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Travel Guidelines

April 8, 2011

Support for travel to disseminate faculty and student scholarship, enhance the professional development of our faculty and staff, and expand the global reach of curricular offerings and student learning is important to the mission of CSULB.

Unfortunately, due to budget reductions from the state of California, CSULB must continue to limit support for travel. Academic Affairs travel guidelines apply to all faculty and staff in the academic division and to all travel in any way sponsored by the division.

Guidelines for travel authorization and funding approval are below.


Professional Conferences and Meetings

  • Faculty or staff traveling to professional conferences and meetings must provide a significant presentation or play a significant leadership role.
  • International travel must involve an exceptionally high-profile presentation or award at an important international meeting or its equivalent. A description of the presentation or leadership role and the significance of professional meeting must be provided, unless the dean determines this unnecessary.
  • Individuals traveling without requesting reimbursement may not have to meet presentation guidelines, if approved by the dean.
  • Deans are responsible for ensuring that student needs will be appropriately handled during the absence of instructors.
  • University support is limited to no more than $2,000 per traveler, per trip (except for direct expenses from grant/contract 07 accounts; see below).

Student Travel

  • Students traveling must be participating in an approved university related educational experience.
  • Deans are responsible for ensuring that the safety and welfare of student travelers has been carefully considered and planned. Student travel to destinations with a current U.S. State Department travel warning or alert (see Travel.State.Gov) will not normally be approved.
  • Student travel will normally be supported from Instructionally Related Activities, participant fees through CCPE faculty-led study abroad trips and courses, or other non-General Fund sources. Travel may be supported in an amount and manner consistent with the award or project.


External grants or contracts

  • Faculty travel supported by external grants or contracts (07 funds) must be consistent with requirements of external funding agencies.
  • Faculty travel may include professional conferences, if consistent with requirements of external funding agencies.
  • Deans are responsible for ensuring that student needs will be appropriately handled during the absence of instructors.

College of Continuing and Professional Education

  • Staff travel funded through self-support resources must serve an essential purpose and may be funded in the amount and manner consistent with the purpose of the travel.


Additional Considerations for International Travel

  • Under a new directive from the Office of the Chancellor, all employees who travel internationally on CSU business are required to use the Foreign Travel Insurance Program via the California State University Risk Management Authority.
  • Two forms must be submitted with the travel authorization (“Questions required by Alliant Insurance Services for international travel” and “Foreign Travel Participant List”); these will be available from college Administrative Services Managers.
  • When travel is approved, Academic Affairs will notify the campus Risk Manager who will activate international travel insurance.
  • Travel to international destinations with a current U.S. State Department travel warning or alert (see Travel.State.Gov) is strongly discouraged.


Due Dates

  • All travel on university business must be authorized in advance.
  • Domestic travel requests that require authorization from the Provost’s office must be received in that office no later than 10 days prior to the travel event.
  • International travel requests must be received no later than 30 days prior to the travel event.
  • Colleges may set additional due dates.


Authorization and Amounts

  • Deans must authorize all faculty and staff travel in respective colleges.
  • Deans are responsible for ensuring that adequate resources are available to support the travel.
  • Deans may provide final authorization for U.S. travel involving less than $1,000 per traveler, per trip from any funding source.
  • The Provost’s office must review and authorize all travel involving $1,000 or more per traveler, per trip and all international travel.
  • The President’s office must also review and authorize international travel if (a) funding is from the state General Fund and/or (b) travel is to a destination with a current U.S. State Department travel warning or travel alert (see Travel.State.Gov).


Deans and administrative services managers are responsible for ensuring that faculty and staff members are familiar with these guidelines. Travel requests not clearly meeting these guidelines will be reviewed on a case by case basis in the Provost’s office. We will observe these procedures until a change is announced.