Travel Guidelines

All employees and non-employees traveling on behalf of the college, including grant-funded programs, are required to follow NIC policies and procedures unless otherwise stipulated by a grant award. Generally, NIC guidelines are more conservative and should be adhered to unless a grant has a more conservative method.

1.     Complete Travel Authorization Form

• The Travel Authorization Form is as an estimate of total expenses approved for travel
• Travel arrangements and expenses should not be made prior to completion and approval of the Travel Authorization Form
• Travelers must utilize the most current Office of Finance and Business travel authorization form and obtain appropriate signatures. If the incorrect form is used, or the form is incomplete, the form will be returned to the division/department for correction
• Conference information, an itinerary, brochures, and estimates of expenses should be attached
• The original Travel Authorization is submitted to Accounts Payable in the Office of Finance and Business. It will be kept on file to verify travel expenses as they are incurred
• Travel with only mileage expenses will not require completion of a Travel Authorization unless required by the supervisor

2.      Make Travel Reservations

Airfare:

• Transportation should be the most economical means possible. If you opt for a more expensive mode of transportation, reimbursement is limited to the most economical mode that your schedule permits
• The college has different options for the booking and payment of airfare. This includes:

• Utilizing a purchasing card (PCard). The traveler or department admin can book the airfare directly. Receipts will remain with the PCard reconciliation and noted on the after travel recap
• Traveler utilizing their own funds and reimbursed after the completion of travel with submission of original payment receipts
• Utilizing the college travel agency, Travel Leaders, for airline reservations. Complete a Transportation Charge Authorization form using your full legal name and date of birth as it appears on your driver’s license. Submit to Travel Leaders; send original to Office of Finance and Business to authorize payment. (Travel Leaders Contact: (800) 848-3488)
  • If taking a personal side trip, the traveler’s only option is to pay with their own funds and should not use Travel Leaders or a PCard. If a personal side trip results in a cost difference, please document personal costs as these will not be reimbursed

Hotel/Accommodations:

• Only the cost of the room and tax will be paid or reimbursed by NIC. Hotel meals, snacks, or incidental expenses (laundry, tips, room service, movie rental, gym use, or in-room internet access) will not be allowable
  
  
• NIC has contracted and set up direct billing with local lodging vendors for any business accommodations in our immediate region, location and rates for 2022 are as follows:
  
  
  • Staybridge Suites CDA
    • PEAK Season: May 1st, 22 - September 14^th, 22: $219.00
    • OFF Season Rates: $134.00
  • Springhill Suites Marriott CDA
    • PEAK Season: May 26^th, 22 - September 15^th, 22: $209.00
    • OFF Season Rates: $129.00
  • Holiday Inn Express CDA
    • PEAK Season: June 1^st, 22 - September 30^th, 22: $199.00
    • OFF Season Rates: $109.00
      
      
• The college has different options for hotel reservations and payment. This includes:
  
  
  1. Utilizing a PCard. The traveler or department admin can make the reservation directly. Receipts will remain with the PCard reconciliation and noted on the after-travel recap
     
     
  2. Traveler utilizing their own funds and reimbursed after the completion of travel with submission of original payment receipts
     
     
  3. Direct bill to the college. NIC has relationships with many different hotels that allow direct billing. A purchase order is required for this option
     
     
  4. Utilizing the college travel agency, Travel Leaders, for hotel reservations. This is a reservation system only, but by using the travel agency you are usually not required to hold the reservation with a personal credit card (this may vary by hotel requirements)
     
     
  5. Airbnb and VRBO’s are NOT authorized accommodations and no exceptions will be made without the Vice President of Finance

Rental Car:

