Student Travel Reimbursement Policy

Name: Student Travel Reimbursement Policy
Responsible Office: Center for Career Services and Education

Applies to: (examples; Faculty,Staff, Students, etc)

Students

Policy Overview:

Issued: 07-01-2015
Next Review Date: 07-08-2021
Frequency of Reviews: Every 5 years or as needed

This policy provides general information and guidelines regarding student travel related to educational and/or professional development, what qualifies for reimbursement from the College and how to apply, and the process by which reimbursement is adjudicated and paid.

Applies to all students enrolled at STLCOP—both undergraduate and professional programs.

Definitions:

The Office of Career Services and Education	This office consists of the AVP for Career Services and Education who reports to the VP for Career Services and oversees student travel reimbursement.
Educational and Professional Development Fund	A fund that is generated from a specific charge to all students currently enrolled at St. Louis College of Pharmacy called the Educational and Professional Development Fee (formerly known as the Professional Student Activity Fee). This fund is managed by the Center for Career Services with final oversight provided by the VP.

Details:

I. Introduction

Students are encouraged to participate in academic and/or professional development activities. To promote student participation and make the travel reimbursement process clear, funds for student travel to national, regional, and/or local meetings and/or conferences will be awarded using the procedures outlined in this policy. International travel is subject to the College’s International Travel Policy. The College’s International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC) makes policy recommendations on and is the final approval body for all international travel involving students.

II. Oversight

The Center for Career Services, consisting of the AVP for Career Services and Education, will oversee the allocation and management of the Educational and Professional Development Fund for undergraduate and professional program student travel, respectively. The AVP will work collaboratively to establish an Advisory Committee consisting of faculty advisors for various student organizations with the committee advising the AVP on anticipated budget needs for the ensuing fiscal year. The AVP reports to the VP for Career Services. Ultimately, the VP for Career Services has final oversight of the Educational and Professional Development Fund.

III. Travel Reimbursement Funding Source & Allocation

Funds are generated from a specific charge to all students currently enrolled at St. Louis College of Pharmacy called the Educational and Professional Development Fee (formerly known as the Professional Student Activity Fee). This fee shall be set by the College’s President and Board of Trustees. The monies from this student fee are placed into dedicated roll-over accounts known as the Educational and Professional Development Fund (Undergraduate Program) and the Educational and Professional Development Fund (Professional Program) for distribution to students attending meetings/conferences for the purpose of academic and/or professional development.

Annual student Educational and Professional Development Fee funds will be distributed to the undergraduate program and professional program as follows:

a. Educational and Professional Development Fund (Undergraduate Program) will be funded by students enrolled in the pre-professional program (freshmen – juniors and seniors not enrolled in the professional program).

b. Educational and Professional Development Fund (Professional Program) will be funded by students enrolled in the professional program (P1 – P4).

Monies in these funds will roll-over annually. The funds will be evaluated at the end of each academic year. If an excessive amount of roll-over monies have accumulated or if a shortage of funds exists, recommendations will be made to the President and Board of Trustees to adjust the Educational and Professional Development Fee for subsequent years.

IV. Student Eligibility to Apply for Reimbursement

Students must be in good academic, non-academic, and professional standing to be considered for reimbursement. Students who are in good academic, non-academic, and professional standing, but considered “at-risk” academically ( i.e. < C- in one or more courses in which the student is currently enrolled) may be approved for travel funds, but their absence from classes in order to travel may not be approved by the Dean’s Office. In these instances, students will need to weigh the importance of travel against their academic responsibilities. Additionally, students who have exhibited poor academic performance (i.e. received lower than a C) on an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) may be denied eligibility for reimbursement.

Students must also be in good financial standing with the College at the time immediately prior to receiving reimbursement.

V. Development Activities Qualified for Reimbursement

Students may be qualified to receive reimbursement for attendance and participation in:

a. meetings/conferences related to leadership or educational development that are aimed at enrichment of a student’s degree program, including College-recognized social fraternity meetings.

b. professional pharmacy organization meetings/conferences including College-recognized professional pharmacy fraternity meetings.

