Info for Faculty & Staff

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Supporting Policy Terps to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Below, find helpful resources for your work at the School. If you have any questions regarding HR matters, direct them to the School's payroll/HR coordinator, Lori Ganey, at lganey@umd.edu or 301-405-6971.

Points of Contact within the School

Admissions
Advising
Registration
Grades
Tuition and Finances
  • Faculty meetings - Kati Zang
  • Workload (including total workload, course buyouts, course releases, research productivity, committee/leadership assignments) - Shanna Pearson
  • Searches/Hiring
  • Faculty development (including junior faculty mentoring and senior faculty reviews) - Shanna Pearson

Classroom technology support and development - Sam Corvah

Policies and Procedures

View Policies & Procedures College Action Plan for Preventing & Addressing Sexual Assault & Misconduct

Travel Forms

Download the Travel Approval Request Form [Excel]

Per University Policy, travel must be PREAPPROVED. Make sure you submit a Travel Approval Request at least 5 business days BEFORE your trip begins for all international, out of state, and any in state trips with an overnight stay. For international travel, your Travel Approval Request must be approved at least 5 business days in advance of your departure date in order to be covered by the University insurance.

If you travel without submitting a Travel Approval Request at least 5 business days in advance, you will not be covered by the University insurance. For domestic travel, if you travel without submitting a Travel Approval Request in advance, you are not considered on work travel and will not be covered by worker’s compensation insurance. You also run the risk of not receiving university approval for reimbursements upon return. The travelers will have to cover their own expenses in these cases.

When submitting your request, please include all anticipated expenses. While not prohibited, please be advised of the following guidelines for Combining Personal and Professional Travel: careful records must be maintained to separate the expenses of travel companions from the reimbursable expenses of University of Maryland official travelers, written verification of a hotel's applicable single rate should be obtained at time of check-out and submitted along with the actual bill. University of Maryland will not reimburse any expenses incurred on behalf of a travel companion unless a specific determination is made by the approving authority in advance that the companion's travel is official business necessitated by the nature of the event.

Any additional cost incurred due to stopovers or route modifications made for the convenience of the traveler will be borne entirely by the traveler.

Process

  1. All Travelers please submit your request to spptravel@umd.edu 5 days prior to your travel date. Please forward all supporting documents regarding your travel with your request. Supporting documents include such as: Conference agenda, Class syllabus, applicable funding approval letter or email.

  2. Once your TAR has been approved the traveler will receive an email which will contain the trip number and a copy of the approved TAR.

  3. All travel expenses are reimbursed after travel has been completed. However, the School of Public Policy (SPP) can arrange payment for airfare, travel insurance, hotel and registration fees. By allowing SPP to provide this service travelers will have less out of pocket expenditures. 

  4. Airfare/Train Fare: Regardless if you are paying your airfare or if you have arranged payment with SPP, the traveler should schedule their own travel arrangements. There are a lot of rules regarding travel, booking with one of our specified agencies ensures travel regulations are met.  If you choose to purchase airfare on your own, reimbursement is not guaranteed. The University of Maryland uses the following agencies:

    Globetrotter
    Phone: 301-570-0800 (after hours 866-235-5467, VIT Code: S9TX5, Profile: UMD)

    Omega Travel
    Phone: 877-403-4282 (after hours 800-474-6342, UM Code A5L9)

    Travel Leaders Corporate
    Phone: 301-403-4278 (after hours 877-858-3254, Code: 16XL, UMD)

    Once you have received your approved Travel Approval Request and trip number contact one of our specified agencies by phone, inform the travel agent that you are a SPP traveler and payment will be arranged through SPP. If arrangements were made through one of our preferred travel agencies, the agency is sent a system-generated email notifying them of the approval. 

    Lodging: We can arrange payment of Room and Tax charges at hotels. All other lodging such as AirBnB you will have to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed after your trip. Please note that fees such as cleaning and other are not reimbursable.

    1. Notify the hotel that the University of Maryland will be using a Corporate Master Card and have the hotel email/fax a credit card authorization.

    2. The School of Public Policy (SPP) will contact the hotel with all the information needed to authorize Room and Tax expenses to be charged to the SPP's Master Card.

    3.  As a precaution the traveler should call the hotel two days before travel to verify their payment information is correct, so we can correct any problems before checking out.

  5. Verify that the hotel you are choosing accepts Master Card and third-party payment.

  6. Once You Return/Next Step: Please keep in mind while traveling, University travel policy requires itemized receipts. Receipts must be provided with the Travel Expense Statement. Receipts are used to verify that the travel services purchased were used for the approved traveler, dates, and location for which official travel was approved. Receipts also document the actual cost and payment of each expense.

