Completing the UGA Travel Authority form Romance Languages professionalization workshop December 4, 2015 Timothy Gupton, PhD

Attending conferences Generally speaking, encouraged and/or required If you’ve already been accepted, Congratulations! Don’t delete the acceptance email – you will need it! There are many opportunities for travel funding on campus and within the department

Travel accounting Completion of Travel Authority (TA) documents may vary from institution to institution Procedures may vary This needs to be done to account for your absence from campus It also documents your intended participation as a presenter at a conference

Travel accounting Consider this process to be professional development You will likely complete a similar process at your eventual job. Some institutions reimburse for attendance only, too!

What if I don’t have funding? Don’t give up hope. Funding may very well become available – sometimes as late as the end of the fiscal year (end of June). The TA documents your whereabouts

When to complete a TA? The sooner, the better They should be submitted 4 weeks in advance for domestic travel, 6 weeks for international travel (*Note: this differs from the Romance Languages travel webpage) http://roml.franklin.uga.edu/travel **Note: other links (keep this page open) Go to UGA Travel Authority Note that there is a special TA form for international travel

The TA form The basics: name, department, ID # (leave blank) Nature of official business Detailed justification of travel Dates absent, Address while absent from campus Direct charge (only for those who already have funds awarded) Authorized travel agencies: http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/authorized_agencies.html (I use Global Escapes)

The TA form (cont’d) Department contact: Sharon Yen Email: syen@uga.edu Phone number 706-542-2182 This is Sharon’s specialty. Please go to her if you have doubts or questions. Please be nice to her.

The TA form: Expense estimates Meals: use GSA per diem estimates (afterward, you can submit receipts, or be reimbursed for per diem amounts) Use the link here (or google it): http://roml.franklin.uga.edu/travel Search by city You see: daily lodging max. and M/IE M=meals, IE=Incidental expenses (e.g. parking) Know the breakdown: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101518

The TA form: Expense estimates First & last day rates: 75% of total By meal breakdown: you cannot claim meals prior to departure and after return home (sorry!), so do not include them in your estimate

The TA form: Expense estimates Lodging: Use your max. estimate NYC in May: $270 / night (you will likely claim less later, e.g. if you share a room, use airbnb.com, etc.)

The TA form: Expense estimates Transportation: use your favorite airline for an estimate (coach seating only, sorry…) Don’t forget to include estimates for shuttle buses, public buses, metro fare, taxi, etc. – whatever you will use to get to your venue

The TA form: Expense estimates Other: most common expense here is conference registration fees Note on reimbursement: you cannot exceed max. allowable amounts (well, you can, but it won’t be reimbursed, so don’t do it!) Time of departure: indicate this Mode of travel: air, bus, car, etc.  What if you travel by car? (to ATL or beyond…)

The TA form: Expense estimates Travel by car Mileage is reimbursed at a rate of $0.575 per mile for business travel mileage needs to be calculated from UGA (Gilbert Hall) to the airport / destination, and not from your home address, unless it’s on a weekend Use googlemaps, mapquest, etc. to estimate mileage total to/from and multiply by $0.575 Get reimbursed for your airport drive

A completed TA form

You’re done! Nice! Now print your TA form using portrait print layout Sign the form and leave it in Dr. Casado’s mailbox for her signature Any remaining issues, problems will be handled by Sharon Yen You may have to complete/print your TA again if there are errors

What’s next? Prepare your conference talk! Practice your conference talk as part of the Romance Languages colloquium before you go (so you don’t embarrass us!) Knock ‘em dead at the conference! Keep all your receipts from your travels! SO, how do you get reimbursed?

Getting reimbursed Go to the UGA Travel Expense Login: http://roml.franklin.uga.edu/travel Many blanks are the same as the TA and some are not After you finish, SAVE your TE document Then print, and sign Tape (no staples!) all original receipts to a letter-sized sheet of paper (this is for ease of scanning)

A completed TE form (page 1)

A completed TE form (page 2)

Getting reimbursed Receipts that are letter-size do not require taping Write any necessary explanations on the sheet of paper (e.g. shared room expenses) Ask Sharon if you have any questions (and be nice…) Staple your expense documents to the TE form, sign it, and leave in Sharon Yen’s mailbox

Getting reimbursed: important If you already have dedicated funding, reimbursement takes time, typically 2-4 weeks Be patient. If you do not already have travel funding, you will have to be more patient…

What else? Submit the Romance Language Travel report to the Travel Funds committee: https://roml.franklin.uga.edu/sites/default/files/reporttotravelfundscommittee.pdf Remaining year-end funds get allocated to grad students Attach acceptance email and program listing of you & your presentation (Sharon will have record of all your receipts)

Anything else? Ask your major professor. Check to see if your conference offers awards or prizes to graduate student presentations. Know your deadlines. There are funds available from the Graduate School at UGA: http://grad.uga.edu/index.php/current-students/financial-information/travel-funding/ Preference goes to PhD, dissertation research