Travel

The objective of the Travel Policy is to ensure efficiency and fiscal accountability for university business travel. The University will pay for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for authorized business travel. All travel expenses paid with university funds must comply with the University’s Expenditures [pdf], PCard [pdf], Internal Controls [pdf], Purchasing [pdf], and Human Resources policies.  Additional sponsor requirements and/or federal regulations may apply to expenditures charged to sponsored projects. Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs for clarifications. Travelers need to familiarize themselves with the travel policy prior to making travel arrangements.

Travel Policies

General Travel Information:

  • Please visit the Ohio State Travel webpage for resources like current travel guidelines, travel agency contact information, the university travel policy and other resources.

Rental Cars: 

  • Please see Rental Car Information
  • You are required to purchase LDW, CDW, DW and Liability insurance.
  • Rental car expenses that do not include the required insurance cannot be paid with university funds.

Faculty and Staff Travel

Spend Authorizations

What's a Spend Authorization? A "Travel Request" from eTravel is now a "Spend Authorization" in Workday.

A travel request should be submitted as soon as you intend to take an OSU-funded trip.  Please submit all travel requests at least six weeks in advance as many university and college travel awards require that you apply this far in advance of the trip. 

All travel requests require supporting documentation.  Please upload documentation at the time of submission. Alternate arrangements should also be made to cover any responsibilities you are unable to fulfill while you are away.  Please note these arrangements in the comment section of your travel request.

Please submit your travel request using Workday.  Please see the "Create a Spend Authorization" job aid for step-by-step directions on submitting a travel request.

Travel requests will be processed within a couple business days of submission.  Upon approval, you will receive an email notification including your travel number so that you may proceed with making your travel arrangements.

Accommodation Requests

If you need a travel accommodation, requests should be made through Ohio State's ADA Coordinator's Office.

Travel Prepayments

Ohio State requires you to use university travel partners to reserve flights and car rentals. We also have options to prepay other travel expenses; however, you no longer need to wait until you return from a trip to submit a reimbursement request ("Expense Report" in Workday). Please see the following instructions on how these expenses can be prepaid.

Airfare

To book a flight with our designated travel agency, Corporate Travel Planners (CTP), go to the OSU Travel Website, and from the "Book Online" dropdown menu, click on "Login to Concur". If you have found a lower fare outside of the Concur Booking Tool, please complete CTP's Airfare Price Matching Request and will review your request and respond within one business day. CTP also has the ability to split your transaction if you have business travel included with personal travel.

Please see the Concur Online Booking Tool: Tips and Tricks resource guide for a walkthrough of the Concur booking tool.

Car Rental

Corporate Travel Planners Concur Booking Tool can be used to reserve a car.  You may also call the numbers listed on the university's Rental Car Discounts page.

Hotel

Due to a university process update, effective October 1, 2020, hotel expenses must be reimbursed.

Registration

Please contact the Fiscal Associate at english.fiscal@osu.edu to prepay your registration.

Reimbursements/Expense Reports

According to the updated travel policy, you no longer need to wait to request reimbursement; however, "The traveler must submit an expense report with itemized receipts and other applicable supporting documentation within 60 days of the expense being paid or incurred." Please see the "Create an Expense Report" job aid in the Administrative Resource Center for step-by-step directions to request a reimbursement.

ASC Travel Comparison Form

Processing of travel reimbursements can be complicated when extending travel time for personal reasons or when choosing to drive instead of flying.  The College of Arts and Sciences Business Services Center has developed the ASC Travel Comparison Form (linked below) that will help to compare the different modes of travel and situations based on the Ohio State travel policy. All travel reimbursements submitted that include personal time in conjunction with business travel and/or mileage in place of flying require the ASC Travel Comparison Form and all supporting documentation (flight comparisons, mileage maps etc.)

Spend Authorization Training and Videos

Guest Travel

Please see the Guest Spend Authorization Job Aid for step-by-step instructions on requesting guest travel in Workday.

All guest travel should be submitted to english.fiscal@osu.edu as soon as the guest has accepted our invitation to visit campus. Please email the following details and a vendor completed and ink-signed Supplier Setup Form in order the process the travel request. Please note that guest travel requests may not be processed for up to two weeks during busier times of the year. A fillable form is also linked below, with fields for all of the guest travel information listed here.

  • Guest’s Name (as it appears on the government issued form of identification that will be shown at the airport):
  • Guest’s email address:
  • Guest's cell phone number:
  • Guest's date of birth:
  • Funding Source:
  • Business Purpose: (Name of guest) will be traveling to The Ohio State University to (description of activity).
  • Departure Date:
  • Return Date: (University policy allows for travel to begin and end one day before and after the business purpose.  If it is necessary to travel beyond these dates, please explain why.  If personal travel is involved, please provide us with an airfare comparison [pdf] based on the dates related to the business purpose.)
  • Departure City: (If not departing/returning from Columbus please explain why not)
  • Return City:
  • Total Estimated Cost: $
    • Airfare/Personal Auto Mileage/Rental: $
    • If we need to prepay airfare and lodging, with this be through Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) or the PCard?
    • Mileage = total miles * $0.575; (airfare comparison [pdf] required)
    • Rental Car Guidelines [pdf]
    • Hotel: $  (Please give a preferred hotel and a second choice so that a reservation can be made)
    • Shuttle, Taxi, etc.: $
    • Parking: $
    • Business Meal(s): $
    • Honorarium: $
    • Other: $

Graduate Student Travel Funding

The Department of English offers funded English graduate students $500 annually to utilize between July 1 and June 30 in support of conferences and meetings where the student is engaging in professional work at regional, national and international levels by presenting a paper within the United States or abroad. Please note that funding is not available for chairing and moderating panels. Travel to appropriate libraries, archives and field sites for the purposes of professional research, both in the United States and abroad, is also permitted under this program. In addition, MFA students who are traveling to a writing retreat for which there is a competitive selection process or The Journal who are traveling to the AWP to assist with the book fair can also apply for these funds. There will be no rollover of any fund balances across fiscal years.

Department of English Graduate travel award applications should be submitted as early as possible to ensure a timely processing of the application and award.  All travel requests require supporting documentation.  You can upload documentation to your application at the time of submission. Alternate arrangements should also be made to cover any responsibilities you are unable to fulfill while you are away.

Federal regulations require that all scholarships and financial resources, excluding compensation, received by a student be included as part of their financial aid package. In order to comply with federal regulations and university procedures and to simplify the process for everyone, the Department of English processes student awards through the Office of Student Financial Aid (SFA).

Upon award approval, the student will receive an email notification and the Department of English will notify SFA of the award and the associated budget.  SFA will then process the award which will post to the student’s Statement of Account in BuckeyeLink.  Account balances are refunded to students within three business days.

Please note students must setup student direct deposit in order to receive financial aid refunds electronically, otherwise a paper check will be mailed to the student’s home address listed in BuckeyeLink. Direct deposit can be setup through BuckeyeLink, which is different from employee payroll direct deposit.

[pdf] - Some links on this page are to Adobe .pdf files requiring the use of Adobe Reader. If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact english.communications@osu.edu.