CIRES uses the following processes and procedures for travelers who are non-CIRES employees but CU employees in another department. This process is similar to our non-employee travel guidance because non-CIRES employees don't have access to InsideCIRES and non-CIRES speedtypes can't be entered in the travel request tool in InsideCIRES. The difference from the non-employee travel guidance is that post-travel expense reports are completed in Concur for non-CIRES but CU travelers.

(If you are a CIRES employee traveling on a Non-CIRES speedtype. Your travel should be managed by the department that is funding the trip.)

Travel Approval

Travel approval is required before you travel for CIRES or university business. Travel approval should be received before charging any travel related costs, to the greatest extent possible. This ensures that purchasing is compliant with related policies and travelers know what to expect during post-travel processes.

Non-CIRES but CU travelers request travel approval for both domestic and international travel using the Non-Employee Travel Request form. As a CU employee, all university travel policies still apply even though the Non-Employee Travel Request form is used for the approval. CIRES Travel can help with estimating some costs, such as lodging and meal per diem allowances from U.S. General Services Administration or U.S. Department of State. The form allows for clarity on which expenses will be out-of-pocket or company paid. You should also use the purpose section to clarify if there are multiple speedtypes being used and how to split the allocation. The Non-Employee Travel Request form should be emailed to cirestravel@colorado.edu for review and approval.

CIRES Travel reviews the Non-Employee Travel Request form for completeness and checks that the CIRES funding source(s) for the travel is allowable and has sufficient funding. If your funding source also requires a travel acknowledgment (i.e. if the travel costs are going to be supported by a Task II Speedtype or by the NASA DAAC), then you should also send the acknowledgment along with the travel request to CIREStravel@colorado.edu. If you're including a non-CIRES speedtype, then please also list the name and email address of the non-CIRES finance manager. CIRES Travel emails an approval of the travel request to the traveler with the finance manager(s) copied. The approval email contains the following information pertinent to the trip:

• Dates and Destination for the trip.
• Funding Source for trip costs and the Finance Manager(s) who oversees those funds.
• Total estimated cost of the trip, including the per diem rate at the travel destination.
• Purpose / Business Justification for trip.
• Instructions and contact information for booking airfare either in Concur or with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT).

Common Travel Policies

We summarize here common travel policies considered for trips supported by non-CIRES funds or completed by non-CIRES employees. CIRES Travel will use the information provided in the Non-Employee Travel Request form to determine which policies relate to the trip and traveler. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at cirestravel@colorado.edu.

Fly America Act

All travelers traveling on federal funds must have airfare which complies with the restrictions of the Fly America Act (FAA). This means that all flights must be conducted by U.S. Flag Carriers (flight names and numbers) to the greatest extent possible. Restrictions related to the Fly America Act are dependent on two factors:

(1) Funding source for the travel

(2) Destinations involved in the trip

If the trip involves an international destination, the traveler must provide an airfare quote with their Non-Employee Travel Request form, so that CIRES Travel may review the airfare for FAA compliance. If compliant, the traveler will receive guidance for booking airfare in their approval email. If non-compliant, the traveler will receive guidance from CIRES travel to provide a new airfare quote or complete a FAA exception form via DocuSign.

• For domestic travel, no exceptions to the Fly America Act are permitted. Federally funded air travel within the 50 United States, the District of Colombia, and the territories or possessions of the United States (including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) is considered domestic travel and must be conducted on a U.S. Flag carrier.
• International travel outside the United States, must be performed by a U.S. Flag carrier or under a codesharing arrangement with a U.S. Flag carrier flight number. There are limited exceptions to the Fly America Act that permit the use of a non-U.S. carrier for one or more segments of an international trip. Exceptions to the Fly America Act must be documented by the non-employee traveler (or their CIRES travel coordinator) in coordination with CIRES Travel and at the time that the trip is approved.
• Any federally-funded travel that is conducted on a non-U.S. Flag carrier is considered an exception to the Fly America Act. Some exceptions to the Fly America Act require specific approval from the federal awarding agency, although the most common exception, use of an Open Skies Partner, typically does not.
• Non-federally funded travel is not subject to the restrictions of the Fly America Act.

Personal Travel

The purpose of the CIRES Personal Travel policy is to ensure federally funded travel is (a) compliant with the terms and conditions of the award and (b) consistent with the federal government's travel regulations for federal employees and the university's travel policies. For travel supported by funds for which personal travel is not permitted by the government or funding entity, such as a contract, no personal component will be permitted. When traveling for university and CIRES business, it may be allowable to combine business travel with personal travel.

