Concur prior to requesting travel, instructions can be found in the Profile Setup Guide. Please contact traveloffice@csusm.edu  to request training or assistance with setting up your profile.

Travel Process

Before The Trip

Step 1: Funding

Check in with your department AC to determine how much funding you have for your trip and what types of funds.

Step 2: Spending Requests

Faculty must submit a Spending Request Form through CHABSS.

Step 3: Travel Request

After Spending Request approval faculty can proceed with submitting a Travel Request for approval through Concur if using state funds. Other funding such as auxiliary funds or using split funding will need to use the Adobe Sign Travel Request form and process.

• Include conference agenda or itinerary for scholarly work/field research. This must demonstrate the business purpose of your travel.
• Include flight comparison if you are traveling with personal days 

Submit travel requests

• 5-10 business days prior to domestic travel
• 10-30 business days prior to international travel

Step 4: Purchase

After Travel Request approval purchases for travel are allowed using personal funds or applying for a Travel Card. Registrations must be purchased by the department AC with their ProCard.

After the Trip

Step 5: Expense Report

After completion of travel faculty must submit an Expense Report within 60 days of the end of a trip through Concur.

• Faculty should only request funds for the total amount they have available at the time of travel

Exceeding Available Funding

If faculty submit an expense claim for more funds than they have available, they will be responsible to pay back the university.

What if I exceed available funding? How should it be reported?

Travel Exceptions

If the traveler exceeds the lodging rate of $333 per night before taxes and fees within the US or exceeds the fixed per diem for lodging, meals and incidentals according to the Federal Maximum Travel Per Diem Allowenced for Foreign Areas, a Travel Exception Form is needed and attached to the Expense Report for approval (review guide).

1. Reviewer One-up Manager (chabss@csusm.edu)
2. One-up Manager (evallone@csusm.edu)
3. Approver for Lodging Exception - PAT Member or Designee (lgubkin@csusm.edu)

If the traveler has traveled with no prior Travel Request approval or need an exception to any part of the travel policy/guidelines, a Travel Exception Form is needed and attached to the Travel Request for approval. Please review the guide. 

1. Reviewer One-up Manager (chabss@csusm.edu)
2. One-up Manager (evallone@csusm.edu)
3. Approver for Other Travel Exception - VPFAS (bbrown@csusm.edu)

Approvers/Required Signatures

Delegate

• Department Chairs and faculty will need to set up their AC as a delegate to review Travel Requests and Expense Reports in the department. Department Chairs have fiscal authority and their role is to ensure funding is available by confirming with the department AC. In addition they ensure expenses charged to funds authorized for the purpose and the traveler did not seek duplicate reimbursement.
• You will set up your delegate by following the steps below:
  • Go to Profile and then Profile Settings
  • Go to Expense Delegates
  • Select the Add button
  • Type the name of the employee you wish to delegate and select their name
  • You will then select "Can Prepare", "Can View Receipts", and "Receives Emails" then click the Save button

You can also use the Concur Delegate Setup Guide.

Faculty Unfunded Travel

If you are planning an unfunded travel with no incoming funding on official university business please submit the CHABSS Faculty Unfunded Travel Form for approval. Once approved by the Dean's Office you will submit an Adobe Sign Travel Request at $0. This will allow faculty to obtain travel related insurance.

Official University Business Travel: To be considered official university business travel, at least one of the following criteria must apply:

• A trip is certified by the president or designee to be essential to University operations;
• The trip relates directly to University programs including professional development activities and objectives;
• The trip is to a meeting of a professional association or society to deliver a paper, to serve as moderator or group leader, to serve on a panel, or to fulfill obligations as an association or society officer; or
• The trip has as its primary purpose the recruitment of faculty or administrative personnel.

CHABSS Faculty Unfunded Travel Form

Visit the travel webpage for more information or contact traveloffice@csusm.edu. Please feel free to reach out to Carmen Garcia, cgarcia@csusm.edu in the Dean’s office with general questions regarding travel.