Policy and Procedure updates as of February 10, 2021

February 10, 2021

The following draft documents are now available for review and comment and are posted on the Policies and Procedures drafts website. The documents will be posted on the drafts site for a period of 30 days. Please discuss the documents with the appropriate people in your department and send any applicable feedback to controllers.office@yale.edu.

Policy 3301 Travel on University Business

Related Documents:

  • Policy 3301 Travel on University Business – Revised
  • Procedure 3301 PR.03 Air Travel on University Business – New

The Controller’s Office and the Office of Research Administration (collectively, the “policy sponsors”) recently identified the need for updates to this policy and its related procedures.  As part of those updates, the policy sponsors have been working through comprehensive reviews of the documents. Due to the various complexities associated with air travel, the policy sponsors determined the best approach was to create an entirely new procedure exclusively focused on that topic. These updates focus on the first two documents of the series: the policy and new air travel procedure. The policy sponsors anticipate completing their review of the remaining two procedures in the near future.

Policy 3301 establishes the fundamental principles for traveling on University business. It outlines the applicable rules, expectations, and processes for travelers to follow whenever engaged in a travel activity on University business. While the policy document was comprehensively reviewed and revised for clarity and conciseness, the substance has largely not changed from the currently published version. Rather, the language has been enhanced and clarified and the structure has been re-oriented to be more user-friendly and intuitive. Key items that were substantially updated include the following:

  • Clarified and enhanced guidance on travel and expense documentation, including specific guidelines relating to travel that is entirely prepaid;
  • New requirements pertaining to the translation to English of receipts in a foreign language;
  • Aligned timing of required expense report completion with PCard guidelines; and
  • Changed ground transportation requirement from “least expensive” to “reasonably priced, consistent with business requirements.”

As previously mentioned, due to the various complexities associated with air travel, the policy sponsors determined the best approach was to create an entirely new procedure exclusively focused on that topic.  As such, substantive statements on air travel were removed from the policy and other procedures and consolidated in the new procedure.  While much of the substance has not changed from the currently published version, there are a few key items to highlight:

  • Created dual structure for airfare pricing rules: one for federally funded sponsored awards and one for all other flights;
  • To align with Uniform Guidance, changed airfare pricing rule for travel on federally funded sponsored awards to “basic least expensive unrestricted accommodations class (e.g., economy, coach) offered by commercial airlines”;
  • Added detailed examples of flight scenarios to provide guidance on rules and documentation requirements (e.g., personal travel segments, upgrades, business class);
  • Added specific documentation requirements for demonstrating the “basic least expensive unrestricted accommodations class (e.g., economy, coach) offered by commercial airlines”;
  • Added specific guidelines about removing flights from sponsored awards that were cancelled or otherwise not taken; and
  • Updated and clarified guidelines pertaining to the Fly America Act and exceptions.

Reminder:

Always check the Policies and Procedures website for the latest revisions of all documents.  This will ensure you that are utilizing the most up-to-date version.

If you have any questions, please contact Policy and Compliance Services at controllers.office@yale.edu.