For undergraduate and graduate students that travel on behalf of their UAB program/major to present and support their research/scholarship, reasonable transportation, meals, and lodging costs may be reimbursed by the UAB department. Reimbursement may be made to the student or a faculty member (if the faculty member paid expenses on the student’s behalf and appropriate documentation is submitted by the student). Departments will determine the appropriate amount allocated for a student's travel based on funding available.
Where appropriate, a student group travelling can work through their faculty mentor for a group/team advance to help with covering travel costs.
Object code 8302060 Student Travel should be used for all student travel as defined above.
Original receipts are required for all expense reimbursement items (other than reasonable cash tips).
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Coming to UAB: Prospective Students/Trainees
Reasonable transportation, meals, and lodging travel costs may be reimbursed for a prospective student or prospective postdoc trainee (i.e. student "recruits") invited by UAB to come to the University as part of a formal recruiting process.
Expenses for spouses, sons, daughters, or other relatives or associates of the prospective student will not be reimbursed.
Except for the special airline ticket requisition and hotel PO procedures referenced below, prospective students or prospective postdoc trainees who come to campus at UAB's invitation should be informed that they will be responsible for their travel expenses incurred in connection with their interview trip to UAB. Reimbursement to the individual prospective student or prospective postdoc trainee (to the extent otherwise permitted by policy) may be made for such costs after the trip.
Prospective student or prospective postdoc trainee travel reimbursements should be requested after the trip. An Oracle Payment request should be used to reimburse prospective students/trainees for travel costs incurred.
Original receipts are required for all expense reimbursement items (other than reasonable cash tips).
The following applies to travel reimbursements for prospective students/trainees. Items not addressed below follow the same guidelines as Employee Travel.
Hotels
A specially worded Purchase Order Requisition may be issued to secure a room at some local hotels for prospective students or prospective postdoc trainees. A current list of these hotels and the procedure to request a hotel room purchase order requisition are available in the Traveling forms library. (Note: Limited Purchase Order forms, normal Purchase Orders, and Payment Request forms cannot be used for this purpose).
Meals
Prospective student or prospective postdoc trainee meal reimbursements must be based upon actual incurred costs, not a per diem.
Prospective students or prospective postdoc trainees cannot be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or alcohol-related costs under any circumstances.
Transportation
Reimbursements for private car mileage must be based upon the federal mileage rates.
A UAB Airline Ticket Requisition may be used to obtain an airline ticket for a prospective student or prospective postdoc trainee (where policy permits) through the Adventure Travel.
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In-State Travel
Hotel
For authorized in-state student travel, with appropriate documentation, reimbursement for the actual cost of the traveler's hotel room is authorized by State law (rather than a per diem).
Meals
For in-state travel a maximum limit of $11.25 for travel greater than six hours and less than 12 and $30 daily for travel exceeding 12 hours for in-state travel is established. The in-state travel limitations are based on actual costs and are not considered a per diem.
If the traveler has food allergies and cannot eat the meal that is being provided by the conference, a doctor's statement with a listing of the allergies of the traveler and a copy of the menu from the conference must be submitted to be considered for reimbursement.
Transportation
Reimbursements for private car mileage must be based upon the federal mileage rates.
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Out-of-State or Foreign Travel
Hotel
For reimbursement of out-of-state hotel room costs, a final itemized lodging receipt is required. The receipt is usually in the form of the final hotel bill. It must also substantiate that the bill was indeed paid and that the reimbursement amount being requested was not paid by UAB. A traveler choosing to utilize the hotel's express checkout procedure should have the hotel mail the final bill to be attached to the travel voucher.
Meals
Student meal reimbursements must be based upon actual incurred costs for Out of State Travel.
Students cannot be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or alcohol-related costs under any circumstances.
If the traveler has food allergies and cannot eat the meal that is being provided by the conference, a doctor's statement with a listing of the allergies of the traveler and a copy of the menu from the conference must be submitted to be considered for reimbursement.
Transportation
Reimbursements for private car mileage must be based upon the federal mileage rates.
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Airline Tickets
Employees, prospective employees, prospective employee spouses, volunteers, and guest speakers (but not independent contractors) should purchase airline tickets via the UAB Travel Portal using a UAB P-Card for all UAB business travel.
If an employee chooses to purchase an airline ticket for UAB-related travel outside of the UAB Travel Portal, the employee must purchase the ticket personally and then apply for reimbursement after the trip. Employees should not personally purchase tickets for someone else.
First/Business class airfare is generally unallowable, unless documentation is attached justifying that it was necessary for medical reasons or because reasonable alternatives were clearly not available.
If the UAB Travel Portal is not used, travelers must include the following documentation when submitting the employee travel reimbursement request:
- Original receipt demonstrating that the traveler, not UAB, purchased the ticket
- The airline's or travel agency's trip itinerary confirmation or invoice indicating the traveler's name and the fare/cost along with the applicable flight numbers, departure and destination cities, dates, and times.
Personal airline or railroad travel insurance (such as life insurance, disability insurance, ticket cancellation, etc.) are unallowable costs.
Per a ruling by the State Attorney General, UAB may reimburse an employee for a ticket purchased in anticipation of UAB business travel but not used, when the reason for advance purchase was to secure an airline discount, if and only if the trip could not be completed due to conflicting UAB business or a compelling personal reason, i.e., illness or death in the employee's family. Similarly, if a trip's itinerary must be changed due to conflicting UAB business or a compelling personal reason such as illness or death in the employee's family, and as a result additional processing fees are charged, then and only then may UAB reimburse the employee for those processing fees.
- Unallowable Costs
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Education Abroad
Effective January 1, 2022 UAB will begin relaxing its international travel restrictions for Spring Education Abroad programs to select locations based on Department of State ratings:
- Resume international education activities to locations residing at a DOS level 1 or 2 for COVID-19, presuming the location resides at a DOS level 1 or 2 for safety reasons as well.
- Countries with a DOS Level 3 or 4 for COVID-19 only or DOS Level 3 for any other reason must complete an appeals process with the UAB International Travel Risk Management Committee. Exceptions granted must be on file with University Risk Management and Insurance and the Office of the Provost.
- Countries with a DOS Level 4 for reasons other than COVID-19 are restricted.
Students must sign an Education Abroad waiver prior to making any financial commitments, which is provided in their online application.
DOS levels may change before departure and UAB will continue to monitor the DOS ratings from pre-departure and throughout your program. In the event your location’s rating rises due to COVID-19 or other safety factors, UAB may restrict travel. For further questions, please visit the Education Abroad COVID-19 FAQ page.