Travel
Blue Cluster staff are happy to support our faculty and students, as well as guests of our departments, with travel relating to University research, teaching, or public service. Faculty may use their research or academic enrichment funding to pay for travel. Students with a travel or research award and guests with support from one of our departments or programs may also receive support for their travel.
Travel Policies
When you are planning a trip, please review the relevant UC Davis travel policies to make sure that your trip complies with them:
You may be held responsible for travel expenses that do not conform to policy. Some relevant highlights of the travel policies include:
- All trips, foreign or domestic, must be registered with UC Away prior to departure.
- Transportation costs can be paid or reimbursed on any business-related trip that is not commuting between your home and UC Davis.
- Employees must report travel, entertainment and, professional expenses within 15 days of the end of the trip or event.
- Your destination must be at least 40 miles from campus or your home in order to qualify for payment of lodging and meals for an overnight trip.
- Airfare must be for economy class travel (or equivalent).
- The limit on lodging expenses for domestic travel is $333 (not including taxes and fees).
- The limit on meals and incidentals for domestic travel is $62 per day. Please note this is NOT a per diem. If you are requesting reimbursement for meals and incidentals, please provide an accurate listing of the amount spent on meals and incidentals each day of your trip. If you spent less than $62, you may be reimbursed for the full amount you spent. If you spend more than $62 in a day, you will receive $62.
Travel Reimbursement
Most commonly, faculty and students book travel and pay for the costs out of pocket, and then request reimbursement after returning from their trip. Travel reimbursement requests should be directed to blueclusterbuy@ucdavis.edu within 15 days of trip end date. A complete itinerary and listing of expenses should be submitted, but receipts are only required for expenses of $75 or more. A Business Office staff member will then complete an expense report for you in AggieExpense by acting as your account delegate. They will let you know if any expenses need further documentation, and will notify you when your report is ready to submit.
Entertainment
Blue Cluster staff are here to help with planning and hosting seminars, colloquia, conferences, workshops, and other events for our departments and programs. Our event planning staff can help you deliver the best event possible while remaining in budget and in compliance with university entertainment policy. Please contact one of the following staff members for assistance based on your affiliation:
- History, Economics, Jewish Studies, and Military Science faculty/general events: Lori Odenweller
- History and Economics graduate program/graduate student events: Olga Orozco
- Hemispheric Institute on the Americas and East Asian Studies events: Melanie Della Santa
Entertainment Policies
When you are planning an event for University business, please review the entertainment policies found at this link.
The per-person limits on allowable meal expenses can be found here.
As of 2020, due to Regents Policy 5402, any on-campus event with catering service must work with Olive and Vine, the UC Davis campus caterer. This applies to events held on campus or within a 10 mile radius where a catering vendor provides not only food but assistance with setup/cleanup, serving, etc. For "drop off" service, where a vendor solely delivers food to campus and does not provide any other service, any appropriate vendor may be used. The policy also does not apply to restaurant service where faculty or students host a sit-down meal at a local restaurant in a manner that doesn't require a contract or service agreement.
Entertainment Reimbursements
If you would like to receive reimbursement for expenses you incurred in hosting an event, please contact the appropriate staff member (see above) or send an email to blueclusterbuy@ucdavis.edu within 15 days of event end date. Your request should include a complete list of expenses, a list of attendees (including their affiliation to the University), and event documentation (usually an event announcement, flier, or invitation). Receipts are only required for expenses of $75 or more.
Receipts and Documentation
Receipts and documentation for travel, entertainment and, professional expenses must be submitted to blueclusterbuy@ucdavis.edu within 15 days of the end of the trip or event.
The following information must be shown on a receipt in order for it serve as documentation for a transaction:
- Dollar amount
- Date of transaction
- Identification of what was purchased
- Proof of Payment
Proof of payment is generally shown by the last four digits of a credit or debit card on the receipt.
Documentation must show that the faculty or staff member requesting reimbursement is the same person who incurred the expense. Faculty and students cannot be reimbursed for expenses incurred by family members or other individuals.
If a receipt does not include the required information, staff may ask you for further documentation before completing the expense report. This can include a copy of your credit card or bank statement showing the expense. All sensitive information (including full account numbers and other transactions) should be redacted before submitting. Staff can assist you with redaction, if needed.