Creating Your Travel Budget
  1. Clubs are responsible for putting together initial estimates for their travel requests prior to requesting funds or requesting travel approval through Student Engagement.
  2. Travel Prior approvals must be given before booking any flights, hotel reservations, registration fees, educational expenses etc. Student Engagement needs to verify that there are funds in the clubs account to support the travel request.
    1. Most conferences/competitions have food included in the registration fee; clubs should take advantage of this as much as possible.
  3. Breaking Down Travel Costs in Your Request. Prior approval must be given by the Office of Student Engagement for any expenses and the clubs advisor must submit an itinerary/outline for all expenses. Reimbursement will not be given for any expenses if approval is not given prior approval to travel. Club members are welcome to spend time outside of the competition and/or conference visiting points of interest, but these expenses must be paid by each individual or must come from fundraised funds. Clubs should be prepared to show evidence of how funds were raised and how club voted to spend funds. The following are a list of expenses that you will need to have provided information for when submitting your request to travel. If you would like assistance in researching these costs please reach out to Student Engagement at clubs@cwi.edu
    1. Per Diem: Per Diem is the allowance for meals and incidental expenses. 
      1. Faculty/Staff (Adviser) Per Diem. Advisors must be provided the full per diem amount.
        1. The General Services Administration (GSA) establishes per diem rates for destinations within the lower 48 Continental United States.
          1. https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates
        2. On Travel Days will only receive 75% of the daily per diem rate
      2. Student Per Diem: Clubs may opt-out of paying per diem for students. Student per diem will be increased to the standard GSA rate for Idaho of $54.00 with first and last day of travel calculated at 75% of the GSA rate. Example of meals:
        1. $13 for breakfast 
        2. $15 for lunch
        3. $26 for dinner 
          1. Student per diem is provided in advance of travel and is the responsibility of the advisor traveling with the students.  The advisor is required to submit an approved payment request, along with supporting prior approval travel documentation, to Accounts Payable at least two weeks in advance of travel.  A check is processed to the advisor, and they disburse funds to the students accordingly.  Any monies not used are required to be returned to Accounts Payable along with the Per Diem Cash Advance Signature Sheet before the Advisor’s reimbursement is processed.
            1. No alcohol may be purchased with any college or club funds, including per diem funds, or consumed by any person engaging in student travel while traveling on behalf of the college without prior Presidential approval. 
    2. Hotel reservations are made through Student Engagement. If the competition you are attending has blocks of rooms reserved at a reduced rate, this is the hotel that should be used in your calculations. Otherwise, clubs are able to select their hotels based on their funds available.
      1. Rooms: The advisor(s) must have their own room. Students will share a room with a minimum of two to a room. Notwithstanding this rule, students will not be required to share a room with students of another gender. 
    3. Airline reservations are made in coordination with Student Engagement and the business office. When looking at airlines do not pick the cheapest ones for your estimate as those will likely not be available by the time we are able to move forward with booking. We recommend in selecting the mid-range price for flight estimates. 
    4. Reimbursement: A Payment Request Form is due from the advisor to Student Engagement for review five (5) business days after the club returns. The advisor must review and approve this form prior to submission. Student Engagement also reviews the form and accompanying receipts for accuracy and adherence to policy. The Payment Request Form will then be given to the Business Office for review and reimbursement. Checks will be mailed to you, so please make sure you have indicated your current address in the details box on the form. Reimbursement requests submitted to Business Office twenty (20) business days after returning from travel will not be accepted.
  4. Questions or Concerns: If the club officers or advisor(s) have any questions or concerns, they should speak with the Student Engagement Office.