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Category: Financial Management
Title: Student Travel
Approved by: Senior Staff
History: Issued 4/21/2009
Related Policies: Reimbursement of Travel, Entertainment and Other Business Expenses
Additional References: Student Travel Allowance Request Form
Responsible Official: Business Office
Policy Statement
The Policy for Student Travel is provided as an addendum to the Claremont McKenna College (CMC) Policy for Reimbursement of Travel, Entertainment and Other Business Expenses to provide specific guidance for student travel expenses.
Students participate in various temporary off-campus assignments, including internships, fellowships, off-campus study programs, etc. Funding from internal or external sources is often available to cover travel and other related costs for the students while assigned to any of these off-campus locations.
Entities Covered by this Policy
All units of the College
Contacts
Please direct any questions about this policy to the Business Office (909-607-2809).
Definitions
Traveling Away from Home
For purposes of this policy, the “tax home” of a student currently enrolled in classes held at CMC is considered to be Claremont, California. In order to qualify for the provisions of this policy, the student must be assigned to an off-campus program that satisfies the “traveling away from home” requirements as outlined by the IRS. According to the IRS, a student is traveling away from their home if their duties require them to be away from the general area of their tax home substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work, AND they need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of their assignment while away from home.
Principles
Travel Allowances:
For students assigned to an off-campus program that meets the traveling away from home requirements above, the following travel allowances may be provided on a tax-free basis up to the amount of internal or external funding available. The following guidance provides the maximum travel allowances that may be provided on a tax-free basis only and is not a guarantee of funding available or allowance to be provided.
Airline Travel Allowance: An allowance up to the amount of the cost of round trip economy airfare from Los Angeles International Airport to the off-campus assignment location may be provided. The allowance shall be determined by obtaining a sample itinerary from an online travel website, such as:
Per Diem Lodging, Meal and Incidental Expenses Allowance: Students may request an allowance for lodging, meal and incidental expenses at the approved federal per diem M&I rate established by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for each day while traveling to an assigned off-campus location. The reimbursement allowed for the first and last day of travel is limited to 75% of the daily rate of meals and incidental expenses, as prescribed by the GSA. Please visit www.gsa.gov/perdiem to view the current lodging, meal and incidental expenses per diem rates by travel location.
Procedures
Student Travel Allowance Form:
The department requesting a student travel allowance shall complete the Student Travel Allowance Request Form available on the Treasurer’s Office website. If the “Maximum Lodging, Meals and Incidentals” amount is equal to or greater than the total “Maximum Funding Available,” there is no need to enter an “Estimate Airfare” figure. If not, follow the guidance above to determine the “Estimate Airfare” to be entered. If prompted by the form, additional substantiation of actual airline charges and boarding passes must be submitted to the Budget Director upon completion of travel, as required by the IRS.
A Request for Check along with the allowance form and all supporting documentation must be sent to the Business Office for final approval and further routing to the CUC Office of Financial Services for payment.
At a minimum, students are expected to submit a brief summary of their off-campus assignment to the funding department upon completion of travel. The summary must be provided to the Business Office upon request for audit purposes.
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