• All employees using a rental car on college business must have a valid driver’s license and comply with the NIC Vehicle Use Guidelines. The vehicle use guidelines includes information about insurance coverage for rental vehicles
• Employees of North Idaho College should utilize the Idaho state contract for rental car vendors; please see information on NIC portal at this link for Enterprise and National Rental Car.
• This is not a direct billing system—the traveler is responsible for renting the vehicle in his or her own name and is responsible for payment
• Rental car agencies require that the traveler present a personal credit card at the time of rental and traveler either must self-pay and be reimbursed at the completion of travel or utilize an NIC PCard
• Employees will not be reimbursed for any vehicle violations (parking fines, moving violations, )

Conference Registration:

• Conference registrations may be paid by utilizing the following options:

• 1. NIC PCard
  2. NIC check mailed by Accounts Payable or hand-carried by traveler. Accounts payable will need two weeks advance notice to have a check generated for the conference
  3. Direct bill to the college. A purchase order is required for this option
  4. Traveler can make payment to the conference and be reimbursed after the completion of travel

Personal Vehicle/College Vehicle: 

• When a college-owned vehicle is used, the driver and passengers are covered by the college liability insurance policy
• When an employee of the college uses their personal vehicle, on college business, the employee’s insurance is the primary carrier, even though they are on college business. All employees using a personal automobile on college business must have a valid auto insurance policy and driver’s license, and comply with the NIC Vehicle Use Guidelines
• If, under special circumstances as determined by the vice president, an employee requests and is granted permission to travel by personal automobile rather than using an appropriate commercial mode of travel, reimbursement will be determined by the lesser cost of the two methods of travel
• Mileage for personal vehicles should be calculated from your assigned work place or your home, whichever is less.
• A printout documenting mileage is required for reimbursement unless travel is documented on the NIC authorized mileage chart. Mileage must be documented on the Office of Finance and Business mileage log
• Frequent travel by personal vehicle will be reimbursed monthly when submitted with a completed payment request and mileage log to Accounts Payable
• Employees will not be reimbursed for any vehicle violations (parking fines, moving violations, )

3.    Travel Advances

• Cash advances payable to the traveler are available upon request for department-authorized travel when the length of travel exceeds three (3) business days
• Advances will only be paid at 75% of the estimated cost for meals per diem and personal mileage and will not be issued for amounts less than $100
• Travel advance funds must be documented in a timely manner with an After Travel Recap and submission of original receipts. Travel advances not documented in a timely manner may be withdrawn from the employee’s wages
• Submit a Payment Request Form separately from the travel authorization with a brief outline of charges to Accounts Payable
• Travel advance checks will be disbursed according to the regular Accounts Payable processing deadlines prior to the traveler’s departure
• No travel advances will be issued out of PIP or Professional Development funds. The employee will be reimbursed for all other expenses at the completion of travel

4.    After Travel Recap

• Within two weeks of the completion of your trip, complete the After Travel Recap form and submit to Accounts Payable in the Office of Finance and Business
• Original receipts are required for anything other than per diem charges. When purchases have been made with a NIC PCard, original receipts will remain with the PCard reconciliation, and will be referenced on the After Travel Recap. A detailed receipt for the hotel is always required, even if it was prepaid or paid with a purchasing card
• Exceeding Authorized Expenses: If your total travel expenses exceed your total cost authorized, or if there were any unanticipated expenses, your After Travel Recap must be reviewed and signed by your supervisor to authorize the exception
• Personal Expenses: If travel expenses were affected by a personal side trip, the traveler should provide documentation showing how much airfare, hotel and other expenses would have been without the side trip. If you traveled with a non-employee (i.e. family member) be sure to claim only the single room rate for lodging. Note adjustment on your receipt
• Timing of Reimbursement: Reimbursement of employee paid expenses will be processed in accordance with the regular schedule for Accounts Payable processing, generally the week following the receipt of your After Travel Recap and original receipts by the Office of Finance and Business. If any portion of your claim cannot be paid or requires additional information, you will be notified via e-mail

5.    Per Diem Information and Rates

 Per diem Meal and Incidental Expense Rate as of July 1, 2017:

