Candidate Reimbursement
 Employee Guide

 
Making travel arrangements for interview candidates can be challenging.  The following tips and suggestions will hopefully help to shed some light on the topic.  Please be sure to check the web for UW-System regulations governing applicant interview expenses. There's a handout on Stout's homepage designed for distribution to candidates that might prove useful.  This will enable them to be aware of what they will need to provide to receive reimbursement for expenses, what type of expenses are reimbursable and what is their responsibility.

 
With budgets tight Madison has suggested and we strongly concur that it would be highly beneficial for departments to allow adequate lead-time in scheduling interviews to take advantage of the discounted airfares available when booking earlier.

 

Topic Headings
bullet General Information
bullet Personal Vehicle Mileage
bullet Rental Car
bullet Lodging
bullet Airfare
bullet Miscellaneous Information
bullet Processing Candidates Expenses
bullet Candidate Meals paid byStaff 
bullet Staff forms needed in interview process
General info
bullet Procurement cards cannot be used for any travel costs.  This includes hotel, airline tickets, etc.
bullet Expenses for interviewees are limited to one day before and one day after actual interview
bullet No expenses to tour the area are reimbursable.  This includes lodging, mileage, meals, etc.  These are the responsibility of the interviewee.
bullet Candidates are governed by the same rules and maximum limits as employees for transportation, lodging, meals, tips and miscellaneous expenses.  Please refer to UW System's Travel Regulations.
bullet Employees may be reimbursed mileage only for transporting candidate to/from airport, to a meal that is part of the actual agenda or hotel.  Mileage for touring community is not reimbursable nor is mileage for a meal not within the 15 mile radius of town.

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Personal Vehicle Reimbursement

When driving to the interview a candidates receive the current higher mileage rate.

 
Rental Car Prior to allowing a candidate to rent a car for transportation from the airport the department needs to consider less costly means of transportation. 
bullet The Airport Passenger Service offer nine routes daily and would most probably cost considerably less than a car rental
bullet An employee may provide transportation and be reimbursed on a TER
bullet Renting a car so the candidate can tour the area must not be allowed
bullet If candidate wishes to rent a car for their own convenience they may do so and be reimbursed the cost of a round trip on the Airport Passenger Service
bullet When applicant submits expenses department may be contacted to justify car rental expense

If the department determines a rental car is necessary they may either make rental car reservations for candidate or have the candidate do so.  Our contract with National Car Rental offers a special  Big 10  guest and visitor pricing  (contract # 5766241 that may be used.  Since the contract rate of $38/day inclusive of LDW/CDW insurance is so good we encourage departments to utilize this contract.

Department must clarify:

bullet Reimbursement will be limited to the Big 10 Contract pricing for a mid-sized vehicle
bullet Insurance other than the included LDW/CDW is not reimbursable
bullet If they choose to have the rental car vendor refuel the car the fuel charge is NOT reimbursable.  If candidate fills car the charge is reimbursable with an itemized receipt
bullet Department must send a letter to the candidate indicating the dates of the upcoming interview and authorizing them to use the Big 10 contract for that time period.  Candidate then can present that to National when picking up the car

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Lodging
Lodging for candidate must be at one of our contract hotels  and must be within the current State rate for single occupancy.   The preferred method is to have the candidate pay for the lodging.   The candidate may still be assured State rate if the department  make the reservation.  Taxes will be charged but are reimbursable.

If the department is vehement about directly paying for lodging then it must be paid using a US Bank Visa card.  Direct billing is no longer allowable.

bullet Effective October 17, 2005 the State purchasing card (Pro-Travel card) must be used for payment of lodging costs.  Because of significant administrative costs associated with use of the purchasing card, institutions may strongly encourage their employees to use the U.S. Bank travel card for payment of travel. When using the purchasing card, only the room cost and any applicable taxes may be charged. Charges for room service, meals, telephone calls, movies, etc. must not be charged to the purchasing card. Adequate controls must be in place to prevent charges for no-shows, personal items and duplicate claims. Reference Appendix I for a listing of states and the requirements for avoiding the tax.
bullet If they so choose, an employee has the option of utilizing the state-provided personal liability U.S. Bank travel card instead of the Pro-Travel card.  Employee should be aware however that if candidate charges non-reimbursable expenses to the card the employee will bear the burden of the expense (i.e. - a $25 dollar phone call will be reimbursed at $5).  Use of personal US Bank travel cards for paying candidates' lodging should be discourage.

 

Number of reasonable nights of lodging would be the night before and after the interview process.

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Airfare
As indicated above, allowing the candidate a minimum of two weeks notice for booking a flight can save greatly on budget dollars.  As an example, a flight to Ft. Myer's, FL booked two weeks in advance is $284; the same flight booked with less than two weeks is $476. That $200 savings could cover just about all other travel expenses involved in the interview expense.

