Non-Employee Travel and Expenses
VCU academic departments may arrange and pay for travel for non-employees, provided there is a bona fide business purpose. A non-employee is defined as any individual not currently employed by the University (full or part-time).
All expenses must comply with requirements established in the Reimbursable Business Expenses Policy. Non-employees must adhere to the same policy guidelines/limits as employees for lodging, car rentals, and other expenses. Please note different meal requirements below. A non-employee is defined as any individual who is not employed (full or part-time) by the university.
Non-employee travelers include:
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Booking and arrangements
Departments should prepay directly for expenses such as airline tickets on the ATC card. Please submit a pre-approval request through Emburse before making travel arrangements.
An academic employee can make travel arrangements through Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) for a non-academic employee by choosing the Add a Guest Traveler to Your Trip option in Lightning. These travelers will not have a traveler profile in Lightning. Traveler information is entered when the reservation is made. Traveler’s full name as it appears on the ID used to travel, date of birth, and gender are required fields. Guest reservations may also be made by calling CTP at 888-742-2896, or emailing vcu@ctptravelservices.com
Non-employees can obtain VCU contracted discounts by having an employee book the rental using the Leisure discount codes with Enterprise/ National or Hertz available on our Rental Vehicles Page. Non-employees are not covered under the University’s automobile self-insurance plan, and they will not have insurance included on rentals with University-contracted vendors. Non-employee travelers are required to purchase additional collision damage insurance (CDW/LDW) when renting a vehicle. Departments should reimburse non-employees for rental car expenses including CDW/LDW insurance.
This does not pertain to medical center employees as they are covered as an employee.
See more information about vehicle rentals on our Rental Vehicles page.
A P-card may be used when booking a hotel to guarantee the reservation, however, hotel reservations are NOT pre-paid through CTP or most other booking sources. Please call the hotel after confirming the reservation to arrange for the room to be charged to the P-card. VCU generally pays for room, tax, and parking. The traveler will still need to present a card in their name at check-in for incidentals.
- Arrangements for pre-payment may be made by contacting the hotel directly after confirming the reservation. A third-party credit card authorization form may be required, however, the full 16-digit card number should not be written on the form. The form can be completed but can include only the last 4 digits of the card number. Then call the hotel to provide the remaining card information. Card information should never be sent by email or fax.
Non-employees, who are traveling for a legitimate VCU business purpose, may be reimbursed business meal expenditures with particular limitations. The GSA limits serve as caps for these types of meals. VCU will consider reimbursement of actual costs up to the limit. Departments should review any receipts for compliance with University policies.
Paying for travel expenses
- Reimbursement for travel expenses will not be requested until after travel is completed.
- All expenses submitted for reimbursement must be supported by itemized receipts regardless of the amount except for tolls, parking, and mileage less than $25.