• Per diem only applies when a traveler is in overnight travel status
• Employees will not be paid for meals that were provided as part of your conference/event or otherwise paid. Complimentary meals or beverages provided by lodging vendors or airlines will not be considered when determining per diem allowances
• Per diem rates are inclusive of tips and other incidental expenses
• Daily meal reimbursement shall be allowed according to the departure and return times below. Departureand return times are based on either the traveler’s home or work, whichever location is closest

Trip Departure Time (gone for the remainder of the day):

12:01 am – 7:00 am         Breakfast, Lunch Dinner 7:01 am – 12:00 noon    Lunch, Dinner

12:01 pm – 6:00 pm        Dinner 6:01 pm – Midnight    None

Trip Return Time (home or at work for the remainder of the day):

12:01 am – 7:00 am         None

7:01 am – 12:00 noon    Breakfast

12:01 pm – 6:00 pm        Breakfast, Lunch

6:01 pm – Midnight         Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

• Per diem is the standard for meals, tips, and other incidental expense reimbursements. Travelers may be authorized to be reimbursed for actual expenses as an alternative to per diem
  
  
  1. Actual expense reimbursements as an alternative to per diem must be pre-approved by the traveler’s President’s Cabinet representative prior to travel
  2. The traveler may only use actual reimbursement if approved. The traveler cannot use a combination of per diem and actual expense reimbursement
  3. The traveler must provide original itemized receipts for reimbursement with the after-travel recap. Travel advances are not an option

Same-Day Meal Reimbursements (Without Overnight Stay):

When travel does not include overnight stay, meal reimbursements are taxable income to the traveler and will be taxed through the payroll process. In order for same-day travel meal reimbursements to be excluded from taxable income, the reimbursement must be directly related to the conduct of College business and meet all of the following:

1. The main purpose of the combined business and meal is the active conduct of business
2. Business is actually conducted during the meal period
3. There is more than a general expectation of deriving a specific business benefit at some future time

In the event that the traveler’s department has authorized to reimburse same-day meal expenses, reimbursements will be for actual meal costs not to exceed the amounts below. Traveler must provide original itemized receipts prior to reimbursement.

6.    Mileage Reimbursement and Rates

As of January 1, 2021, $0.625 cents per mile will be reimbursed for mileage for approved use of personal automobiles for college business.

In order to comply with IRS documentation requirements, employees that frequently utilize their own vehicle for travel must submit mileage reimbursements preferably monthly, at a minimum quarterly to the Office of Finance and Business. NIC will only reimburse mileage that occurred within the last quarter and submitted within 30 days of the quarter end date. Quarterly is defined as the 3 month period ending September 30, December 31, March 31, and the published travel deadline in June. Mileage reimbursement for the period ending with the June travel deadline must be submitted by that deadline date (not within 30 days).

Authorized Mileage Chart (commonly traveled distances)

7.    College Sponsored Travel for Non-Employees

If your department is sponsoring travel for a non-employee such as a job candidate or program reviewer, please communicate these guidelines to the traveler you are sponsoring:

• Traveler must be advised of and abide by NIC employee allowable charges
• No travel advance will be provided; reimbursement will be at the completion of travel with submission of appropriate
• Airfare may be direct billed to the college by utilizing the college travel agency, Travel
• Complete a Travel Charge Authorization and submit to Office of Finance and
• Utilize NIC purchasing card when possible. You must specify to the traveler that it is for room charges only and for the approved duration of their business with
• Non-employees are not issued travel advances. Per diem meal rates and mileage will be reimbursed at the conclusion of their travel if allowed. Per diem only applies when traveler is in overnight travel status. Expenses other than per diem must be documented with original detailed receipts. The traveler should submit receipts to sponsoring department, who will complete After Travel Recap and sign to authorize.
• If a rental car expense is authorized from a department budget, the non-employee traveler must independently book and pay for the rental car and then be reimbursed at completion of travel for allowed days and distance charges. The NIC PCard may not be used for rental cars for non-employees.

