Student Travel

1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for college sponsored domestic and international student travel.

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    Casper College students participating in sponsored travel

3.2    Casper College employees who organize or participate in sponsored travel that involves students or community members

3.3    Community members who participate in sponsored travel

3.4    Guardians of minors who participate in sponsored travel

3.5    Vice presidents, deans, or directors whose units organize or participate in sponsored travel

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college provides travel opportunities that support the educational mission of the college. Student travel is a privilege.

4.2    The college manages the risk associated with travel.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Participant. Enrolled or registered individuals who are participating in sponsored travel. Only enrolled or registered individuals may be on the sponsored travel. The travel leader’s spouse or dependents may participate in the sponsored travel if they are enrolled or registered for the sponsored travel and pay the related cost like other participants.

Participants must be 18 years old or older. The sponsor may request permission from the authorizing administrator to allow minors to participate. If the sponsored travel requires that minors be accompanied by a guardian, the travel leader cannot function as the guardian for their minor dependents.

5.2    Minor. Any person under the age of 18 years old.

5.3    Guardian. One who has the care of the person or property of another.

5.4    Registered. Status assigned to individuals signed-up for a Continuing Education class or other college programs.

5.5    Sponsored Travel. Group travel planned, organized, and supervised by a Casper College employee. The travel is fully or partially funded by the college. When the college provides group transportation, participants may travel independent of the group in specific and pre-approved circumstances. For example, students participating in a rodeo competition who need to haul their animals. Independent travel still requires a sponsor.

Sponsored travel does not apply to the following types of travel.  

5.5.1    Individual travel such as internships, clinicals, practicums, observations, or other required off-campus class assignments not funded by the college
5.5.2    Individuals traveling in non-college vehicles to an event as a spectator

Only travel leaders and enrolled or registered participants may participate in sponsored travel.

There are three sponsored travel categories.

5.5.3    Academic travel includes travel for:

5.5.3.1    Credit classes. Participants must be enrolled in the credit class.
5.5.3.2    Service learning approved by the center for service learning director. Participants must be enrolled students.
5.5.3.3    Livestock judging, forensics events, Skills USA, or other similar events. Participants must be team members.
5.5.3.4    Cultural excursions. Participants must be enrolled students.
5.5.3.5    Museum programing. Participants may be enrolled or community members.

5.5.4    Student travel includes travel for

5.5.4.1    Athletic competitions. Participants must be team members or student athlete assistants.
5.5.4.2    Leadership or professional development conferences. Participants must be registered for the event.
5.5.4.3    A recognized student organization (club) activity. Participants must be club members.

5.5.5    Community travel includes educational travel for community members. Participants must be registered.

5.6    Sponsor. A college employee who organizes sponsored travel, ensures all required paperwork is submitted on time, identifies required insurances, provides pre-travel meetings, secures appropriate funding, and reconciles the budget. The sponsor may also be a travel leader.

5.7    Travel Leader. College employees who accompany participants on sponsored travel and act as a responsible agent for the college. College employees on sponsored travel who are not enrolled or registered as a participant are travel leaders.

Travel leaders manage travel logistics and disruptions, exercise reasonable care to protect the safety and well-being of participants, communicate incidents with the authorizing administrator, and ensure Casper College policies and procedures are followed. Travel leaders are campus security authorities (CSAs) during the travel. Travel leaders must remain at the travel location from arrival to departure of the participants. All sponsored travel must have at least one travel leader unless the participant has been approved to travel independently. The authorizing administrator in consultation with the sponsor must approve all travel leaders.

5.8    Authorizing Administrator. A college vice-president or the executive dean for continuing education who approves or denies travel plans and budgetary funding.

5.9    Executive Council. This council consists of the president; vice presidents of academic affairs, student services and administrative services; director of information technology; executive dean of continuing education; and director of public relations.

5.10    Campus Security Authority (CSA). Under the Clery Act, a CSA is required to report offenses listed within the act.

5.11    Enrolled. Status assigned to individuals taking Casper College credit classes.

5.12    Day Travel. Travel that leaves and returns within 24 hours and no overnight accommodations were secured.

5.13    U.S. Department of State (USDOS) Travel Advisories. USDOS issues four levels of travel advisories: 1) exercise normal precautions, 2) exercise increased caution, 3) reconsider travel, and 4) do not travel. Travel to locations with a “do not travel” advisory is not allowed.

Sponsors must provide advisory levels for all locations where participants will spend any time outside of a security zone such as an airport on the Student Travel Authorization Request form. Sponsors are also responsible for monitoring advisory levels and submitting a final advisory status with the Student Travel Packet.

Travel leaders must register for the USDOS Smart Travelers Enrollment Program (STEP) prior to departing on sponsored travel to foreign countries. The college recommends participants also register for STEP.

