Policies and Procedures

UConn Health had adopted a new Travel and Entertainment Policy. The new policy contains changes from prior practice and users should familiarize themselves with the new policy before submitting TA requests. In the upcoming days, Finance will be updating these pages to be in line with the new policy so check back frequently for additional information.

Update on Airfare Classes

The airline industry has introduced a new class of airfare called “Basic Economy”. This class is largely considered a step below regular coach airfare. With Basic Economy tickets there are restrictions:

• No changes
• Generally,  no access to overhead bins
• No assigned seats
• Ticket has no value if trip is cancelled
• These fares are applicable to both domestic and international  travel

Please note that UConn has determined that this new class of tickets, while occasionally appropriate, are not replacing normal coach as the standard airfare.  The definition of the “lowest reasonable commercial fare” continues to be the least costly, coach class fare that uses a regularly scheduled commercial carrier.

*All cost comparisons should be performed based on coach class tickets and not based on basic economy fares.

* If your trip requires assistance by using an agent at Sanditz, they will not quote “basic economy “ fares.

When using the online tool “GetThere”, Basic Economy fares will populate, but if selected as an itinerary the message below will appear and the traveler will not be able to book.  The “out of policy” logo will appear with the explanation.

The Real ID Act

On January 22, 2018, any resident of a state that is not compliant, or has not been granted an extension past January 22, 2018, will not be able to use their driver’s license or state ID card as valid identification to board a commercial aircraft in the United States.

If you live in a state that is “compliant,” you can continue to use your driver’s license or state ID Card as valid identification to board a federally regulated commercial flight.

The REAL ID Act is a set of government standards related to identification, such as driver’s licenses, that the 9/11 Commission recommended following the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, PA in 2001. Congress put forth the REAL ID Act in response to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.

The REAL ID Act set standards for driver’s licenses and state identification cards when they are used as a means to access certain locations sensitive to our national security, such as military bases, government facilities, nuclear power plants, and commercial aircraft.

Simply put, if you live in a state that has already issued driver’s licenses and state ID cards that are compliant with the REAL ID Act, then you can continue to use your driver’s license or state ID card to board a commercial flight in the United States.

States that are currently “compliant” include:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Prior Authorization

Prior authorization to the traveler from the dean, director, or department head is required for all travel. Travel Authorization Form is used for this purpose and is signed by the traveler as well as the traveler’s direct supervisor/department head. If trip is grant funded, approved grant signatures must be on the Travel Authorization (TA) before arriving to the Travel Office. All TA’s must have the appropriate business unit approver’s signature (see below) to be valid.

If a trip is no cost to the state, a TA with FOAPAL is required, and the traveler and supervisor/department head signatures are required. The TA is filed in department and a copy sent to Travel Office.

Approved TA’s must be submitted to the Travel Office if:

• Airfare, registration, or hotel is directly billed to UConn Health.
• It is a No Cost TA or a TA that is at least partially paid by a third party.
• A Travel Advance or Parking Pass to Bradley International  Airport is requested.

Remember that only APPROVED TA’s can be given out to travel agencies or online search engines to purchase airfare. If TA goes into default for denial of trip and trip was prematurely booked, the defaulting department will be charged for the airfare they committed to.

The Travel Authorization Form must be submitted to the Travel Office at least five days prior to the date of departure for:

• All travel utilizing Sanditz and the UConn Health credit card
• All travel which includes any third party funding. Note that the TA must clearly describe both the funding source and amount expected to be contributed
• All trips for which a travel advance is requested.
• All trips for which a parking pass is requested.

Note: The duration of business related travel should be kept to the minimum time necessary to conduct “official business” and allow reasonable travel connections.

Approvers

In order to ensure that travel expenses are limited to only necessary trips, the following must be followed for all travel:

1. Travel is not allowed on general funded accounts.
2. All travel is to be pre-approved through completion of TA documents before travelers depart.
3. All UConn Health employees who travel must complete a TA.
4. A complete and detailed justification must be included in the Business Purpose section of the TA.
5. TA’s should be routed to immediate supervisors and then to authorized business unit approvers (detailed below):
6. Personal time, requested vacation time, and any amounts expected to be funded by third parties must be properly noted on the TA before all approvers sign off.

Unit	Approver	Alternate Approver
School of Medicine	Donna McKenty	Paige Dunion Melissa Demetro
Residency – Medicine	Melissa Demetro	Donna McKenty
School of Dental Medicine	John Brigada	Donna McKenty
UConn John Dempsey Hospital	Bruce Liang Caryl Ryan Andrea Keilty	Jeff Geoghegan
UConn Medical Group	Anne Horbatuck Denis Lafreniere, M.D.	Jeff Geoghegan Andrea Keilty
Institutional Support/CAS	Andrea Keilty Janel Simpson	Jeff Geoghegan
OVPR – Research Administration	Julie Schwager	Jeff Geoghegan
Human Resources		Jeff Geoghegan Andrea Keilty
Office of the General Counsel	Jeffrey Blumenthal	Andrea Keilty

Contracted Travel Agency

The Sanditz Travel Agency is for employee and guest travel only. Residents and non-employees are able to book with Sanditz Travel using their own credit cards. Student travel is allowed and must be handled by setting up the student as a Guest in the profile.

Note: When booking airline tickets with our travel agent it is important to indicate that you are from the UConn Health, Farmington campus. This will reduce errors.