8.    Reporting Travel Time in Time Entry

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wage and Hour laws, non-exempt (overtime eligible) employees of North Idaho College must be compensated for time worked, including the time that is spent traveling on behalf of North Idaho College. This can be tricky to manage because all time spent traveling might not be considered compensable time. Below is guidance on what time should be compensated and how it should be reported through web time entry.

Exempt (not eligible for overtime) employees do not report time differently unless personal travel was included during the trip.

The examples below are not all-inclusive. Employees should outline their travel information and contact Josh Gittel in the Office of Finance and Business for clarification prior to travel.

SAME-DAY TRAVEL OUT-OF-TOWN

 Same-day travel out-of-town in general is considered time worked without regard to whether the travel

occurs within the employee’s normal work schedule.

• This includes the time spent traveling from NIC to the location, time spent in the meeting/conference, and the time spent traveling back to
• If the employee leaves directly from their home, the normal commuting time to work is not considered time
• Regular meals are excluded from time

Example – Employee has a meeting in Seattle and leaves home at 6 am. The employee attends the meeting, then proceeds directly to the airport, and returns home at 8 pm. The employee’s normal commute to NIC is 30 minutes. The employee was considered to be traveling for 14 hours total. Since the employee normally spends 30 minutes each way commuting, 1 hour was not included as time worked. The employee also had a 1-hour lunch break that was not included as time worked. The total hours worked and reported as compensation equals 12 hours (14 -1 hour commuting - 1-hour lunch =12 hours).

OVERNIGHT TRAVEL 

• Non-exempt (overtime eligible) employees, including part-time employees, should be compensated for any travel time during regularly scheduled work hours, including days of the week not scheduled to work.
  • Anytime the employee is performing actual work, whether during regularly scheduled work hours or not, the employee should report those hours as worked and should be
  • Regular meal times while traveling are not compensable unless the mealtime is spent
  • When an employee travels directly to/from their home, their regular commute time from home to work is not

Example 1 – Employee is regularly scheduled to work Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. The employee travels by plane on Sunday leaving home at 8 am and arriving at 8 pm. The

employee’s regular commute to work is 30 minutes. Only the regularly scheduled hours between 8 am and 5 pm can be considered time worked. Because the employee has a regular commute of 30 minutes, only the time from 8:30 am to 5 pm will be reported as time worked and compensated.

Example 2 – Employee is regularly scheduled to work Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. The employee travels by plane on Monday leaving at 6 pm arriving at 9 pm. The employee spends 1 hour of the flight responding to emails, preparing for the conference, and performing other job tasks. Although this is outside the regularly scheduled hours, the 1 hour of time worked should be reported and will be compensated as time worked.

Example 3 – Employee is regularly scheduled to work Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. The conference has a required dinner from 6 pm - 8 pm on one of the nights. Because the employee is required to attend the dinner, this time should be reported and compensated as time worked.

TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE 

• Driver of the automobile
  • Time spent driving a vehicle is considered time worked, regardless of the regular work schedule of the
  • All other rules above apply for same day travel and overnight travel for the
• Passengers in an automobile
  • Passengers will follow the rules above for same day travel and overnight
• The time worked between a driver and passenger could be different depending on the travel status.

Example – A group of employees drives to Seattle for a conference and stay overnight. All of the employees are regularly scheduled to work Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm. The employees leave North Idaho College at 2 pm on Sunday and arrive in Seattle at 7 pm. The passengers in the car will be compensated for time during their normally schedules hours from 2 pm – 5 pm. The driver will be compensated for the entire time spent driving from 2 pm – 7 pm.

9.    International Travel

• All international travel must be pre-approved by the
• Faculty and Staff traveling internationally on behalf of the college must request travel liability insurance from the Executive Assistant for Finance by completing the Request for Employee Liability Insurance Form. This coverage is provided at no cost to employees or their
• Employees traveling internationally are responsible for reviewing the International Travel Risk Management Guidelines. The traveler is responsible for researching safety related conditions of the location they are traveling including but not limited to crime, health, or political