Regulations to keep in mind when speaking to the candidate about booking their flight follow:

bullet As with employees, airfare for candidates must comply with  the lowest fare available as indicated in the regulations as well as Stout Airfare Guidelines
bullet May require layovers or changing planes
bullet Two comparisons with roundtrip itineraries need to be provided along with the flight that is selected.  Comparisons must also comply with guidelines regarding allowing for layovers and not showing preference to a certain airlines
bullet Business or first class fares are not reimbursable
bullet If a savings can be shown by adding additional days to the trip, e.g., staying over a Saturday or flying on a particular day, reasonable expenses for lodging and meals for the minimum necessary additional days may be claimed if
bullet the total cost of the reduced fare plus the additional days' expenses are less than the lowest available airfare would have been without the additional days of travel
bullet To be reimbursed written documentation must be provided.  Simply stating "$50 was saved by staying additional days" will not be accepted as documentation
bullet UW-System regulation regarding use of privately owned vehicle also applies to candidates that are traveling a long distance for the interview.  The regulations states reimbursement for the use of a person car shall not exceed the lowest cost of the most practical means of public transportation (railroad, bus or commercial airplane). A cost comparison between driving and the most practical means of public transportation (usually the lowest logical airfare plus estimated ground transportation costs) should be provided.
bullet Remind candidate of documentation required for airfare reimbursement.  This can be found in the handout for candidate guide
bullet It is important that they include the airfare itinerary to show flight times and layovers

While not forbidden, the University prepaying airfare is definitely discouraged.  Reasoning behind this is if the trip is cancelled, only the ticket-holder (candidate) may receive credit for the unused ticket.  The University could request reimbursement from the applicant however the applicant would be under no obligation to comply.  We therefore strongly recommend air transportation for candidates should be arranged by and paid for by the candidate.  This is much less time consuming for the departments, and eliminates the university's risk of paying for tickets that may not be used. 

If department insists, the airfare can be billed to one of the US Bank cards however, as stated above in the lodging section, the department or personal card holder could end up liable for charges that are no reimbursable.  Remember, airfares whether arranged by the candidate or the University, should comply with UW-System regulations.

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Miscellaneous Expenses
Interviewees are governed by the same regulations as employees when it comes to expenses such as phone calls, tipping, etc.  Please review the travel regulations for allowable expenses, monetary limits and receipt requirements.  Some (not all) miscellaneous expenses are addressed at the following web site. Also, be sure to check the specific sections of the regulations pertaining to expense (i.e. hotel tipping would be mentioned in Lodging).  

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Processing Candidate Expenses

Campus policy is to prioritize candidate travel expense reimbursements.  To help ensure prompt reimbursement, please communicate the State travel limits to the candidates for meals, lodging and miscellaneous expenses.  We recommend providing the candidate with the handout we've developed. The candidate's Travel Expense Report (TER) should be completed as follows:

  1. Original signatures of candidate, department chair and/or dean and account administrator (faxed signatures are not acceptable)

    1. To expedite the reimbursement the department may choose to have the candidate sign a blank TER and they (the department) then enter the expenses.  This is acceptable however we still need something showing the candidate is aware of what the reimbursement will be and is authorizing that amount.  Therefore they must:

      1. Email or fax a letter stating something like "I'm in agreement that my reimbursement for interview expenses are "$00.00"   OR...

      2. Department can fax them a copy of the completed form, they may sign it and fax it back.  Department then uses that as the original and attach the blank one containing the original signature.  Indicate on the fax copy that the original signature of the applicant is attached.

  2. Social security number and current mailing address

  3. Original receipts

  4. Authorization to Reimburse Applicant Form  

  5. Agenda of interview process showing candidates name, dates, timelines, host, and any staff members involved in interviews over mealtimes

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Staff Paperwork for Interview Expenses
bullet Expenses are submitted on a TER
bullet In lieu of the travel authorization, the staff must attach a copy of the Authorization to Reimburse Applicant form and agenda.  No travel authorization is needed
bullet Agendas must indicate staff member's name for activity
bullet Example: " 4/20/05 Jon Doe returns candidate to airport".

 

Candidate Food Paid by Staff

Occasionally the interview process will include a staff or faculty member taking the candidate out for a meal.  It's for this reason the agenda mentioned in number five above states host's name and other Stout employees' names are indicated for date and time of meal.  Remember, the agenda should detail all official events involved in the interview process. The host can be reimbursed for both meals (and for other staff members who are indicated as part of the interview and meal) by submitting a TER with the following back-up:

bullet Copy of agenda showing meal was part of official interview process (name of host and other staff involved should be indicated on agenda)
bullet Itemized receipt (must remain within the State regulations for meals).  Credit card receipts showing just the total billed are not considered itemized. 
bullet This is necessary to confirm number of meals purchased is consistent with number of people involved in the interview meal
bullet Reasonable headquarter city transportation costs (mileage) may be claimed when taking candidate out for a meal.  (Within a 15 mile radius of town)
bullet Mileage for touring the area is not reimbursable to the employee
bullet Authorization to Reimburse Applicant Form
bullet Indicate name of interviewee and other staff members in description area on TER
bullet On-campus meals with candidate can be done by submitting a copy of the Authorization to Reimburse Applicant form and the agenda to the appropriate area on campus providing the meal.  The payment will be processed as a charge back.  

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