Itemized receipts are required for all travel expenses including airfare, airport/train station parking, rail ticket, car rental, ground transportation, lodging, conference/event registration, rental vehicle fuel. Appropriate Per Diem rates should be used for meals. With per diem no receipts required. 

Receipts should show the date and specific services rendered, vendor name, the amount charged, and the form of payment. Receipts for air, rail, car rental, and lodging should also include the traveler's name. Travelers should take care to submit receipts rather than "confirmations," which do not show how payment was made. If hotel, car rental, or other "express" check-out receipts or Internet vendor receipts do not show how payment was made, a copy of the credit card bill with the corresponding final total charge should be provided with the Travel Expense Statement.

If necessary, an exception to the receipt requirement may be made for a permissible "miscellaneous" expense if the individual charge is $75 or less, including gratuity. Permissible miscellaneous expenses may include taxi fares, tolls, local parking fees, local bus fares, subway/light rail fares, and the like. The expense breakdown for each miscellaneous expense must be provided on the Travel Expense Statement. For example, if two taxis are used and receipts are not provided, the traveler must indicate the cost breakdown and route details for each taxi used.

Per University Policy, travel must be preapproved. Make sure you complete a Travel Approval Request at least 5 business days BEFORE your trip begins. You must submit a travel approval request before your trip, for all international, out of state trips and any in state trips with an overnight stay. For international travel, if you travel without submitting a travel approval in advance, you are not covered by the University insurance. For domestic travel, if you travel without submitting a travel approval in advance, you are not considered on work travel and will not be covered by worker’s compensation insurance. You also run the risk of not receiving university approval upon return. The travelers will have to cover their own expenses in these cases.

  1. Complete your Expense Statement within 2 weeks of the end date of your trip. If there is an extended delay, you will be required to submit an explanation and run the risk of not getting reimbursed. This is especially true for trips charged to grants and contracts if the grant/contract expires prior to your submission.
     
  2. Include all valid itemized receipts (reflecting that you have paid) for the following: airfare, hotel, taxis, parking, conference registration, auto rental, meals exceeding the per diem, etc. Original receipts are required for all requests for reimbursements. An itemized receipt lists exactly what was purchased (this is NOT the credit card authorization slip). The University cannot reimburse any costs for alcohol; this expense is to be deducted from your total. Please do not send receipts for expenses that are not being requested. Any such receipts will be returned to the traveler.
     
  3. If you purchased your airline ticket, train ticket, etc., your name and the last four digits of your card number should be on the receipt. If you do not have this information, please instead provide us with a copy of your credit card statement showing the charge.
     
  4. No receipts are needed if you are requesting standard per diem meals which are reimbursed at the following:
     
    Breakfast $13.00  
    Lunch $15.00  
    Dinner $28.00 View current domestic per diem

    *View foreign per diem rates. Rates are broken down as follows: 15% for breakfast; 25% for lunch; and 60% for dinner.

  5. If you are driving a personal car, please include Google Maps directions detailing the mileage. If you rent a Motor Pool car or other type of rental car, you may be reimbursed for gasoline. Mileage is reimbursed at the current POV rate per mile (57.5 cents per mile). View the current POV rate
     
  6. Fill in the itinerary completely: The itinerary section must be completed even if you are not claiming mileage as it is used to verify any allowable meals you claim on those days according to the schedule above.
     
  7. Insurance on auto rentals – Employees are already covered by the University. DO NOT purchase any insurance.  You will not be reimbursed for it. Non-employees may be reimbursed for CDW/LDW only.
     
  8. For foreign travel, include proof of foreign conversion rates on dates that you incurred the expense.  Please DO NOT simply write down the exchange rate you used without any back-up documentation; this is not adequate proof.  Valid proof along with detailed receipt includes one of the following: 

    1. print-out that reflects the rate on the date that you incurred the expense. View the print-out from OANDA

    2. credit card statement showing charge 

  9. UMD policy prevents us from reimbursing students for memberships to academic and professional organizations. Memberships for faculty and staff may not exceed two memberships annually per person and must be covered by faculty funds or approved by the Associate Dean if using School funds; or approved by a sponsor for funding from a contract or grant account.
     
  10. If you are on UMD payroll, the reimbursement will be in your paycheck as a non-taxable miscellaneous adjustment.
     
  11. If you are not on UMD payroll, please include the correct mailing address to mail your reimbursement check. Please do not use campus addresses. Your reimbursement will be processed by our Accounts Payable office and will take at least two to three weeks to be processed once they receive the approved forms.
Process

Forms that don’t require receipts, e.g., standard per diem, mileage, etc. should be submitted by email to spptravel@umd.edu

Forms with original receipts should be sent to:

ATTN:
School of Public Policy
University of Maryland
Travel
7805 Regents Drive
College Park, MD 20742

If you have any further questions, please contact us at spptravel@umd.edu

View travel policies