Travel Reimbursement
TRAVEL STATUS – To be on college business assignment at a location 35 miles from the employee home address AND college workstation. You are then eligible for expense reimbursements, such as lodging, transportation, and meals.
Faculty and staff who travel on behalf of the college must abide by New York State and CUNY policies and procedures. Please read the Office of the State Comptroller Travel Manual and the Travel Guidelines for MEC Employees on this website.
The CUNYFirst Travel and Expense Module is a self-service system where employees create travel authorization and expense reports (with managerial approval), provided the department has available funds.
Faculty and staff must consult their department head and obtain approval before all travel. The department head must ensure that there are adequate funds available for reimbursement.
Faculty and staff must complete a Travel Authorization (TA) in CUNYFirst, and approved, PRIOR to all travel. This is a mandatory New York State and CUNY policy.
Creating a Travel Authorization will set aside funds to reimburse the faculty or staff traveling upon their return. TA should include:
- Estimates of all necessary and reasonable expenses to be incurred
- Attached is the event’s official notice, program, agenda, etc.
- Must be approved by all managers before the travel date. TA cannot be back-dated
Note 1: If the Approve icon is gray, the TA is in budget error. The department head should contact the Budget Office to transfer funds to the travel account.
Faculty and staff will pay for their travel expenses and be reimbursed upon their return.
Employees should be mindful to stay within the estimates approved in the Travel Authorization.
When an employee returns from a trip, the travel reimbursement procedure is as follows:
- Gather all receipts. Scan and save them on your computer
- Log on to CUNYFirst to create an Expense Report
- Ask the department head to approve the Expense Report
- If the Approve icon is gray, the department head should contact the Budget Office to transfer funds to the travel account
Note: There will be no reimbursement without a receipt.
Guidelines
Office of the State Comptroller Travel Manual
Travel Guidelines For MEC Employees
Travel Guideline – Amtrak
Travel Reimbursement Checklist
CUNYFirst Job Aids
Additional Resources
To obtain meal per diem rates, visit: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates
To obtain mileage rates (for business use of privately owned vehicle), visit:
https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/standard-mileage-rates