All meetings/conferences will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the AVP for Career Services and Education.

VI. Criteria for Awarding Reimbursement

The following criteria must be met by a student in order to receive reimbursement. The student must:

a.   submit a completed Application for Travel Reimbursement (Appendix A) to the Office of Student Services at least 30 days in advance of the anticipated travel date.

b.   complete a Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form (Appendix B) and all pre-meeting/conference preparation as prescribed by the student organization involved, the faculty mentor/sponsor, and/or the Office of Student Services.

c.   fulfill all obligations of attendance and participation at the meeting/conference as prescribed by the student organization involved, the faculty mentor/sponsor, and/or the Office of Student Services.

d.   be a positive representative of the College and follow the College’s Student Code at all times while attending and participating in the meeting/conference.

e.   complete a Travel Expense Form (Appendix C), attach all travel-related itemized receipts, and submit to the Office of Student Services within 10 business days after returning from the meeting/conference. Failure to provide accurate documentation may delay your reimbursement. If you are missing or have inaccurate documentation, we will request that via email. If new or updated documentation is not submitted within 45 days post travel, your reimbursement will be forfeited.

f.   submit documentation of all funding from sources outside of the Office of Career Services and Education.

Note:

• For international travel, please follow the College’s International Travel Policy and consult with the Office of International Programs for criteria that must be met to travel abroad.

VII. Reimbursement Amounts Allowed

The amount of reimbursement available to students will take into consideration the amount of money available and the estimated level of attendance at meetings/conferences from the previous years. The Student Travel Policy is somewhat more restrictive that the Travel Expense Policy managed by the Business Office, the goal of this policy is to maximize reimbursement to as many students as possible in a fair and fiscally-responsible manner.

Students may be reimbursed for travel for up to two (2) meetings per year*. Meetings that fall into Tier A will not be included in this in this limit, however students will have a total annual reimbursement limit of $2500 per student for any combination of meetings including those that fall into Tier A.

Generally, reimbursement includes cost for advanced meeting/conference registration (i.e., early-bird and student member registration rates, if applicable) and for reasonable travel-related expenses (e.g., hotel, coach class airfare, mileage or fuel costs, taxi or shuttle to and from airport)

Examples of Items not eligible for reimbursement include, but are limited to:
•   Food and beverage (including alcohol)
•   Entertainment activities
•   Airport parking
•   Luggage fees
•   Memorabilia
•   Taxi rides other than to and from airport

If the College provides transportation to a meeting/conference (e.g., the College charters a bus), students will not be able to receive reimbursement for alternate travel accommodations unless prior approval is received from the Office of Career Services. Typically the travel tier amount will be reduced by at least half.

The tiers for reimbursement are listed in the table below:

Tiers for Reimbursement

Tier	Who Qualifies	Suggested Reimbursement Levels*
A	· Participants who represent the College in student competitions held at a meeting or conference (e.g., APhA-ASP Patient Counseling competition, ASHP Clinical Skills competition, ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge) · One elected student leader participating in the APhA-ASP Summer Leadership Institute (SLI)	Full reimbursement for advanced meeting/conference registration and approved travel expenses (see Policy Section VII)
B	· Current elected officers (registered in the Office of Student Services) of the specific organization for the given meeting · Meeting delegate (if applicable) · Students serving on a regional or national committee requiring attendance at the meeting/conference · Students presenting research or giving invited presentations	Full reimbursement for advanced meeting/conference registration plus up to $300 (depending on available funds) for approved travel expenses (see Policy Section VII)
C	· Committee Chairs/appointed positions Chairs for that specific organization · Students that are running for a regional or national office (and complete the election process)	Full reimbursement for advanced meeting/conference registration plus up to $200 (depending on available funds) for approved travel expenses (see Policy Section VII)
D	· All other students (non-Greek related travel) · President or President Elect of a Greek Organization (Greek related travel)	Full reimbursement for advanced meeting/conference registration plus up to $100 (depending on available funds) for approved travel expenses (see Policy Section VII)
G	· Students traveling for Greek purposes	Full reimbursement for advanced meeting/conference registration

*If the College provides transportation, your tier level will typically be reduced by half.

