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Travel

Travel Request Process Steps for Travel From June 1 Forward

Following guidance from the CSU Chancellor's Office, the CSU travel suspension is lifted on June 1, 2021 with the following safety guidance in place. 

Travelers will certify the following when submitting a Travel request:

  1. I will follow the current CDC Travel Guidelines and all travel procedures specified by my campus. 
  2. I have reviewed the location or travel destination and the U.S. State Department's Travel Advisory as a part of my analysis to perform this travel event. 

All stateside employees using state funds (including self-support and trust) will utilize Concur Travel Software. 
(For assistance with setting up your Concur user profile, refer to this Profile Setup Guide.)
Auxiliary employees, students, candidates, stateside employees using auxiliary funds, or stateside employees using split funding between state and an auxiliary will continue to use the Adobe Sign travel process. 

CSUSM Travel Guidelines

CSUSM, CSUSM Corporation, and CSUSM Foundation, hereafter referred to as CSUSM (unless noted otherwise) follow the current California State University (CSU) Travel Policy as well as its Travel Procedures and Regulations. 

According to the CSU Travel Policy, campuses of the CSU can elect to apply more restrictive guidelines than those articulated in that document. CSUSM has elected to apply the following (more restrictive) exceptions to the CSU Travel Policy: 

  1. Travel must be authorized prior to travel utilizing the Travel Request Form. Excludes service providers, candidates, and non-employee students. The approved Travel Request must be attached to the Travel Claim form.  
  2. Blanket Travel Requests may be requested for mileage, tolls, and parking for a specific fiscal year or less.   
  3. CSU's Travel Policy states that a traveler can submit a travel expense claim prior to the completion of travel for expenses incurred before the completion of travel. Effective April 1, 2020, CSUSM only accepts supplemental claims for airfare. CSUSM has several mechanisms for assisting travelers in paying for travel costs, such as a ProCard for registration (use CPO when applicable) and travel advances. For more information on these options, please contact the Travel Office. 
  4. Prepaid hotel expenses are strongly discouraged and not reimbursable prior to the travel event. 
  5. According to the CSU Travel Policy, designees of the campus president may authorize exceptions to its policies and procedures. CSUSM has elected to apply the following exceptions to the CSU Travel Procedures and Regulations: 
    1. PAT Members may approve exceptions to the nightly lodging cap of $275 with a valid business justification prior to booking and incurring travel expenses.
    2. All other CSU Travel Policy exceptions may only be granted by the Vice President, Finance and Administrative Services/CFO.   
  6. Airport parking beyond a period of five days is prohibited unless the traveler requests and is pre-approved for an exception with specific business justification prior to incurring the expense.  
  7. Refundable airline tickets are not permitted. Travelers may only choose non-refundable tickets. 
  8. Airline upgrades (including Southwest Early Bird Check-in) are prohibited and non-reimbursable. 
  9. Executive-style transport service is not permitted.  
  10. Utilizing broker sites such as CheapOAir, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc. is not advised. Itemized receipts are required, and often these sites do not provide adequate detail. 

Approvers/Required Signatures

Type of Travel

Travel Request

Travel Claim
Domestic Travel in Adobe Sign

1) Traveler
2) One-up Manager
3) Funding Authority (PI for 85xxx projects)
4) Office of Sponsored Projects (for 85xxx projects only)

1) Traveler
2) Travel Office Pre-Check
3) One-up Manager
4) Funding Authority (PI for 85xxx projects)
5) Office of Sponsored Projects (for 85xxx projects only)
6) Travel Office Audit and Payment
Domestic Travel in Concur 1) Traveler
2) One-up Manager
3) Funding Authority 		1) Traveler
2) One-up Manager
3) Funding Authority
4) Travel Office Audit and Payment
International Travel in Adobe Sign 1) Traveler
2) One-up Manager
3) Funding Authority (PI for 85xxx projects)
4) Office of Sponsored Projects (for 85xxx projects only)
5) Division PAT Member or designee
6) President or designee		 1) Traveler
2) Travel Office Pre-Check
3) One-up Manager
4) Funding Authority (PI for 85xxx projects)
5) Office of Sponsored Projects (for 85xxx projects only)
6) Travel Office Audit and Payment
International Travel in Concur 1) Traveler
2) One-up Manager
3) Division PAT Member or designee
4) President or designee		 1) Traveler
2) Travel Office Pre-Check
3) One-up Manager
4) Funding Authority
5) Travel Office Audit and Payment