Syracuse Sun

The University has announced an update to its travel policy, which includes changes in hotel and meal reimbursements, trip insurance, and recommendations for lodging in New York City. The revised policy will be effective from January 1, 2025, and applies to all faculty, staff, and students traveling on University business.

Significant changes in the policy include the removal of trip interruption or cancellation insurance from the list of unallowable expenses. Clarifications have been added regarding terms such as "necessary and appropriate," "reasonable," and "allowable expenses." Travelers are encouraged to use the University's Joseph I. Lubin House when visiting New York City.

Additional adjustments include an increase in the daily limit for lodging gratuities from $5 to $10 and a rise in the required receipt floor from $50 to $75. A $25 minimum has been established for department sales tax recoupment efforts. Hotel and meal reimbursements are now capped at 2.5 times the average federal per diem amount based on location as determined by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This applies to both credit card activity and expense reimbursement using actual receipts; however, the per diem method remains unchanged.

Business class flight upgrades have shifted from being time-based (six hours) to distance-based (2,200 miles) from origin to destination. The policy also specifies that if charges benefit a supervisor on a staff card, approval must come from the next-level supervisor.

The Comptroller’s Office plans virtual training sessions via Microsoft Teams for all University credit card holders and approvers:

- Thursday, December 5 at 1 p.m.

- Wednesday, December 11 at 11 a.m.

For inquiries about these updates, Jean Gallipeau can be contacted at jbgallip@syr.edu or Brian Pendergast at bwpender@syr.edu.