5.14    Day Travel Authorization Request. Sponsors use this form to request permission for off-campus day travel. The form includes pertinent information about the sponsored travel such as dates, locations, transportation modes, and participant and travel leader names. The sponsor must submit the form and receive written approval from the appropriate authorizing administrator prior to committing any college funds.

5.15    Student Travel Authorization Request. Sponsors use this form to request permission to plan and organize sponsored travel that does not qualify as day travel. The form includes pertinent information about the sponsored travel such as dates, locations, mode of transportation, anticipated number of participants, number of travel leaders, USDOS travel advisory level, a preliminary budget and funding sources, and refund policy. The sponsor must submit the form and receive written approval from the appropriate authorizing administrator prior to committing any college funds.

5.16    Student Travel Packet. The sponsor compiles pertinent information about the travel and participants including logistics, list of participants, signed Release and Indemnification Agreements and Authorization for Emergency Medical Treatment forms, copies of passports if traveling to a foreign country, proof of medical and evacuation insurance for travel outside of the contiguous U.S., other travel insurance information, travel leader names and contact information, current USDOS travel advisory levels, and other required information. The sponsor must submit this packet to the authorizing administrator at least five business days prior to the start of the sponsored travel. For reoccurring travel or sporadic travel that occurs throughout a semester, sponsors may submit a packet at the beginning of the semester and update the materials as needed.

5.17    Travel Insurance. Insurance designed to minimize the financial risk of traveling. Travel insurance may cover trip cancellation and interruption, medical, evacuation, baggage, and flights. Sponsors must require participants purchase the medical and evacuation insurance selected by the college for travel outside of the contiguous U.S. The sponsor may also require other types of travel insurance.

5.18    Allowable Travel Expenses. Travel expenses eligible for reimbursement or payment under specific criteria. See the college’s Travel policy for allowable travel expenses.

5.19    Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) Per Diem. An allowance to compensate for meals (including taxes and tips) and incidentals (fees and tips given to hotel staff, baggage carriers, and porters) that travelers incur while on student travel. Meals (excluding continental breakfasts, receptions, and snacks) provided gratis during an event already paid for by the college (a conference/workshop/training, airline travel, etc.) must be deducted from the per diem. Sponsors may pre-approve exceptions to the gratis rule for dietary or religious reasons.

Travel leaders may use P-cards for M&IE purchases for student travel or they may provide students with a per diem. If travel leaders pay for group meals with a P-card, the travel leaders may also use the P-card to pay for their meals at the participant’s per diem rate.

Itemized receipts are required when using a p-card. The receipt must indicate the number of students and employees who ate. Each student must sign verifying any per diem they received.

M&IE purchases may not exceed the per day maximum GSA rate, per student no matter the payment method. Go to www.gsa.gov for the GSA M&IE per diem rates for domestic travel. Go to the U.S. Department of State website at https://www.state.gov/ for international per diem rates.

Meals are eligible for per diem or reimbursement base on the following travel time schedule.

Travel begins before 6:00 a.m.    Breakfast reimbursed
Traveling between noon and 1:00 p.m.    Lunch reimbursed
Travel ends after 7:00 p.m.    Dinner reimbursed

Travel time begins upon departure of the group from the Casper area and ends upon arrival back to the Casper area.  

Travel time that involves flying out of the Casper airport begins two hour before the flight departs and one hour after the flight arrives at the final destination.

5.20    Travel Advances. Employees may obtain a cash advance from the college to pay for official travel costs that cannot reasonably be charged to a P-card or for employees who have not been assigned a P-card. Cash advance requests must correspond to actual anticipated expenses. Cash advances of less than $100 are not allowed. The college is not responsible for loss or theft of a cash advance.

5.21    Travel Expense Report. Travelers use this form to submit travel expenses for reimbursement. The form is available on the Casper College forms website.

5.22    Lodging. Home stays are permissible if the owner of the residence lives in the home at the time of the stay, there is a defined curricular reason for the home stay, and the authorizing authority approves the home stay in writing prior to the travel beginning. Staying in private rental facilities such as vacation rentals by owner is not allowed. The college will not pay for excess charges such as room service or movie rental.

5.23    Transportation. College vehicles, vehicles rented by the college, and commercial or public carriers are permissible forms of transportation. Only participants, travel leaders, and approved travel guides are allowed to travel in college vehicles or vehicles rented by the college.

Participants may be allowed to drive a college vehicle or vehicle rented by the college if they are pre-approved as an acceptable driver through Human Resources (HR), are 21 years old or older, and, in the case of a rented vehicle, eligible to drive under the conditions of the rental agreement.

