Travel Policy and Procedures

Learn about UC San Diego's Travel Policy and Procedures

Be Informed

It is the policy of the University of California San Diego to reimburse a traveler for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred during business travel. 

Follow these guidelines and expectations:

• The traveler will incur and report actual travel expenses in a responsible and ethical manner.
• Travel expenses must be economical and reasonable for the business trip.
• The traveler will make choices that demonstrate good stewardship of university resources. Spending decisions will not be extravagant or lavish.
• Transportation expenses will generally be reimbursed based on the most economical and commonly used mode of conveyance taking the most direct route, unless otherwise justified.
• Only request for reimbursement if you have not already been reimbursed by another party.
• The traveler is expected to follow the university's Travel Process which encompasses travel pre-authorization, booking through the official Travel Booking platform and post-trip reconciliation process.

Before traveling and reporting expenses, review the below documents to stay informed:

• Travel Policy Highlights document (an abbreviated version of the detailed UC G-28 Travel Policy)
• Travel Expense Report Checklist for top policy and procedural requirements

The Importance of Providing a Clear & Detailed Business Purpose

A key component of a successful Travel & Entertainment expense report is a strong and valid Business Purpose. When providing the supporting documentation, it is important to present how attending the business trip or hosting the event is beneficial to the University and aligns with the major functions of teaching, research, patient care or public service, or to any other substantial and bona fide University activity. The more detailed and compelling the justification in the initial submission, the less likely that the report would be returned for additional information.

In order to adequately determine the business purpose of the trip, UC Travel policy requires that travelers must provide documentation that justifies each day on travel status. Examples of adequate documentation include:

• When meetings are held with individuals, documentation that specifies meeting dates, times, locations, general meeting topics, attendees and organizational affiliation;
• Agendas, brochures, or event announcements for conferences and professional events;
• When the meeting is confidential in nature, travelers should provide as much information as possible to justify the business purpose; and
• Complex travel itineraries, such as a research project that involved extended travel with multiple destinations, should include documentation such as a brief narrative, as to why the traveler needed to go to each location.

Below are examples of clear documentation that travelers and departments have included in their actual expense reports. These concise yet compelling narratives help departments comply with policy and move the reconciliation and approval process along efficiently. 

• Attended the [Insert Name of Conference, avoid acronyms] Conference to present our research findings and collaborate with other investigators in the field of [Research field].

  • NOTE: When attending a formal conference, an agenda must be attached to the expense report to support the business purpose.  

• Trip to assist colleagues in training preparation and observe provider training for research purposes in the field of [list scientific field here].

• The traveler flew from Chicago since they were there for personal time (comparable airfare attached). They then flew to Paris to meet with a potential donor and flew to Berlin to present at the [Insert Name of Conference, avoid acronyms] Conference before returning to San Diego.

• Travel from San Diego to Orlando Florida for [Insert Name of Conference, avoid acronyms] Conference to bring professionals together from across the country to share ideas and create connections.

• Invited to the [Insert Name of Conference, avoid acronyms] Conference as the keynote speaker in City A. We then learned of an unexpected opportunity to meet with a potential donor in City B thus needed to purchase last minute airfare which was slightly higher in cost due to the lack of advanced notice.

• Traveled to New York for donor cultivation to meet with Mr. and Mrs. ABC for substantial campaign funding for art at UC San Diego. Redacted medical note included for airfare.