Approval for Domestic, International, and No-Cost Travel
Approval is required before you travel for CIRES or university business. Travelers should request and receive approval before charging any travel related costs, to the greatest extent possible. Receiving pre-travel approval from CIRES Travel ensures that there is sufficient funding available for the trip and that your trip plans are in compliance with the funding source, department, university, state, and federal policies and procedures.
How to Submit a Travel Request for CIRES Employees
CIRES employees should create and submit a travel request in InsideCIRES under CIRES Travel Submission for themselves. Once the travel request is submitted, CIRES Travel will review for clarity and compliance. If more information is needed, CIRES Travel will send the travel request back to you as "revisions needed" for you to make revisions and resubmit. If there are no additional requests nor questions, CIRES Travel will approve your travel request in InsideCIRES. When a travel request is approved, the traveler will receive an email stating that the trip can be booked either through the CU Travel and Expense system (Concur) or by contacting Christopherson Business Travel directly. To learn more about how to submit a travel request, please watch a recording of or review the slideshow from our last training - Travel Request Training Video | Slides.
Domestic Travel (Local, Single-Day, In-State, or Out-of-State)
If you are a CIRES Employee, please see instructions for submitting a domestic trip request posted here. Please note that if your trip is local without an overnight stay, no travel request is required. Post-travel please email a completed Travel Voucher to CIRES Travel with receipts for expenses greater than $75.
International Travel
If you are a CIRES Employee, please see instructions for submitting an international trip request posted here. If your trip involves a destination outside of the 48 contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, or DC, it is considered an international trip which requires an extra level of review. If airfare is funded by CIRES, CIRES Travel will review the airfare quotes for Fly America Act (FAA) compliance per funding source requirements. Travel supported by federally sponsored awards must be compliant with the Fly America Act and any additional restrictions imposed by the federal sponsor in the award terms and conditions. In coordination with CIRES Travel, it is the responsibility of the traveler (or their designated arranger) to do the following when requesting approval for international travel:
- Identify the funding source for travel, determine whether travel is supported in part or entirely by a federal sponsored award.
- Review the award terms and sponsor requirements with their CIRES Finance Manager prior to making any travel arrangements.
- Collect and communicate adequate information for documenting airfare in compliance with applicable policies and procedures.
- Book airfare in accordance with the CIRES procedures and in compliance with the Fly America Act.
Check out additional information on the Fly America Act we have posted on CIRESConnect.
No-Cost Travel
If you are a CIRES Employee traveling on a non-CU and non-CIRES funding, please submit a travel request in InsideCIRES and select "Yes" for the question "Is this a no-cost trip for CU?". This will shorten your travel request tabs to "Traveler's Info," "Destination," and Summary. Please ensure that you state the name of the external entity funding the trip in the "Purpose of Travel/ Business Justification" comment box. If this no-cost trip is an international trip, CIRES Travel will create a shadow request for you in Concur for Risk Management.
How to Submit a Travel Request for Non-Employees or Non-CIRES Employees
Non-employees receiving support for travel from CIRES should complete the Non-Employee Travel Request form and submit the request to cirestravel@colorado.edu. Although non-employees do not have access to InsideCIRES, we have posted detailed information about non-employee travel here, which we encourage you to download to PDF and share with any non-employees whose travel you are supporting with your CIRES-managed funds.
Non-CIRES but CU employees from other Departments who are traveling on CIRES funds should contact cirestravel@colorado.edu in advance of their travel to obtain approval. They will need to complete the Non-Employee Travel Request form and select "CU, Non-CIRES Employee" for the Personnel type. Since these travelers do not have access to InsideCIRES, their approval process will be similar to the non-employee process but all applicable rules regarding travel as a CU employee are still applicable (i.e. booking airfare in Concur or with CBT).
CIRES employees traveling on Non-CIRES but CU speedtypes should seek approval through the supporting department. If the supporting department requests travel approvals and expense reports be completed by CIRES Travel, then the traveler will need to complete the Non-Employee Travel Request form with the supporting department's speedtype, finance manager's name, and finance manager's email address listed. The finance manager of the supporting department will be copied on approval and reimbursement guidance emails. Please note that all applicable rules regarding travel as a CU employee are still applicable (i.e. booking airfare in Concur or with CBT).
Other Travel Policies During Approval
Including Personal Travel
It may be allowable to include personal travel when traveling for university or CIRES business. If the funding source allows for the inclusion of personal travel, CIRES employees may include personal travel as long as he or she can demonstrate that the personal travel does not result in increased costs to the grant, CIRES, state of Colorado, or other funding source, and when the personal component of such travel does not create the appearance of being the dominant aspect of the trip. If you plan to include personal travel in your trip, please read and follow the requirements of the CIRES Personal Travel Policy, which are posted here.
Travel Supported on Task II
Travelers should work with their NOAA divisions to obtain the appropriate acknowledgments for upcoming trips. If you are unsure whom to ask for acknowledgment, please email CIRES Travel for guidance. Acknowledgments may be a screenshot or saved PDF of the email exchange with your federal project lead.
Travelling by Train
For Domestic Travel:
Travelers who would like to travel by train/rail rather than by airplane must provide a comparison quote from either CBT or Concur showing the cost of the business-only airfare. Travelers can be reimbursed for the actual cost of their train fare, up to the cost stated on the business-only airfare quote. The indication that a traveler wants to travel by train and the comparison quotes should be included on the travel request submitted to the CIRES Travel Team. After the trip is approved, the train fare can be purchased with either a Travel card or a personal credit card. Travelers should keep in mind that if the Travel card is used and the train fare cost actually exceeds the amount of the business airfare quote, they will need to reimburse the university for the overage.
In the event that travelling via train requires additional travel days than would have been required if travelling by airplane, additional days of per diem (less any meals included in the train fare) can be reimbursed. However, travelers are encouraged to confirm with their supervisor/PI supporting the travel costs that the additional costs and travel time are reasonable and appropriate.
For International Travel:
Where travel by train is considered the most economical and/or practical method of travel, such as in parts of Europe, travelers may make their train travel arrangement without providing comparison quotes.