Travel leaders may drive their personal vehicles and transport participants if they are pre-approved as an acceptable driver through HR and provide proof of auto liability insurance with at least the minimum limits required by the state where the vehicle is registered. The insurance may not include commercial, work, or work related use prohibitions or restrictions. Participants may drive their personal vehicles or ride in the vehicle of another participant if they receive prior written approval to travel independently from the authorizing administrator and sign a Waiver of Liability form. Driving personal vehicles is prohibited in all other cases.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    The vice president for academic affairs is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy and approving or denying academic travel.

6.2    The vice president for student services is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy and approving or denying student travel.

6.3    The executive dean for continuing education is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy and approving or denying community travel.

6.4    Sponsors are responsible for organizing travel logistics and securing funding.

6.5    Travel leaders are responsible for the safety and well-being of participants.

6.6    Participants are responsible for abiding by college policies, travel rules outlined in the signed travel documents, and directives of the travel leader.

7.0    Procedures

Sponsored Day Travel

7.1    Sponsors submit Day Travel Request forms to their direct supervisor for approval at least five days prior to the start of the travel. The form is routed up through the chain of command to the appropriate authorizing administrator based on the sponsored travel category. Sponsors may not commit college resources until they receive written approval from the authorizing administrator.

7.2    If the authorizing administrator approves the day travel, the sponsor may plan and organize the travel. The sponsor must report to the authorizing administrator any changes to the proposed travel such as fewer participants than planned, lack of funding, travel advisory changes, or an increase in risk. The authorizing administrator may cancel travel if there are too few participants to justify the travel, insufficient funds, or the authorizing administrator determines that the travel exceeds acceptable risk levels.

7.3    The sponsor provides participants with the required forms to complete by a specific deadline. Participants who fail to submit paperwork or payment by the deadline will not be allowed to participate in the sponsored day travel and may suffer a financial penalty based on the refund policy.

7.4    Participants abide by college policies, travel rules outlined in the signed travel documents, and directives of the travel leader. Participants who violate policies, rules, or directives may be banned from participating in future sponsored travel.

7.5    Requesting a Travel Advance. Employees who would like a travel advance submit a requisition signed by the employee’s supervisor to Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) no more than 30 days before departure. AFM will review the request and provide the requesting employee with a check for approved expenses 7 days prior to travel.

7.6    Upon completion of the travel, the sponsor and the travel leader will complete a Travel Expense report to reconcile any advancements and request reimbursement for acceptable expenses to include documentation for meals and per diem provided, a CSA report if any eligible offenses occurred at qualifying locations while on the travel, and any other required documentation.

All Sponsored Travel that is Not Day Travel

7.7    Sponsors submit Student Travel Authorization Request forms to their direct supervisor for approval based on the sponsored travel category they are requesting. The form is routed up through the chain of command to the appropriate authorizing administrator based on the sponsored travel category. Sponsors may not commit college resources until they receive written approval from the authorizing administrator.

7.8    If the authorizing administrator approves the travel, the sponsor may plan and organize the travel. The sponsor must report to the authorizing administrator any changes to the proposed travel such as fewer participants than planned, lack of funding, travel advisory changes, or an increase in risk. The authorizing administrator may cancel travel if there are too few participants to justify the travel, insufficient funds, or the authorizing administrator determines that the travel exceeds acceptable risk levels. Executive Council must approve any travel to a location with a USDOS reconsider travel advisory.

7.9    The sponsor will provide participants with at least one pre-travel meeting that covers information pertinent to the travel such as the travel itinerary, lodging and transportation, insurance, passports and travel documents, currency, travel fees, refund policy, payment deadlines, cultural norms, behavioral expectations, and potential health or safety risks.

7.10    The sponsor provides participants with the required forms to complete by a specific deadline. Participants who fail to submit paperwork or payment by the deadline will not be allowed to participate in the sponsored travel and may suffer a financial penalty based on the refund policy.

7.11    Requesting a Travel Advance. Employees who would like a travel advance submit a requisition signed by the employee’s supervisor to AFM no more than 30 days before departure. AFM will review the request and provide the requesting employee with a check for approved expenses 7 days prior to travel.

7.12    Participants abide by college policies, travel rules outlined in the signed travel documents, and directives of the travel leader. Participants who violate policies, rules, or directives may be expelled from the travel group at the discretion of the travel leader. Expelled participants will be solely responsible for any financial loss or cost incurred because of the expulsion including returning early from the sponsored travel. Expelled participants who do not follow the travel leader’s directives after expulsion cease to be members of the travel group and are no longer the responsibility of Casper College.

7.13    Upon completion of the travel, the sponsor and the travel leader will complete and submit a Travel Expense report to reconcile any advances and request reimbursement for acceptable expenses to include documentation for meals and per diem provided, a CSA report if any eligible offenses occurred at qualifying locations while on the travel, and any other required documentation.