When adding personal time or destination(s) to a CIRES business trip, the personal aspect of the travel cannot be a more substantial component of the trip than the business aspect. There cannot be any appearance that the reason for the business trip is simply accommodating the related personal travel. Additionally, the non-employee traveler or CIRES travel coordinator must demonstrate that the personal travel does not result in increased costs to the supporting grant, CIRES, state of Colorado, or other funding source. CIRES funds may only be used to support approved costs that directly relate to the business aspects of the travel; the traveler must pay for personal travel costs. The personal travel can include such elements as:

• Extending his/her stay at the travel location for personal reasons.
• Traveling to or from the business travel location via a different route than the most direct one to or from the place of business, and including a stopover at some location for personal reasons.
• Traveling with an additional person who shares accommodations.
• Including a stopover at a non-business location enroute to or from the business destination.

For cases in which personal travel time exceeds that required for the business portion of the trip, the majority of the trip ultimately serves a personal purpose and becomes the dominant/majority aspect of the travel. In these instances, CIRES funds may only be used to support approved business travel costs during the business portion of the trip. Such costs can include per diem meal allowance, local transportation, lodging, etc., but CIRES will not cover airfare to or from the location of the business activity; these costs are the responsibility of the traveler.

Lodging, Rental Cars, and Other Travel Costs

As a CU employee, you may make arrangements for lodging and rental cars in Concur, with Christopherson Business Travel (CBT), or directly with the vendor. Itemized receipts including proof of payment are required post-travel to reimburse or reconcile lodging and any expenses $75 or greater. Learn more about receipt requirements for common travel costs either in CIRESConnect on our Travel Costs page or from the PSC's Travel Statement page.

Reimbursement Process

After the trip or event is completed, CU employee travelers should follow instructions below to request reimbursement. This information will also be detailed at the bottom of your approval email. If there are items unknown by the CU employee traveler, you may leave them blank and ask CIRES Travel for help filling in the blanks!

What counts as a receipt? Itemized receipts have vendor/ merchant contact information, each charge included in the total is individually listed, either a zero-balance due or date of transaction, and proof of payment. If receipts list a foreign currency but you want to be reimbursed what you were charged in USD, please send a redacted copy of your bank statement showing the charge in USD.

As a CU Employee, you will receive your reimbursement similar to your payroll allocations. Please complete the CIRES Travel Voucher (TV) so that CIRES Travel can complete your expense report on your Concur profile. You'll receive a follow up email from CIRES Travel when the expense report is ready for your review and submission in Concur. If a section of the form is not described below, you may leave it blank for CIRES Travel to fill in!

1. Review your travel approval, collect itemized receipts, and complete the Travel Voucher (TV).
2. Please enter your name and CU employee ID number, so that we can easily find you in Concur. If you haven't done so already, please provide our team or your travel analyst with delegate access to your Concur profile.
3. For Personnel Category, please select "CU, non-CIRES Employee" from the drop down menu list.
4. For Business Trip/ Event Type, please select "Single-Day" for one day events/ trips; "Local/In-State" if you came to Colorado; "Out-of-State" if you traveled to a state besides Colorado; or "International" if you traveled outside of the U.S.
5. Please also re-enter your travel dates and purpose of travel/ business justification. If there were any changes to your travel dates or plans, please indicate that here as well.
6. For Business Expenses, please list travel costs paid up front by CU/ CIRES under "Corporate/ CU Credit Card(s)" and by you under "Personal Credit Card/ Out-of-Pocket."
   1. Transaction Date should be the date the payment or action was completed.
   2. Please utilize the drop down menu list for expense types. If there is an asterisk (*) next to the expense type or the total amount is greater than $75, you'll need to attach an itemized receipt for the expense to your email to CIRES Travel.
   3. If an expense was completed in a non-USD currency, please enter the number as printed on your receipt and use the "Notes/ description" column to note the actual currency.
   4. Finally, select "yes" if you'd like to claim per diem meal allowance for this trip or event. If you selected Single-Day trip, then also indicate if you participated in business activities for at least 12 hours on the travel day. Finally, if you are claiming per diem meal allowance, please note if any meals were provided to you by the hotel, event, or coordinators.
   5. If you are claiming mileage with a personal vehicle, please use the next few lines to list addresses for start and stop locations. As a CU employee, please reference the PSC's Calculating Reimbursable Mileage and Ground Transportation to learn more about policies related to the work commute deductions.
7. For Funding or Accounting Information, please ensure that the speedtype supporting your trip is entered. This can be found on your travel request form and in your approval email.
8. Email completed form with receipts to CIRES Travel at cirestravel@colorado.edu.