VIII. Misuse or Abuse of the Student Travel Reimbursement Policy
Misuse or abuse of this policy will result in forfeiture of funding and possible ineligibility of future funding. Depending on the severity of the infraction, the incident may be submitted to the conduct and/or professionalism board. (e.g., falsification of documentation, misrepresentation of your actual expenses, student misconduct).

Procedures:

How to Apply for and Receive Travel Reimbursement

STEP 1:

The student completes and submits an Application for Travel Reimbursement at least 30 days in advance of the anticipated travel date.

An online, fillable application form can be found on the Office of Student Services’ MySTLCOP portal—go to that MySTLCOP portal to complete and submit an application. A hard copy application form is provided in Appendix A of this policy document to show the specific information needed to complete the online application form.

The Office of Career Services will review the application, including verification of student eligibility. Student applicants who have been approved to receive travel reimbursement will be notified via email about the terms of the reimbursement and will receive a Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form.

STEP 2:

The student completes and signs a Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form within 10 business days of receipt from the Office of Career Services.

The Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form details requirements for meeting preparation and participation along with necessary travel information such as insurance, emergency contact, authorization to seek medical care, and expected standards of conduct during travel (see Appendix B).

Students who do not submit their Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form within 10 business days will forfeit their travel reimbursement award.

STEP 3:

The student attends the meeting/conference and complies fully with the terms articulated in his/her Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form. The student keeps all travel-related, itemized receipts.

STEP 4:

The student completes and submits a Travel Expense Form within 10 days of returning from the meeting/conference along with all travel-related, itemized receipts.

For the Travel Expense Form with instructions, see appendix C.

An online, fillable expense form can be found on the Office of Student Services’ MySTLCOP portal—go to that MySTLCOP portal to complete the form. Students may also access the Travel Expense Form from the Career Services page on the College's public website. Completed expense forms along with travel-related receipts should be returned to the Office of Career Services or emailed to CareerServices@stlcop.edu. A hard copy expense form is provided in Appendix C of this policy document to show the specific information needed to complete the online expense form.

The Office of Career Services will review the submitted expense form and accompanying
travel receipts and confirm that the student complied fully with the terms articulated in his/her Student Travel Agreement & Assumption of Risk/General Release Form.

Students will be notified when and where to pick up their reimbursement payment.

NOTES:

If a student decides not to attend a meeting/conference, he/she must contact Office of Career Services as soon as possible so that the money can be redistributed to other students.
For international travel, please follow the College’s International Travel Policy and consult with the Office of International Programs for procedures related to travel abroad.
If a student in the undergraduate program will miss an in-class assessment due to travel, the student should follow the policies and procedures set forth for excused absences by the School of Arts and Sciences. For excused absences in the professional program, students should follow the procedures set forth in the SOP Excused Absence policy.

Responsibilities:

Position/Office/Department	Responsibility
Student Organization Faculty Advisors	· Knowledge of the travel reimbursement policy and procedure and ensure that students in the Advisor’s organization are aware of and abide by the policy and procedures.
Office of Career Services (AVP for Career Services and Education)	· Management of the Educational and Professional Development Fund (Professional Program) · Approval of travel for all STLCOP students, including verification of student eligibility · Record keeping of travel reimbursement awarded to students · Annual distribution of the policy to the entire student body and student organization faculty advisors via email · Establish an Advisory Committee
Advisory Committee	· Advise the Office of Career Services on anticipated student travel budget needs for the ensuing fiscal year (typically, this committee will meet once/year)
Deans	· Oversight of student eligibility to travel
Business Office	· Final approval of travel expense form and verification of good financial standing of the student

Resources:

Educational and Professional Development Fee
Formerly known as the Professional Student Activity Fee. This fee shall be set by the College’s President and Board of Trustees. The monies from this student fee are placed into dedicated roll-over accounts known as the Educational and Professional Development Fund (Undergraduate Program) and the Educational and Professional Development Fund (Professional Program) for distribution to students attending meetings/conferences for the purpose of academic and/or professional development.